Implicit and Explicit Evaluation: A Brief Review of the Associative-Propositional Evaluation Model

A central theme in contemporary psychology is the distinction between implicit and explicit evaluation. Research has shown various dissociations between the two kinds of evaluations, including different antecedents, different consequences, and discrepant evaluations of the same object. The current article provides a briefreview ofthe associative–propositional evaluation (APE)model, whichaccounts for these dissociations by conceptualizing implicit and explicit evaluations as the behavioral outcomes of two functionallydistinct, yet mutuallyinteracting, mentalprocesses. Whereasimplicit evaluations are assumed to be the outcome of associative processes, explicit evaluations are conceptualized as the outcome of propositional processes. Associative processes determine the activation of mental contents on the basis of feature similarity and spatiotemporal contiguity; propositional processes involve the validation of activated mental contents on the basis of cognitive consistency. The APE model includes specific assumptions about mutual interactions between the two processes, implying precise predictions about converging versus diverging patterns of implicit and explicit evaluation. Conflicts between the “head” and the “heart” can be rather common in everyday life. We may feel romantically attracted to a particular person despite firmly believing that this person is not a good match; and the sight of a high-caloriedessertmay elicitanimpulse toindulge althoughwe know that it is unhealthy and detrimental for our goal to lose weight. Conversely, we may experience feelings of apprehension and discomfort when encountering members of stigmatized groups even though we intellectually abhor prejudice and wish to express solidarity with minorities; and a small spider may elicit an unpleasant fright response although we know that it is entirely harmless. Over the last two decades, psychologists have gained valuable insights into the causes and consequences of such evaluative conflicts by comparing verbal judgments on traditionalself-reportmeasures(e.g.,attitude scales,likeability ratings)tospontaneousresponses on performance-based paradigms (e.g.,sequential priming tasks, implicit association test). 1 Conceptually, evaluative judgments on the former type of measures can be described as explicit evaluations in the sense that their evaluative meaning is explicit in the observed response (e.g., participants explicitly report their agreement or disagreement with an evaluative statement about an object). Conversely, spontaneous responses on the latter type of measures can be described as implicit evaluations in the sense that their evaluative meaning is implicit in the observed response (e.g.,evaluative responses are inferred from participants’ latencies in responding topositive and negativewords that are precededby brief presentations ofanobject). The main goal of the current article is to provide a brief review of the associative– propositional evaluation (APE) model, which explains dissociations between implicit and explicit evaluations in terms of two functionally distinct mental processes (Gawronski & Bodenhausen, 2006, 2007, 2011). By specifying the mutual interplay between these processes, the APE model provides an overarching framework that specifies when implicit and explicit