Evaluative learning in human Pavlovian conditioning: Extinct, but still there? Ottmar V. Lipp, * Nikki Oughton, and James LeLievre School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Qld 4072, Australia Received 17 September 2002; received in revised form 20 February 2003 Abstract Previous studies of human affective learning, the acquisition of likes and dislikes, provided evidence that extinction training does not affect changes in conditional stimulus (CS) valence as indexed by paper/pencil ratings. Experiment 1 ðN ¼ 32Þ investigated whether this is an ar- tifact of the CS valence assessment, which is taken in test sessions before and after training. Pleasantness ratings were collected in pre/post training tests and, for half of the participants, on-line during training. Rated unpleasantness of the CS that preceded the aversive US (CSþ) increased during acquisition and decreased during extinction back to neutral. However, as in previous studies, post extinction paper/pencil ratings revealed the maintenance of rated CSþ unpleasantness. Experiment 2 ðN ¼ 34Þ replicated this finding for two measures of CS valence, paper/pencil and the continuous measure used during training. The present results indicate that previous reports of failures to find extinction of affective learning may reflect renewal rather than maintenance of acquired CS valence across extinction training. Ó 2003 Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved. Introduction Affective learning, the acquisition of likes and dislikes, is of great importance to our everyday lives. We constantly evaluate new objects in our environment and change the likes and dislikes that we held some time ago. Moreover, under some cir- cumstances, very intense aversions to certain stimuli can develop, to the extent that these aversions have a negative impact on the quality of life of the persons Learning and Motivation 34 (2003) 219–239 www.elsevier.com/locate/l&m * Corresponding author. Fax: +61-733-65-4466. E-mail address: o.lipp@psy.uq.edu.au (O.V. Lipp). 0023-9690/03/$ - see front matter Ó 2003 Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/S0023-9690(03)00011-0