Date of Graduation

Summer 2024

Degree

Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis

Department

Psychology

Committee Chair

Jordan Belisle

Abstract

Evaluative conditioning refers to the effect that occurs when two stimuli are paired together, resulting in a change in the evaluation or function of one of the stimuli. Evaluative conditioning has been researched in various fields of study, such as advertisement and public administration, but synthetization efforts of these results with a relational frame theory approach, and vice versa, have been limited. This thesis used de-identified data from prior approved research to integrate and discusses two manuscripts that provide a relational frame theory perspective to evaluative conditioning effects. Study 1 extends a previous experiment by Matthews et al. (2022) through the use of a multidimensional scaling procedure in an attempt to model changes following a stimulus pairing observation procedure. Results from Study 1 show that participants formed pro-environmental relational classes following the training, as depicted by the MDS. These findings cohere with the changes in purchasing behavior as observed in Matthews et al. (2022). Study 2 also uses a multidimensional scaling procedure to extend previous research on evaluative conditioning in hypothetical policy adoption. Preliminary results from Study 2 show that trust in hypothetical policy does not change in the context of political branding but contextual cues are discussed for why this might be the case. Taken together, these translational studies have implications for teaching meaningful relational framing around climate action, as outlined in Study 1, but also for how policy proposals might be structured so that policy that supports environmental framing can be adopted.

Keywords

relational frame theory, relational density theory, evaluative conditioning, multidimensional scaling procedure, consumer behavior, policy adoption

Subject Categories

Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms | Other Social and Behavioral Sciences

Copyright

© Lauren Rose Hutchison

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Available for download on Sunday, August 23, 2026

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