Priming and the Differential Use of Dimensions in Evaluation

Abstract

Two experiments demonstrated the impact of passively activated categories on the use of prime-relevant versus prime-irrelevant dimensions in later evaluations and preference judgments. In both experiments, concepts relevant to one of two dimensions of judgment were initially activated by requiring subjects to rehearse words in the course of a memory test. In supposedly unrelated subsequent tasks, subjects were asked to evaluate (in the first experiment) and choose between (in the second experiment) targets described as having positive attributes on one dimension and negative attributes on the other dimension. As predicted, subjects' evaluations and preferences reflected the greater impact of the information relevant to the primed dimension. Recall for the information presented in Experiment 2 provided some evidence for differential attention to the prime-relevant information as the mediating mechanism for the effect.

Accessibility and fit as determinants of the salience of social categorizations

“…Thus, consistent with previous studies on priming eects (e.g. Sherman, Mackie & Driscoll, 1990; see also Fiske & Taylor, 1991), the priming procedure may have turned participants' attention more closely to the manipulated comparative ®t. Finally, in line with the salience model the perceived comparative ®t proved to be a more powerful predictor of category salience than the manipulated comparative ®t.…”

Implicit learning of evaluative vs. non-evaluative covariations: The role of dimension accessibility

“…For example, priming increases the attention given to stimuli that are clearly related to the primed construct (e.g., Sherman, Mackie, & Driscoll, 1990), as well as the categorization of ambiguous semantic or visual information that is open to multiple construals (e.g. Balcetis & Dale, 2007;Higgins, Rholes, & Jones, 1977).…”

The Feeling of Familiarity as a Regulator of Persuasive Processing

“…For example, both the frequency and recency of memory trace activation increases the likelihood of top-down processing (Fazio, Powell, & Herr, 1983;Higgins, Bargh, & Lombardi, 1985;Sherman, Mackie, & Driscoll, 1990;Smith & Branscombe, 1987;Srull & Wyer, 1979). Top-down priming effects have also been shown to depend on prime stimulus similarity (Smith & Branscombe, 1987;Smith, Branscombe, & Bormann, 1988;Smith, Stewart, & Buttram, 1992).…”