A prime is a stimulus that unconsciously activates mental pathways and influences performance on cognitive tasks, language, and behaviour. For example, a word shown as a stimulus brings to mind associated words. An experimental study found that people recognised “butter” quicker than “doctor” when they were showed the word “bread”. (Meyer, 1971)
In another study, some subjects were asked to assemble a sentence from scrambled words which are stereotypes of the elderly, such as, “Florida,” “retired,” “wrinkle,” and “forgetful.” The subjects were timed as they left the room and those who were primed with the stereotypes walked slower than the control group whose scrambled-sentence task used non-age-specific terms. (Bargh, 1996)
(Bargh, 2001) also found that priming could influence goal-directed behaviour: subjects primed with words like “succeed,” “strive,” and “attain” performed better on tests and subjects primed with words like “helpful,” “support,” and “share” were more cooperative.
This reflects the intertwinement of behaviour with the environment and people around. Despite these findings, many of them aren’t replicable, casting doubt onto the robustness and generalisability of findings.
Repeated iterations of a decision-making chain (such as, waking up and brushing teeth) hammer in a habit that becomes more reflexive gradually. Although habits become subconsciously automated, the brain is an instrument of possibilities, not certainties.
Habits are a product of our social and environmental contexts. They’re manipulable given our brains’ neuroplasticity. The coupling of the agent and the environment may trigger neuro-structural changes in the brain, leading to changes in behaviour.
A prime doesn’t necessarily cause behaviour but it is a factor, as are the embodied habits and instincts. The complexity of conscious choice can negate or affect any conclusions one may draw about the generalisability of findings from priming studies. Humans can’t be understood independently of their environments.
Wow!! Very nice article!!