priming


 * Definition**

According to the //Oxford English Dictionary//, priming, in cognitive psychology, refers to “the induction of an unconscious form of memory through an encounter with a particular stimulus, which acts to influence the performance of an apparently unrelated task” (Priming, 2007). From the 1980s, the term has been used in relation to the media (Scheufele & Tewksbury, 2007). In media effects study, priming refers to “the effects of the content of the media on people’s later behavior or judgment related to the content that was processed” (Rokos-Ewoldsen, Rokos-Ewoldsen, & Carpenter, 2009, p. 75). Although all media effects can be seen as priming effects within this definition, it should be noted that priming effects endure for a relatively short time (e.g., Farrar & Krcmar, 2006; Josephson, 1987; Rokos-Ewoldsen et al., 2009).


 * Priming, Framing, and Agenda setting**

Priming is different from agenda setting or framing. Agenda setting means media’s emphasis on certain issues makes audience attach importantance on the issues (McCombs & Shaw, 1972). Agenda setting and priming are related to each other in that mass media affect people’s judgment (priming) by making some issues salient than others (agenda setting), and both model are based on media’s ability to increase accessibility (Scheufele & Tewksbury, 2007). On the other hand, framing refers to how news media characterize an issue influences audiences’ perception of the issue (Scheufele & Tewksbury, 2007; Tewksbury & Scheufele; 2009).


 * Characteristics of Priming**

Previous research has identified two important characteristics of priming (Rokos-Ewoldsen et al., 2009). First, the more intense and recent a prime is, the stronger its effect is. The intensity of a prime refers to either its frequency or its duration (Higgins, Bargh, & Lombardi, 1985). Thus, a frequent or longer prime has a stronger effect. Second, priming effects fade with time, within 15 to 20 minutes in many studies (Rokos-Ewoldsen et al., 2009).

Cognitive psychology explains the priming effect with the network model of memory, which suggests that our knowledge is stored in the form of nodes in memory and, when receiving stimulus, the nodes activate related nodes. In this way, media content can increase accessibility of related constructs (Rokos-Ewoldsen et al., 2009). However, previous studies on media priming have mainly investigated violence, political, and stereotype priming, and each area explains its cognitive process differently from others (Rokos-Ewoldsen et al., 2009).


 * Violence Priming**

With regard to violence priming, Josephson (1987) found that boys with high aggression were primed by violent television viewing and thus acted violently in subsequent sports activity. Recent studies on video games have reported that violence in video games primes aggression (Anderson, 2004; Anderson & Dill, 2000; Anderson & Murphy, 2003; Carnagey & Anderson, 2005; Uhlmann & Swanson, 2004).

The cognitive process of violence priming is explained by the general affective aggression model (GAAM; Anderson, 1997). According to GAAM, situational variables, such as frustration or violence in the media, prime aggressive cognition and affect, and these increase arousal. Primed cognition, affect, and increased arousal, in turn, influence a person’s attitude and behavior.


 * Political Priming**

Research on political priming has explored the impact of media coverage on the judgments of politicians and found that media can prime certain issues and thereby influence the criteria that people use to evaluate politicians (Iyengar & Kinder, 1987). The political priming effect has been found in evaluations of presidential performance (Krosnick & Kinder, 1990) and electoral voting intentions (Sheafer & Weimann, 2005). Also, not only news media but also movies (Holbert & Hansen, 2006), crime dramas (Holbrook & Hill, 2005), and talk shows (Moy, Xenos, & Hess, 2006) can influence people’s political evaluations. Price and Tewksbury (1997) explained political priming based on network models of memory. That is, they suggested that media coverage can activate certain constructs, and if the constructs are judged to apply to the current situation – applicability – they influence people’s political judgments.

**Stereotype Priming**

Research has shown that media can prime both gender (e.g., Hansen & Hansen, 1988) and racial (e.g., Oliver, Ramasubramanian, & Kim, 2007) stereotypes. Moreover, stereotype priming influences not only perceptions of stereotyped people, but also political judgments related to the stereotyped group. For example, the news media’s representations of African Americans have an impact on people’s attitude toward political issues, for example, support for the death penalty (Dixon, 2006; Oliver et al., 2007). However, to date, no model has been established to explain the cognitive process of stereotype priming (Rokos-Ewoldsen et al., 2009).


