Multiple Mechanisms of Prime-to-Behavior Effects

Recent research has explored how the activation of social constructs via priming can affect behavior. Multiple mechanisms have received support, including direct activation of behavioral representations, goal activation, biases in person perception, biases in situation perception, and biases in self-perception. We review the evolving complexity of proposed prime-to-behavior mechanisms, discuss the predictions of each mechanism, and suggest some integrative principles that influence how and when primed constructs affect behavior.     

To achieve or not to achieve? Comparative mindsets elicit assimilation and contrast in goal priming

Goal priming typically leads to goal‐consistent behavior. This uniform pattern is surprising given other types of priming effects, which have been found to be more variable. On the basis of previous research on judgment priming effects, we predicted that a comparative mindset to focus on similarities versus differences also affects the direction of goal priming. Two studies show that assimilation to a primed goal results if participants focus on similarities, whereas a focus on differences leads to contrast. In Study 1, participants induced to focus on similarities behaved more neatly after being primed with neatness rather than the goal to be carefree. For participants induced to focus on differences, the opposite pattern emerged. In Study 2, a similarity focus led to assimilation to an achievement prime, whereas a difference focus resulted in contrast. These findings highlight the importance of comparative processes in goal striving and demonstrate that assimilative goal‐priming effects are less invariable than existing research suggests. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Knowledge activation after information encoding: Implications of trait priming on person judgment

It is widely assumed that traits primed after the encoding of person information do not lead to assimilation effects on the judgment of that person. The authors challenge this view by providing evidence that post-encoding trait primes can result in assimilative person judgments under certain conditions. In Experiments 1 and 2, we identify the conditions under which these assimilation effects occur. Experiment 1 shows the importance of participants’ goals during person information encoding: assimilation is observed when person information is encoded as part of a memorization goal (as opposed to an impression formation goal). The findings of Experiment 2 further reveal that the encoded person information should imply trait concepts rather than being merely vague with respect to the primed trait category. Finally, the results of Experiment 3 suggest that the obtained assimilation effect is driven by differential accessibility for prime-congruent person information.     

How love and lust change people’s perception of relationship partners

Because love is related to thoughts in the distant future and lust triggers thoughts related to the present, based on construal level theory, we propose a link between love and a global processing style as well as a link between lust and a local processing style. These processing styles should further expand to partnership evaluations, partially explaining halo phenomena. In Study 1, college students and senior participants were primed by either imagining a walk with a person they were in love with, or a one-night stand. In Study 2, love and lust were primed subliminally. In all studies, love priming enhanced global, holistic processing and halos, whereas lust priming enhanced local, detail oriented processing and reduced halos. Moreover, in Study 1, temporal distance mediated the effects. Implications for research of moods on processing styles, partner perception, and the distinction between love and lust are discussed.     

Automatic social behavior as motivated preparation to interact

The authors propose that automatic social behavior may result from perceivers preparing to interact with primed social group members. In Study 1, participants primed with a disliked outgroup (gay men) showed evidence of interaction preparation (aggression) rather than direct stereotypic trait expression (passivity). In Study 2, participants with implicit positive attitudes toward the elderly walked more slowly after "elderly" priming, but participants with negative attitudes walked more quickly, results consistent with a preparatory account; the reverse was found priming "youth." Study 3 demonstrated that the accessibility of a primed category follows a pattern more consistent with that of goal-related constructs (including post-goal-fulfillment inhibition) than that of semantically primed constructs. Implications for the function of stored knowledge are discussed.     

On the consequences of priming: Assimilation and contrast effects

Two experiments investigated the effects of priming (activation of a category by unobtrusive exposure to exemplars of that category) on subsequent judgments in an unrelated task. Subjects were primed with one of four levels of ferocity (size) in the course of a “color perception” experiment, and were later asked to judge the ferocity (size) of real (unambiguous) and unreal (ambiguous) animals. An interaction between ambiguity of judged stimuli (real vs unreal animals) and extremity of primed exemplars (moderate vs extreme levels of ferocity or size) was revealed. Assimilation effects (judgments consistent with the primed category) occurred only when moderate exemplars were primed and ambiguous stimuli judged. Contrast effects occurred when extreme exemplars were primed and ambiguous stimuli judged and, irrespective of extremity of the primed exemplar, when unambiguous stimuli were judged. The results are interpreted in terms of an integration of social judgment and social cognition perspectives.     

The effect of color (red versus blue) on assimilation versus contrast in prime-to-behavior effects

This paper examines whether color can modify the way that primed constructs affect behavior. Specifically, we tested the hypothesis that, compared to the color white, blue is more likely to lead to assimilative shifts in behavior, whereas red is more likely to lead to contrastive changes in behavior. In our experiment, previous findings were replicated in the white color condition: participants’ behavior assimilated to primed stereotypes of (un)intelligence and contrasted away from primed exemplars of (un)intelligence. However, in the blue color condition, participants’ behavior assimilated to the primed constructs, whereas in the red color condition, participants’ behavior contrasted away from the primed constructs, irrespective of whether the primed constructs were stereotypes or exemplars.     

