title: Pupil response and the subliminal mere exposure effect.
abstract: The subliminal mere exposure effect (SMEE) is the phenomenon wherein people tend to prefer patterns they have repeatedly observed without consciously identifying them. One popular explanation for the SMEE is that perceptual fluency within exposed patterns is misattributed to a feeling of preference for those patterns. Assuming that perceptual fluency is negatively correlated with the amount of mental effort needed to analyze perceptual aspects of incoming stimuli, pupil diameter should associate with SMEE strength since the former is known to reflect mental effort. To examine this hypothesis, we measured participants' pupil diameter during exposure to subthreshold stimuli. Following exposure, a preference test was administered. Average pupil diameter throughout exposure was smaller when the SMEE was induced than when the SMEE was not induced. This supports the hypothesis that increasing perceptual fluency during mere exposure modulates autonomic nervous responses, such as pupil diameter, and eventually leads to preference.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Japan Women's University, Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan ; NTT Communication Science Laboratories, NTT Corporation, Atsugi, Kanagawa, Japan ; CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Atsugi, Kanagawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Sanae
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yoshimoto
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Gakushuin University, Toshima-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Hisato
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Imai
authors.affiliation: NTT Communication Science Laboratories, NTT Corporation, Atsugi, Kanagawa, Japan ; CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Atsugi, Kanagawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Makio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kashino
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Japan Women's University, Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan ; NTT Communication Science Laboratories, NTT Corporation, Atsugi, Kanagawa, Japan ; CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Atsugi, Kanagawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Tatsuto
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takeuchi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011601:Psychophysics / Q000379:methods; D011680:Pupil / Q000502:physiology*; D013360:Subliminal Stimulation; D055815:Young Adult