Cognitive: Key concept 4 Flashcards
Associative priming
We process a stimulus more quickly (or recall it more easily) because we earlier encountered a stimulus that is often paired with it.
Cognitive priming
We process a stimulus (word, image, objects etc.) more quickly when we see or hear the stimulus first.
Repetition priming
We process a stimulus more quickly (or recall it more easily) because we encountered it earlier.
Semantic priming
We process a stimulus more quickly (or recall it more easily) because we earlier encountered a stimulus related to it in meaning (semantics).
Example of repetition priming
Imagine you overhear the word avocado in someone’s conversation. This word is the prime. If you hear it later the same day, you notice it more quickly than you would have done if you had not been primed earlier.
Example of semantic priming
If you see or hear the word computer, it is easier to recognise or recall the word laptop later - you process laptop faster because its meaning is similar to the prime.
Example of associative priming
What do you think when I say fish? There’s a good chance you would think chips. The two are so often paired in our culture that they are closely associated in memory. If you are exposed to one you are more likely to later recognise or recall the other.
Example of cognitive priming
Imagine watching TV adverts that promote snacking as fun. The adverts prime you advance to associate snacks with something positive. You then get to eat various snacks - healthy or unhealthy ones - and you eat quite a lot of them.
Practical applications evaluation
Strength is that priming can help us to understand and prevent cognitive causes of obesity. For example, a study by Harris showed that advertising can affect how many snacks people eat because of cognitive priming - once we understand the effects of priming we may be able to prevent this issue. This means that education and legislation could help to prevent obesity.
Research support evaluation
Strength is that research shows how priming may explain a possible link between video gaming and aggression. For example in Moller and Krahe’s study, students read a scenario which someone is accidentally pushed so they spill their drink. Students who frequently played violent video games were much more likely than other students to interpret the push as deliberate. They were also more likely to choose physical aggression as a suitable response. This shows that playing violent video games may prime some people to think and behave aggressively, supporting the concept of associative priming.
Lack of replication evaluation
Weakness of cognitive priming is that it is very difficult to study. For example, if a study is repeated using exactly the same procedure and produces the same finding, then we know that the outcome is real and more likely to represent something real - when replicating priming studies, they often get different findings. This suggests that the concept of priming is not scientific which means we cannot be confident that the theories are correct.
