Understanding Priming Effects in Social Psychology: An Overview and Integration

Abstract

Although much debate has recently focused on the robustness of certain types of priming effects in social psychology, few attempts have been made to examine the full breadth of this literature and consider what is known about priming and what is still left to learn. The goal of this special issue of Social Cognition was to provide such consideration. This final article of the special issue provides a brief overview and integration of the insights provided in each of the other articles included, focusing primarily on revelations about (a) the greater need for clarity and precision in conceptualizing and communicating about priming effects, (b) the issues concerning expectations of replication and when priming effects should occur, and (c) the new insights about the psychological processes by which primes activate stored representations and by which these activated representations are applied to judgment and behavior.