Long-Term Effects of Subliminal Priming on Academic Performance
Research Paper No. 1946
Long-term Effects of Subliminal Priming on Academic Performance Brian S. Lowery Naomi I. Eisenberger Curtis D. Hardin Stacey Sinclair September 2006
RESEARCH PAPER SERIES
Long-term subliminal priming
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Running Head: Long-term subliminal priming
Long-term Effects of Subliminal Priming on Academic Performance
Brian S. Lowery Stanford University
Naomi I. Eisenberger University of California, Los Angeles
Curtis D. Hardin Brooklyn College
Stacey Sinclair University of Virginia
Forthcoming in Basic and Applied Social Psychology
Long-term subliminal priming Abstract This research examines the temporal range of subliminal priming effects on complex behavior. In Experiments 1 and 2, participants were subliminally primed with words either related or unrelated to intelligence before completing a practice exam, administered 1 to 4 days before an actual course midterm. Results revealed that the intelligence primes increased performance on the midterm compared to neutral primes. Experiment 1 demonstrated that being told that the priming task was designed to help exam performance moderated the effect of the intelligence primes. In Experiment 2, practice test performance mediated the effect of the primes on midterm performance. These experiments demonstrated that subliminal priming may have long-term effects on real-world behavior, and demonstrates one means by which long-term priming effects may occur.
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Long-term subliminal priming Long-Term Effects of Subliminal Priming on Academic Performance The lay public has long been fascinated by the possibility that information presented below the threshold of consciousness (i.e., subliminally) can affect thoughts and behaviors. For example, concerns about the use of subliminal information in
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advertising grew so great that the Federal Communications Committee decided to address it, and concluded that such tactics were “contrary to the public interest (FCC, 1974).”
Long-term Effects of Subliminal Priming on Academic Performance Brian S. Lowery Naomi I. Eisenberger Curtis D. Hardin Stacey Sinclair September 2006
RESEARCH PAPER SERIES
Long-term subliminal priming
1
Running Head: Long-term subliminal priming
Long-term Effects of Subliminal Priming on Academic Performance
Brian S. Lowery Stanford University
Naomi I. Eisenberger University of California, Los Angeles
Curtis D. Hardin Brooklyn College
Stacey Sinclair University of Virginia
Forthcoming in Basic and Applied Social Psychology
Long-term subliminal priming Abstract This research examines the temporal range of subliminal priming effects on complex behavior. In Experiments 1 and 2, participants were subliminally primed with words either related or unrelated to intelligence before completing a practice exam, administered 1 to 4 days before an actual course midterm. Results revealed that the intelligence primes increased performance on the midterm compared to neutral primes. Experiment 1 demonstrated that being told that the priming task was designed to help exam performance moderated the effect of the intelligence primes. In Experiment 2, practice test performance mediated the effect of the primes on midterm performance. These experiments demonstrated that subliminal priming may have long-term effects on real-world behavior, and demonstrates one means by which long-term priming effects may occur.
2
Long-term subliminal priming Long-Term Effects of Subliminal Priming on Academic Performance The lay public has long been fascinated by the possibility that information presented below the threshold of consciousness (i.e., subliminally) can affect thoughts and behaviors. For example, concerns about the use of subliminal information in
3
advertising grew so great that the Federal Communications Committee decided to address it, and concluded that such tactics were “contrary to the public interest (FCC, 1974).”