Efficacy of Priming: Evidence from Expert Performance

Abstract

The vast majority of studies performed on the priming of attitudes, dispositions, and behavior engaged non-selective group of students as participants. This study engaged highly skilled experts as well as student cohorts. In a series of 3 experiments, professional chess players as well as non-selected groups of students were primed for risk-taking behavior. The priming manipulations included words (Experiments 1-2) and pictures (Experiment 3). The results showed that priming was roughly effective to the same extent with experts and non-experts. We conclude that experts are not immune of the influence of priming—their high motivation and domain-specific performance notwithstanding.