The Psychology Book

232

U

ntil the middle of the 20th
century, social scientists
tended to base their
explanations of human behavior
on environmental factors. However,
the Polish-born psychologist Robert
Zajonc believed that to develop a
more complete understanding, it
is necessary to take into account
the functions of the mind as well.
Zajonc’s main interest was in the
relationship between feeling and
thought—the intersection of
emotion and cognition—and he
devoted much of his career toward
exploring which of these factors has
a stronger influence on behavior. To

this end, he performed a seminal

experiment in 1968 that led to his

discovery of the “mere exposure

effect,” which is arguably his best-

known contribution to the field of

social psychology.

Familiarity experiments

Mere exposure, Zajonc explained,

simply refers to a condition in

which the given stimulus is

accessible to the subject’s

perception, either consciously or

subconsciously. The effects of mere

exposure had been documented

previously by the psychologist

Edward B. Titchener who, in

IN CONTEXT

APPROACH

Familiarity

BEFORE

1876 German experimental

psychologist Gustav Fechner

suggests familiarity increases

positive feeling toward art

objects, but “supersaturation”

leads to aversion.

1910 Edward B. Titchener

documents the mere exposure

effect, describing it as a

“glow of warmth” that people

experience in the presence

of familiar things.

AFTER

1971 P s ycholo g i s t s T.T. Faw

and D. Pien find that adults

and children prefer unfamiliar

line drawings and patterns to

familiar ones.

1989 Robert Bornstein finds

that the mere exposure effect

is strongest when unfamiliar

stimuli are presented briefly.

1910, described the “glow of

warmth” and feeling of intimacy

that a person experiences in the

presence of something familiar.

However, Titchener’s hypothesis

was rejected at the time, and the

idea faded into relative obscurity.

Zajonc’s interest in the effect

was aroused by a newspaper article

that described a curious experiment

that took place at Oregon State

University in 1967. The article

stated that a “mysterious student”

had been attending class for two

months, enveloped in a black bag.

The professor, Charles Goetzinger,

knew the identity of the person

ROBERT ZAJONC

Repeated exposure to a stimulus

breeds familiarity with it.

This preference is emotional and

forms on a subconscious level before

a person is even aware of it.

The more you see it, the more you like it.

...taking the form of preference,

or affection.

Familiarity brings about an attitude change

toward the stimulus ...