Can Facilitation Imagery Alter the Effects of Semantic Priming?

Abstract

This study examined if task motivational imagery suggestions could facilitate a semantic priming effect, relative to general relaxation suggestions and no specific suggestions; and if the participants’ hypnotizablity moderated the effects of the three types of instructions. Participants (n = 127) were assigned randomly in groups to one of the three instructional conditions (imagery, relaxation, or control) and two versions of a stimulus list for counterbalancing. A 3-way analysis of variance suggested that the semantic priming effect was found to be stronger for stimulus list version 2 than for version 1. A stronger semantic priming effect was found for the high, relative to the low and medium, hypnotizable groups. When medium hypnotizable participants were excluded, an instructional group X hypnotizability group interaction was found for list 1 suggesting that while the low hypnotizable participants benefited more from the relaxation suggestion, the high hypnotizables benefited more from the imagery instruction. The results suggest that imagery instructions may moderate automatic processes for highly hypnotizable individuals.