Priming

Definition

Priming is the influence of one stimulus on the perception of a subsequent stimulus. Priming has been often been reported in ingle sensory domains (e.g., visual or auditory); however, multimodal priming across sensory domains has also been described. In contexts where the prime is compatible or related to the subsequent stimulus, a prime will result in more efficient processing. The behavioral manifestation of this has been reported as faster recognition time or higher accuracy rate. A typical example may be the presentation of a word-based prime such as “house” resulting in a faster recognition of a related word such as “door,” in comparison to an unrelated word such as “tire.” The effect can result from both liminal and subliminal stimuli and is believed to reflect the priming stimuli, making information that is compatible with the subsequent stimuli more readily available through a spreading of activation. As a research tool, priming allows for exploration of implicit...