Evaluative conditioning under limited cognitive resources: a tDCS study

This project’s aim is to verify that both associative and propositional processes play an interdependent role in evaluative conditioning. We plan to check if propositional statements are required to obtain an EC effect by examining groups whose reasoning process involved in propositional statements formation is still undeveloped (infants) or disturbed (tDCS use in adults). We will also check if the development of reasoning processes (and thus the ability to form propositional statements) affects evaluative conditioning size effects. We posit that the ability to reason and create propositional statements is not a prerequisite for evaluative conditioning effects to emerge (which would prove associative theory correct). However along with reasoning development and the possibility of utilizing propositional statements, observed EC effects will be stronger and more contextually dependent.