On the longevity of stimulus-response and non-specific priming

Abstract

The main purpose of this investigation was to examine the longevity (short-term vs long-term) of S-R priming and to determine whether longevity is influenced by S-R priming degree, the latter being indexed by prediction outcome (PO) size. To achieve this aim, two factors, Prediction Probability (0.25, 0.50, and 0.75) and Forperiod Duration (0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 4.0 and 8.0 sec),were manipulated. The results obtained revealed that PO size (i.e., S-R priming intensity) increased directly with an elevation in prediction probability magnitude, yet remained invariant as foreperiod durations lengthened. S-R priming is clearly long-term, irrespective of its intensity level. Additional data indicated that (a) Non-Specific priming can be instituted but that it is short-term, (b) RT magnitude following incorrect predictions can be altered by the level of compatibility existing between the predicted and required outputs, (c) the Substitution Hypothesis, as described by Acosta and Hinrichs (1979), was not supported and, finally, (d) the influence that S-R priming has on S-R processing is not altered by the degree of Non-Specific priming in effect.