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Cited by 674Social and Intergroup PsychologyPsychology of Social InfluenceDeath Anxiety and Social Exclusion

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 27 of the 28 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Behavioral Priming: It’s all in the Mind, but whose Mind?

Open access
Doyen, Stéphane, Klein, Olivier, Pichon, Cora-Lise, Cleeremans, Axel·2012·PLoS ONE
DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0029081PMC PMC3261136
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Abstract

The perspective that behavior is often driven by unconscious determinants has become widespread in social psychology. Bargh, Chen, and Burrows' (1996) famous study, in which participants unwittingly exposed to the stereotype of age walked slower when exiting the laboratory, was instrumental in defining this perspective. Here, we present two experiments aimed at replicating the original study. Despite the use of automated timing methods and a larger sample, our first experiment failed to show priming. Our second experiment was aimed at manipulating the beliefs of the experimenters: Half were led to think that participants would walk slower when primed congruently, and the other half was led to expect the opposite. Strikingly, we obtained a walking speed effect, but only when experimenters believed participants would indeed walk slower. This suggests that both priming and experimenters' expectations are instrumental in explaining the walking speed effect. Further, debriefing was suggestive of awareness of the primes. We conclude that unconscious behavioral priming is real, while real, involves mechanisms different from those typically assumed to cause the effect.

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Figure 1 Subjective timings. Mean time in seconds to walk down the hallway measured manually by the experimenter. The error bars represent the standard error of the mean.
Figure 1 Subjective timings. Mean time in seconds to walk down the hallway measured manually by the experimenter. The error bars represent the standard error of the mean.CC BY · PubMed Central
Figure 2 Objective timings. Mean time in seconds to walk down the hallway measured by the infrared sensors. The error bars represent the standard error of the mean.
Figure 2 Objective timings. Mean time in seconds to walk down the hallway measured by the infrared sensors. The error bars represent the standard error of the mean.CC BY · PubMed Central
Figure 3 Error level. Absolute difference in seconds between the subjective and the objective timings. The error bars represent the standard error of the mean.
Figure 3 Error level. Absolute difference in seconds between the subjective and the objective timings. The error bars represent the standard error of the mean.CC BY · PubMed Central

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Metadata

Authors
Doyen, S., Klein, O., Pichon, C.-L., & Cleeremans, A.
Affiliations
Université Libre de Bruxelles (BE)
Corresponding author
Doyen, Stéphane
ORCID
Venue
PLoS ONE
Publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Published
2012-01-18
Volume
7
Issue
1
Pages
e29081
ISSN
1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0029081
PMC
PMC3261136
OpenAlex
W2047874726
Cited by
670
References
28
Citations by year
2026: 32 · 2025: 45 · 2024: 32 · 2023: 64 · 2022: 40 · 2021: 48 · 2020: 49 · 2019: 51 · 2018: 50 · 2017: 43 · 2016: 44 · 2015: 60 · 2014: 56 · 2013: 43 · 2012: 10
FWCI
179.33
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Dépôt institutionnel de l'Université libre de Bruxelles (Université Libre de Bruxelles) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychology of Social Influence
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion
Keywords
behavioral priming, unconscious priming, replication failure, walking speed, age stereotypes, expectancy effects, debriefing
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Awareness, Behavior, Humans, Psychology, Social, Psychomotor Performance, Unconscious, Psychology, Word Association Tests, Walking, Young Adult

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