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When do primes prime? The moderating role of the self-concept in individuals’ susceptibility to priming effects on social behavior

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Abstract

Using cooperative behavior in economic decision-making settings, we predicted and found that people’s susceptibility to priming influences is moderated by two factors: people’s chronic accessibility to a behavioral repertoire and people’s self-concept activation. In Experiment 1, we show that individuals highly consistent in their social value orientation (SVO) assimilate their behavior to their dispositions rather than to the primes, whereas the opposite effect is obtained among individuals with a low consistent SVO. In Experiment 2, we show that low consistent SVO individuals become less susceptible to priming influences when their self-concept is activated. These studies shed new light on individuals’ susceptibility to priming influences on social behavior.

Section snippets

When do primes prime?

It is well documented that exposure to trait and stereotype primes can affect social behavior. In a seminal paper by Bargh, Chen, and Burrows (1996), participants primed with rudeness interrupted a conversation faster than participants primed with politeness. In another experiment, participants exposed to elderly stereotype-related words walked down a hallway more slowly than did control participants. These effects have been widely replicated across many behavioral domains, such as helping

The present research

In two experiments, we gathered evidence for the role of the two proposed factors. We primed participants with religious, business, and neutral words, and examined the effects on decisions in economic decision-making situations. Religious and business concepts have been found to be associated with cooperation and competition, respectively (De Dreu, Yzerbyt, & Leyens, 1995). In addition to primes, we examined the influence of a disposition, part of individuals’ self-concept, that is known as

Experiment 1

Participants played a dictator game (Bohnet & Frey, 1999). They allocated outcomes between themselves and another person who had no money to allocate and no power in terms of either accepting or rejecting the “dictator’s” offer. Participants’ SVO and consistency of SVO were measured with the Ring Measure. After a long filler task, participants were randomly assigned to three priming conditions: neutral, religious, and business primes.

Based on our hypothesis that individuals with highly

Experiment 2

Experiment 2 aimed at providing evidence that there are circumstances where low consistent SVO individuals can resist priming influences. By activating the self-concept, low consistent individuals’ chronic self-concept content may become more accessible and overcome priming influences. Research in social cognition suggests that one-way to reduce priming effects on behavior and make one’s goals and dispositions more accessible is by temporarily activating the self-concept. Temporarily activating

General discussion

This research examined two boundary conditions of priming influences on behavior. A first, and important, boundary condition for priming effects is the chronic accessibility of behavioral responses. We predicted and found in Experiment 1 that high consistent SVO individuals were impervious to primed religious and business constructs in contrast to low consistent SVO individuals. In addition, we found that only the behavior of high consistent SVO was directed by their own SVO, whereas the

Conclusion

In two studies, we examined individuals’ susceptibility to priming influences. We found evidence for two factors that can determine whether individuals’ behavior is determined by priming influences or by the own self-concept: (a) the chronic accessibility of the self-concept, and (b) the momentary activation of the self-concept. The present work on the role of the self-concept in resisting or facilitating priming influences sheds new light on the complex and dynamic nature of situation × 

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