 * The Mental Model**

As stated, only two models – GAMM and Price and Tewksbury’s network model of political priming – explain the cognitive process of priming. Also, no model has theorized stereotype priming. In response to the need for a larger framework, Rokos-Ewoldsen et al. (2009) presented the mental model as an alternative framework for understanding media priming. They suggested that when exposed to media content, people construct a situation model that is set in a specific time and space (Wyer, 2004); they also construct a mental model, a dynamic mental representation of a situation (Johnson-Laird, 1983). A mental model is a more abstract representation of related concepts than a situation model (Rokos-Ewoldsen et al., 2009). People use mental models to understand and judge later events (Wyer & Radvansky, 1999).

Wrtten by Jiyoung Chae (August, 2012). include component="comments" page="page:priming" limit="10"


 * References**

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Anderson, C. A. (2004). An update on the effects of playing violent video games. //Journal of Adolescence, 27// (1), 113-122.

Anderson, C. A., & Dill, K. E. (2000). Video games and aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behavior in the laboratory and in life. //Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78//(4), 772-790.

Anderson, C. A., Murphy, C. R. (2003). Violent video games and aggressive behavior in young women. //Aggressive Behavior, 29// (5), 423–429.

Carnagey, N. L., & Anderson, C. A. (2005). The effects of reward and punishment in violent video games on aggressive affect, cognition, and behavior. //Psychological Science, 16//(11). 882-889.

Dixon, T. L. (2006). Psychological reactions to crime news portrayals of black criminals: Understanding the moderating roles of prior news viewing and stereotype endorsement. //Communication Monographs, 73//(2), 62-187

Farrar, K., & Krcmar, M. (2006). Measuring state and trait aggression: A short, cautionary tale. //Media Psychology, 8//(2), 127-138.

Hansen, C. H. & Hansen, R. D. (1988). How rock music videos can change what is seen when boy meets girl: Priming stereotypic appraisal of social interactions. //Sex Roles, 19//(5), 287-316.

Higgins, E. T., Bargh, J. A., & Lombardi, W. J. (1985). Nature of priming effects on categorization. //Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 11//(1), 59-69.

Holbert, R. L., &Hansen, G. J. (2006). Fahrenheit 9-11, need for closure and the priming of affective ambivalence: An assessment of intra-affective structures by party identification. //Human Communication Research, 32//(2), 109–129.

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Iyengar, S., & Kinder, D. R. (1987). //News that matters//. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

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Price, V., & Tewksbury, D. (1997). News values and public opinion: A theoretical account of media priming and framing. In G. A. Barnett & F. J. Boster (Eds.), //Progress in communication sciences: Advances in persuasion// (vol. 13, pp. 173–212). Greenwich, CT: Ablex

Priming (2007). In //Oxford English Dictionary//. Retrieved July 19 from [|http://www.oed.com.proxy2.library.illinois.edu/view/Entry/151339?rskey=SYDSBq&result=1#eid]

Rokos-Ewoldsen, D. R., Rokos-Ewoldsen, B., & Carpenter, F. D. (2009). Media priming: an updated analysis. In J. Bryant, & M. B. Oliver (Eds.), //Media effects: Advances in theory and research// (pp. 74-93). New York, NY: Routledge.

Sheafer, T. & Weimann, G. (2005). Agenda building, agenda setting, priming, individual voting intentions, and the aggregate results: An analysis of four Israeli elections. //Journal of Communication, 55//(2), 347–365.

Scheufele, D. A., & Tewksbury, D. (2007), Framing, agenda setting, and priming: The evolution of three media effects models. //Journal of Communication, 57//(1), 9–20.

Tewksbury, D., & Scheufele, D. A. (2009). New framing theory and research. In J. Bryant, & M. B. Oliver (Eds.), //Media effects: Advances in theory and research// (pp. 17-33). New York, NY: Routledge.

Uhlmann, E., & Swanson, J. (2004). Exposure to violent video games increases automatic aggressiveness, //Journal of Adolescence, 27// (1), 41-52.

Wyer, R. S., Jr., & Radvansky, G. A. (1999). The comprehension and validation of social information. //Psychological Review, 106//(1), 89-118.

Wyer, R. S., Jr. (2004). //Social comprehension and judgment: The role of situation models, narratives, and implicit theories//. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.