Understanding Priming Effects in Social Psychology

by Daniel C. Molden (Editor)

Overview

How incidentally activated social representations affect subsequent thoughts and behaviors has long interested social psychologists. Recently, such priming effects have provoked debate and skepticism. Originally a special issue of Social Cognition, this book examines the theoretical challenges researchers must overcome to further advance priming studies and considers how these challenges can be met. The volume aims to reduce the confusion surrounding current discussions by more thoroughly considering the many phenomena in social psychology that the term “priming” encompasses, and closely examining the psychological processes that explain when and how different types of priming effects occur.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781462519361
Publisher:	Guilford Publications, Inc.
Publication date:	09/12/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	264
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Daniel C. Molden, PhD, is Associate Professor of Psychology at Northwestern University. His research examines how activating different motivational mindsets influences the ways in which people (1) gather, integrate, and interpret social information, and (2) pursue, represent, and react to social interactions. His work has been featured in publications such as the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, Psychological Science, and American Psychologist. Dr. Molden has held fellowships from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the National Institute of Mental Health, and has received funding for his research from the National Science Foundation.

Table of Contents

I. What is "Social Priming"?1. Understanding priming effects in social psychology: What is “social priming” and how does it occur?, Daniel C. Molden2. On the other side of the mirror: Priming in cognitive and social psychology, Stéphane Doyen, Oliver Klein, Daniel Simons, & Axel Cleeremans3. Effects of evaluation: An example of robust "social" priming, Melissa J. Ferguson & Thomas C. Mann4. Priming is not priming is not priming, Dirk Wentura & Klaus Rothermund5. Structured vs. unstructured regulation: On procedural mindsets and the mechanisms of priming effects, Kentaro Fujita & Yaacov TropeII. When and How Social Priming Occurs6. Prime numbers: Anchoring and its implications for theories of behavior priming, Ben R. Newell & David R. Shanks7. Understanding prime-to-behavior effects: Insights from the active-self account, S. Christian Wheeler, Kenneth G. DeMarree, & Richard E. Petty8. Replicability and models of priming: What a resources computation framework can tell us about expectations of replicability, Joseph Cesario & Kai J. Jonas9. Situated inference and the what, who, and where of priming, Chris Loersch & B. Keith Payne10. Priming: Constraint satisfaction and interactive competition, Tobias Schröder & Paul ThagardIII. Considering New Sources of Social Primes11. Grounding social embodiment, Daniël Lakens12. Priming from others' observed or simulated responses, Eliot R. Smith & Diane M. MackieIV. From the Past of Social Priming to Its Future13. Evaluating behavior priming research: Three observations and a recommendation, Ap Dijksterhuis, Ad van Knippeberg, & Rob W. Holland14. The historical origins of priming as the preparation of behavioral responses: Unconscious carry-over and contextual influences of real-world importance, John A. Bargh15. Priming . . . Shmiming: It's about knowing when and why stimulated memory representations become active, E. Tory Higgins & Baruch Eitam16. Understanding priming effects in social psychology: An overview and integration, Daniel C. Molden

Interviews

Social psychologists. May be used as a supplement in courses on social psychology.

Editorial Reviews

Molden has brought together the most comprehensive overview of social psychological research on priming. The chapters in this volume illuminate the history and intellectual roots of priming research, current controversies about the nature and replicability of priming effects, and the significance of theory in identifying their boundary conditions. It is a ‘must-read’ resource for everyone who wants to understand the range and the limits of priming effects on social behavior.”—Bertram Gawronski, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin

“Priming has long been a central concept in both cognitive and social psychology, yet only recently has the concept taken on different meanings with various uses. Numerous questions and issues have been debated in the literature, challenging what we thought we once knew. Molden has assembled first-rate scholars, including both advocates and skeptics in recent debates about priming, to  provide balanced commentaries on a range of essential issues. This valuable volume highlights the landmarks, boundaries, and intersections encountered in charting the domain of this complex, but important and fascinating, area of inquiry.”—David L. Hamilton, PhD, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara

"In this timely volume from eminent psychological scientists, social priming is demonstrated to be a pervasive phenomenon that goes far beyond semantic mechanisms. The authors convincingly show that demands to place social priming on probation are based on deep ignorance about its central role in shaping human behavior."—Fritz Strack, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Würzburg, Germany
 

From the Publisher