Årbok 1964

To date, only one study by Strick and Volbeda (2018), titled ‘When the valence of unconditioned stimuli evolves over time: Evaluative conditioning with good-ending and bad-ending stories’, investigated stories in the context of evaluative conditioning to change brand attitudes. To find additional support for stories as unconditioned stimuli, we performed a partial replication of this study. As an extension, we also investigated the role of the need for affect as a mediator in this conditioning process. Our study had a within-subject design, in which MTurk workers (N = 66) participated in both our good- and bad-ending story conditions. In line with the original study and our hypothesis, our results suggest that the valence of the story ending determines the direction of the conditioning effect. Brands presented after good-ending stories have a stronger brand liking than brands presented after bad-ending stories. In practice, this would imply that advertisements should always end positively to induce a positive brand evaluation. Furthermore, as we hypothesized, our results indicate that the need for affect mediates this conditioning effect as people with a high need for affect rate brands more emotionally and strongly according to the story-ending valence than people with a low need for affect. Future research may distinguish other characteristics that mediate this effect to identify separate groups for targeted advertisements. To conclude, the ending of dramatic stories is determinative in brand evaluation when the brand is presented directly after, and the effect of these story endings is mediated by the need for affect

Brachiopod zonation and age of the Permian Kapp Starostin Formation (central Spitsbergen)

This study has defined five brachiopod assemblage zones within the Permian Kapp Starostin Formation of Festningen, central West Spitsbergen. They are designated as the Horridonia timanica zone, the Waagenoconcha sp. A (Gobbett 1964) zone, the Megousia weyprechti zone, the Plerospirifer alatus zone and the Haydenella wilczeki zone in ascending order. Only the lower three zones are recognized in the same formation of Sveltihel. The first zone, which is exactly equivalent to the 'Spirifer Limestone’as well as the Vøringcn Member of the Kapp Starostin Formation, is probably Kungurian in age. The last zone, situated near the uppermost portion of the Hovtinden Member, may possibly have a brachiopod assemblage matching that of the Cyclolobus-bearing beds of the Foldvik Creek Formation in central East Greenland. Consequently, the uppermost beds of the Kapp Starostin Formation are chronologically dated as late Permian, most probably as Dzhulfian of the Tethys Province

Aspects of the geology of Svalbard

Guide to excursion no. A 16; International Geological Congress 1960