Long-Term Effects of Subliminal Priming on Academic Performance

27 Pages Posted: 17 Oct 2006

See all articles by Brian S. Lowery

Brian S. Lowery

Stanford Graduate School of Business

Naomi I. Eisenberger

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

Curtis D. Hardin

CUNY Brooklyn College

Stacey Sinclair

University of Virginia

Date Written: September 2006

Abstract

This research examines the temporal range of subliminal priming effects on complex behavior. In Experiments 1 and 2, participants were subliminally primed with words either related or unrelated to intelligence before completing a practice exam, administered 1 to 4 days before an actual course midterm. Results revealed that the intelligence primes increased performance on the midterm compared to neutral primes. Experiment 1 demonstrated that being told that the priming task was designed to help exam performance moderated the effect of the intelligence primes. In Experiment 2, practice test performance mediated the effect of the primes on midterm performance. These experiments demonstrated that subliminal priming may have long-term effects on real-world behavior, and demonstrates one means by which long-term priming effects may occur.

Keywords: motivation, power and influence

JEL Classification: I20

Suggested Citation

Lowery, Brian S. and Eisenberger, Naomi I. and Hardin, Curtis D. and Sinclair, Stacey, Long-Term Effects of Subliminal Priming on Academic Performance (September 2006). Stanford GSB Research Paper No. 1946, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=937950 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.937950

Brian S. Lowery (Contact Author)

Stanford Graduate School of Business ( email )

655 Knight Way
Stanford, CA 94305-5015
United States

Naomi I. Eisenberger

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) ( email )

405 Hilgard Avenue
Box 951361
Los Angeles, CA 90095
United States

Curtis D. Hardin

CUNY Brooklyn College ( email )

2900 Bedford Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11210
United States

Stacey Sinclair

University of Virginia ( email )

1400 University Ave
Charlottesville, VA 22903
United States

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