In studies of priming (i.e., the influence of the presentation of an """"""""irrelevant"""""""" stimulus on judgments of a target stimulus) assimilation effects are typical wherein the judgment is influenced in the direction of the prime. There are striking exceptions where the judgments are contrasted from the prime. These effects have been well documented in conscious, deliberate judgments, but there is now evidence for contrast priming in unconscious, automatic responses. Such effects suggest that people unconsciously perceive and automatically compensate for the effects of biasing information. The proposed program of research will explore likely moderators of the effect (e.g., prime extremity, time course of stimulus presentation), and test a model positing that attempts to compensate for biased response tendencies lead to a series of reverberating overcompensations that can, in turn, yield contrast effects in judgments. The generality of the effects will also be explored by manipulating the type of task and dimension of judgment. Finally, the underlying basis and function of the phenomenon will be investigated, testing the role of people's motivation to respond accurately. This latter phase of the research promises to address the disputed existence of unconscious motivation, thereby making a theoretical contribution to psychology's understanding of the unconscious.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Postdoctoral Individual National Research Service Award (F32)
Project #
1F32MH012195-01A1
Application #
2773631
Study Section
Social and Group Processes Review Committee (SGP)
Program Officer
Goldschmidts, Walter L
Project Start
1999-06-30
Project End
Budget Start
1999-01-01
Budget End
1999-12-31
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
1999
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of California Berkeley
Department
Miscellaneous
Type
Organized Research Units
DUNS #
094878337
City
Berkeley
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
94704
Jost, John T; Glaser, Jack; Kruglanski, Arie W et al. (2003) Political conservatism as motivated social cognition. Psychol Bull 129:339-75
Glaser, J; Banaji, M R (1999) When fair is foul and foul is fair: reverse priming in automatic evaluation. J Pers Soc Psychol 77:669-87