Introduction
Imagine smelling the aroma of freshly baked bread as you enter the supermarket; you are now a lot more likely to come out with a loaf of bread in your basket. This is a well-known example of the priming effect. In this article, we explore how the priming effect works and why it is so powerful. We share practical tips on how you can apply these insights to improve your own marketing campaigns.
What is the priming effect?
The priming effect occurs when exposure to a particular stimulus (the prime) influences the response to a later stimulus, without knowing that there is a connection between them (Lashley, 1951).
So our behavior and ideas are determined not iran country code only by conscious decisions, but also by unconscious stimuli. Often this stimulus is an everyday word or related to a particular image. Unconsciously, the priming effect can greatly influence our behavior, actions and decision-making. Thus, what we see, read or hear, the information we are exposed to, can unconsciously move us in a certain direction (Chartrand & Bargh, 1996). In the future, we are more likely to respond to related information when a stimulus has already occurred.
How does the priming effect occur?
Certain associations are triggered in your memory by the priming effect before any action or thought occurs. This is because the stimulus activates an associative network in our brain that is linked to previous experiences. Priming works subconsciously. We are also familiar with nudging, but that actually works consciously and deliberately encourages consumers.