Moods as spotlights: the influence of mood on accessibility effects

Three studies explore the manner in which one's mood may affect the use and impact of accessible information on judgments. Specifically, the authors demonstrated that positive and negative moods differentially influence the direction of accessibility effects (assimilation, contrast) by determining whether abstract traits or concrete actor-trait links are primed. Study 1 investigated the impact of positive versus negative mood on the judgmental impact of trait-implying behaviors and found that positive moods lead to assimilation and negative moods to contrast. In Study 2, this effect was replicated in a subliminal priming paradigm. In Study 3, it was demonstrated that the type of information activated by trait-implying behaviors is indeed mood dependent, such that abstract trait information is activated in a positive mood, whereas specific actor-trait links are activated in a negative mood.     

Spontaneous trait inferences as self-generated primes: implications for conscious social judgment.

The priming literature has documented the influence of trait terms held outside of conscious awareness on later judgment relevant to the primed trait dimension. The present research demonstrated that spontaneous trait inferences can serve as self-generated primes. In Experiment 1, Ss instructed to memorize trait-implying sentences (thus spontaneously inferring traits outside of consciousness) showed assimilation effects in judgment. Ss instructed to form inferences from these sentences (thus consciously inferring traits) showed contrast effects. Experiment 2 demonstrated that these findings were due to semantic activation rather than to a general evaluative response. When evaluatively inconsistent trait constructs were primed, similar patterns of assimilation and contrast were found. Implications for the ubiquitous occurrence of priming through the process of social categorization are discussed.     

Aligning inside and outside perspectives of the self: A cross‐cultural difference in self‐perception

Past research shows that European Americans tend to take a first‐person perspective to understand the self and are unlikely to align the inside look with the outside gaze, whereas Asians tend to take a third‐person perspective and are likely to shift their inside look in the direction of the outsize gaze. In three experiments, we compared Asians and European Americans' self‐perceptions when the presence of their parents in the background of self‐perception was primed or otherwise. Without the priming, both European Americans and Asians viewed themselves more positively from their own perspective than from their parents' perspective. With the priming, only Asians lowered the positivity of their self‐perceptions to match the perceived positivity of the self in the parents' perspective. These results suggest that Asians do not have a static, passive tendency to assimilate their self‐views into the perceived external assessments of the self. Rather, their self‐views are fluid and flexible.     

Affect Is Greater Than,Not Equal to,Condition: Condition and Person Effects in Affective Priming Paradigms

Affective primes may impact ensuing behavior through condition and person effects. However, previous research has not experimentally disentangled these two sources of influence in affective priming paradigms. In the current research, we simultaneously examine the influence of condition factors, in terms of prime valence, and person factors, in terms of affect reactivity and personality. In both studies, undergraduate participants (total N = 174) were primed with either positive or negative affective stimuli (words, Study 1; pictures, Study 2) prior to judging the likability of a neutral target (Arabic characters, Study 1; inkblots, Study 2). Although we did observe between‐condition differences for positive and negative primes, person‐level effects were more consistent predictors of target ratings. Affect reactivity (affect Time 2, controlling Time 1) to the primes predicted evaluative judgments, even in the absence of condition effects. In addition, the personality traits of Neuroticism (Study 1) and behavioral inhibition system sensitivity (Study 2) predicted evaluative judgments of neutral targets following negative affective primes. With effects for condition, affect reactivity, and personality, our results suggest that affective primes influence ensuing behaviors through both informational and affective means. Research using affective priming methodologies should take into account both condition and person‐level effects.     

判断框架对时序知觉位置启动效应的影响

研究采用包含两种判断框架（判断刺激出现的先后次序）的时序判断任务探讨了决策偏向对时序知觉位置启动效应的影响。实验结果表明,时序知觉中存在着位置启动效应,而且在两个靶刺激出现时间间隔不同时,被试在“哪个靶刺激先出现”和“哪个靶刺激后出现”两种判断框架下的正确率存在显著差异,但在两个靶刺激同时出现时并没有出现显著的判断框架效应。因此,本研究推测时序知觉位置启动效应的作用机制不仅包括知觉增强加工过程,而且也与认知决策有关,这为反应偏向理论提供了新的支持证据。     

重复启动对时序知觉和时距知觉的影响

采用时序判断和时距估计任务,探讨重复启动对时序知觉和时距知觉的影响。结果表明：在时序判断中,当未启动的靶刺激先出现时出现了显著的启动效应,启动的靶刺激被知觉为早出现;在启动的靶刺激先出现时产生了启动效应的反转,启动的靶刺激被知觉为后出现。在时距估计中,启动条件下的两个靶刺激之间的时距长度被知觉为显著长于未启动条件下的时距长度。因此,在同一时间历程中,重复启动对时序知觉和时距估计都存在显著影响,启动刺激所引发的表征激活和反应抑制双加工过程在时序知觉中是按照表征匹配机制、在时距知觉中是基于唤醒机制起作用,这为时间认知分段综合模型的理论构想提供了支持证据。     

