Document Type
Poster Presentation
Start Date
20-4-2017 10:00 AM
End Date
20-4-2017 11:00 AM
Keywords
priming, psychology, scissors
Biography
My name is John Muncy. I am a psychology major here at Marshall University seeking to become a substance abuse counselor. I hope to do so because I come from a county that has been broken to pieces, largely due to drug addictions. I want to go back home and help them as much as I can in my profession. The reason I want to partake in this research is because I am interested in social psychological phenomena, and this instance that we are looking to study has always puzzled me.
Major
Psychology
Advisor for this project
Melissa Atkins
Abstract
Literature on priming suggests that memory consists of a large network of associations. Through everyday experiences, individuals form associations that later facilitate recall. For example, we often pair items that are commonly presented together such as “cat” and “dog” or “bread” and “butter.” If one of these items is presented, it is likely that we will recall the other. Thus, the first item “primes” the association with the second. Priming may impact behaviors, even without conscious awareness of its occurrence (Higgins, Rholes, & Jones, 1977). The purpose of this research is to examine the potential impact of priming on a simple game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. Specifically, we are interested in whether participants may be primed to respond with a specific answer.
Participants will include 40 individuals recruited within the Marshall University Psychology Department. To be eligible for this study, participants must be at least 18 years of age.
Participants will be randomly assigned to a control and experimental group. Control group participants will be asked if they would like to play a round of Rock, Paper, Scissors with the researcher, and they would play a standard round with the researcher. Experimental group participants would also be asked to play Rock, Paper, Scissors. However, before these participants play, they would be asked, “Before we begin, what color is your shirt?” We believe asking participants to think about their shirt color will prime them with fabric and the letter “S”, leading them to choose “scissors” during the game.
What Color is Your Shirt?: The Effects of Priming on Rock, Paper, Scissors
Literature on priming suggests that memory consists of a large network of associations. Through everyday experiences, individuals form associations that later facilitate recall. For example, we often pair items that are commonly presented together such as “cat” and “dog” or “bread” and “butter.” If one of these items is presented, it is likely that we will recall the other. Thus, the first item “primes” the association with the second. Priming may impact behaviors, even without conscious awareness of its occurrence (Higgins, Rholes, & Jones, 1977). The purpose of this research is to examine the potential impact of priming on a simple game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. Specifically, we are interested in whether participants may be primed to respond with a specific answer.
Participants will include 40 individuals recruited within the Marshall University Psychology Department. To be eligible for this study, participants must be at least 18 years of age.
Participants will be randomly assigned to a control and experimental group. Control group participants will be asked if they would like to play a round of Rock, Paper, Scissors with the researcher, and they would play a standard round with the researcher. Experimental group participants would also be asked to play Rock, Paper, Scissors. However, before these participants play, they would be asked, “Before we begin, what color is your shirt?” We believe asking participants to think about their shirt color will prime them with fabric and the letter “S”, leading them to choose “scissors” during the game.
