Stimulus-response binding and retrieval operates independently of contingency awareness: A mega-analysis

There is an ongoing debate about the role of top-down influences on episodic binding and retrieval processes. The Binding and Retrieval in Action Control (BRAC) framework postulates that both, binding and retrieval, are modulated by top-down processes, such as awareness and instructions (Frings et al., 2020). To test this assumption, we conducted a mega-analysis in which we reanalyzed data from four contingency learning experiments (total N = 859). Contingency awareness was assessed in all experiments. Furthermore, in two experiments, contingency awareness was experimentally manipulated by instructing participants about the existing contingencies. Results show that both binding and retrieval neither depend on nor are modulated by higher-order processes such as contingency knowledge or awareness of stimulus-response contingencies (measured and manipulated). In sum, our findings suggest that stimulus-response binding and retrieval is an automatic cognitive process that operates unconsciously and independently of top-down influences such as contingency knowledge and awareness.