I need you closer to me: Effects of affiliation goals on perceptions of interpersonal distance

People's perceptions are often distorted in a way that aligns with their desires and goals. We argue that having a goal to affiliate changes the perception of interpersonal distance in a way that may help to fulfil this affiliation goal. As other people are goal‐relevant when having an affiliation goal, we expected that people with affiliation goals would estimate the distance between themselves and another person as smaller than people with no affiliation goals. In two studies, we manipulated affiliation goals by priming participants with affiliation or control words. Our main dependent variable was the estimated interpersonal distance between themselves and the experimenter. Results showed that participants primed with affiliation estimated the interpersonal distance as smaller compared with participants primed with control words. We did not obtain reliable differences between the affiliation and control conditions on other distance and height estimations. Our results suggest that having or not having affiliation goals influences people's perception of the distance between them and other people.     

The impact of traditionality/modernity on identification‐ and calculus‐based trust

We conducted three studies to explore how trust is perceived, displayed or changed by participants in China, which as a country has undergone substantial cultural and historical transition. Traditionality showed a significant positive correlation with identification‐based trust (IBT) and modernity was significantly associated with calculus‐based trust (CBT; Study 1). Compared to those primed with modern Chinese culture stimuli, participants primed with traditional icons exhibited a higher level of IBT and a lower level of CBT (Study 2). The study further demonstrated more trust behaviour based on identification with traditional culture priming and more trust behaviour based on calculus when primed with modern culture (Study 3). In sum, the present findings suggest that, along with substantial social changes and economic development, people exhibit their trust differently depending on cultural context, shedding light on the trust crisis in contemporary China.     

The flexible unconscious: Investigating the judgmental impact of varieties of unaware perception

Two studies were conducted to investigate the notion that stimulus exposure time, target category, and mindset orientation can influence the impact of subliminally presented emotion faces on judgments of neutral targets. Specifically, Study 1 showed that when the stimulus and target were from different categories, assimilative judgments occurred at both short and long (but still subliminal) stimulus exposure times. Yet, when the stimulus and target were from the same category, assimilation occurred at short exposure times, and contrast occurred at long exposure times. Findings from Study 2 show that this effect is moderated by one’s goal during processing. That is, when motivated to see a specific type of stimulus, contrast occurred regardless of stimulus exposure time; however, when one is not poised to see specific stimuli, assimilation occurred at short exposure times and contrast occurred at long exposure times. These findings support the notion that unconscious perception is flexible and goal contingent.     

Temporal Discounting Mechanisms of Future‐oriented Coping: Evidence from Delay Discounting and Task Prioritization Paradigms

Four studies were conducted to examine the relationship between future‐oriented coping and temporal discounting under different situational conditions. In Study 1, 138 participants were primed with either stressful or neutral stimuli, followed by a delay‐discounting task. In Study 2, 118 participants were primed with either stressful or neutral stimuli, followed by a task‐prioritization activity. The results of both studies indicated that future‐oriented coping had a significant negative association with temporal discounting or the number of rational choices in the neutral‐priming condition, but the relationship was not significant in the stress‐priming condition. In Study 3, qualitative data revealed that the major reason for shifting choices from larger but later payoffs to smaller but sooner rewards in a stressful condition was to reduce the stressful mood, create a positive mood, and promote a sense of accomplishment. This explanation was corroborated by Study 4, in which one group was allowed to choose an immediate payoff and the other group was blocked from choosing that immediate payoff. We confirmed that post‐test anxiety was significantly lower in the immediate payoff group compared with the delayed‐payoff group in proactive and preventive coping, using pre‐test anxiety as a covariate. Preventive coping helped to reduce anxiety levels in a stressful condition only when there was a choice to obtain an immediate payoff. These findings underscore the relationship between future‐oriented coping and temporal discounting, as well as the flexibility of discounting in the face of stress. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Representing and anticipating human actions in vision

Visual perception of human actions was investigated in a long-term priming experiment. On each trial in the priming phase, participants were presented with a pair of short motion animations showing a person performing a particular whole body movement and had to decide whether the actions were the same or different. In the testing block, the same observers had to determine whether static pictures of a human model showed a possible or an impossible body pose. For each test posture, a subject either (1) had seen a priming animation in which the actor would have reached the test posture if the animation had lasted longer, (2) had seen an animation in which the actor would have been in the test posture if the animation had started earlier, or (3) had not seen a related priming animation. Reliable facilitatory priming effects were obtained only when the test posture was preceded by a motion sequence that would have resulted in the test posture if the human model had continued the action. The findings support the hypothesis that, when confronted with a human action, observers anticipate the future posture of the actor and that this anticipation facilitates later identification of the posture.