I like it but I don't know why: A value-account approach to implicit attitude formation

The authors suggest a theory that predicts how summary evaluations about ta rgets are implicitly formed and stored in memory and under which conditions they are used in attitude judgment. First, it is assumed that the mere enc oding of value-charged stimuli is a sufficient condition to initiate implic it online formation of summary evaluations. Second, the authors claim that this process is summative. Accordingly, the intensities of the positive or negative responses evoked by the stimuli in the organism are thought to be accumulated and stored in a unitary memory structure. This hypothetical str ucture is called value account. Third, it is assumed that a value account i s more easily accessible in memory than are concrete traces of past experie nces. Therefore, attitude judgments should rely on value accounts, especial ly if cognitive capacities are constrained (e.g., due to time pressure). Th ree experiments that provide converging evidence for the value-account appr oach are reported.