Effect of Evaluative Conditioning on Implicit Attitudes and Consumption of Sugar-Sweetened Soft Drinks

Background: Evaluative Conditioning (EC) has been used to alter implicit attitudes by pairing a target stimulus with positive or negative stimuli. Altering implicit attitudes towards hedonic, high-energy foods might be a means of reducing caloric intake. Methods: The present study examined the effect of a picture-picture EC procedure on soda outcomes, including positive and negative implicit attitudes, consumption during a taste test, and real-world consumption during the week after the intervention. In the EC condition (n = 43), soda was paired with disgust and water was paired with pleasant stimuli, while in the control condition (n = 41), the same images were viewed without pairing. Results: Results generally favored the potential for EC to impact soda drinking, and during the one-week follow-up period, there was a trend towards the EC group showing a larger reduction in real-world soda consumption. However, analyses also revealed several unexpected patterns: the effect of EC on increasing negative implicit attitudes was only seen in individuals who had relatively higher baseline negative attitudes towards soda, effects on general soda consumption were weaker than those on consumption of the targeted brand, and the EC condition showed a trend towards increased taste test consumption immediately following the intervention, particularly among individuals with low self-control. Conclusion: These findings may suggest that when using EC to target a well-known brand, attitude change is more successful when negative attitudes are already present, and the initial introduction of negative attitudes can lead to short-term disinhibition in individuals with poor self-control. It also suggests that in spite of these early effects, EC may result in lower consumption for at least a week following the intervention.Ph.D., Clinical Psychology -- Drexel University, 201