The Psychology of Priming … and Communication Design
You may not have heard much about the concept of Priming in relation to your business, but it is definitely worth considering.
Priming is a general psychological technique that can be used to improve both communication effectiveness and processing times, in almost any area of communication. But the world of communication design – especially UX and website design uses the science of priming regularly.
We are not psychologists, so please don’t read this article as such. This piece is merely intended to give some insight as to how priming can be used in relation to design and communication. We are interested parties who try to use every possible technique to improve the effectiveness of the design work we create for our clients, and we try to use those techniques appropriately and ethically.
What is Priming?
Essentially priming is the influence of a stimulus on how we process and respond to related stimuli. How a previous experiences, or information received in a particular context, can affect us and how we process related information to make decisions.
In the simplest terms Priming is one thing affecting the perception of something related to that first item.
In general psychology terms, the phenomena of Priming is when exposure to certain stimuli influences the individuals behaviour or perception.
It’s a bit like leading people (mentally) with a trail of breadcrumbs to a certain (desired) outcome. With the right priming (or stimuli / prompts, if you prefer) someone can be influenced to take greater notice of, or give greater weight to, certain information. Ascribing greater weight to certain attributes of a product or service in their mind could therefore sway their decision making.
For example: My wife is an ultra-runner. She buys a lot of running shoes. Some are designed for the track, some are trail shoes, some are road shoes. When visiting a website to look for a new pair of shoes, if she were presented with page banners, articles, pop-up testimonials or other information that highlighted the specific weight of the shoe as being a primary consideration for long-distance runners – then my wife could be primed to consider weight as being more important to her purchase decision than she had previously thought. Which could result in her purchasing a shoe she might otherwise not have considered at all. Her intent could be skewed by the fact that her brain has been primed in a particular way.
It’s the basis of the classic kids set-up riddle. Say silk three times … Silk, Silk, Silk. Now, what do cows drink?…
The Psychology of Priming
Priming has been widely studied by psychologists*. The results of which have provided many insights into how our memories, attention, and perceptions are influenced both by the context and by previous experience/s.
Priming techniques have been applied to great effect in various areas of human behaviour and psychology, including perception, memory, decision-making, and social behaviour. (Indeed behaviour outside of the primed norm can be deemed as shocking or even rude).
By understanding the principles of priming, we can improve how we communicate, and ensure we are not being manipulated or manipulating. Designers familiar with how priming works can use it create more effective and persuasive work.
How does Priming Work?
Priming works by altering the activation levels of certain elements in the brain by ‘alerting’ them to particular stimuli.
When a person is primed, their attention is drawn towards information that is most relevant to the prime, like a magnet, and it has been proven that the individual is therefore more likely to process such information in greater depth and at greater speed, too.
Some people have likened it to ploughing a field in preparation to the seed being sown. I could argue that it is more akin to not only ploughing the field, but also adding specific fertilisers to prepare the soil to enhance and aid the growth of the particular crop intended for that field.
Some simple examples:
If I asked you to fill the missing letter and presented you with the following, SO_P, there are only a few possible options you might suggest.
But if in the lead-up to asking you to fill in the missing letter I had presented you with images of someone taking a shower, and a towel … then you would most likely respond with SOAP.
However, if I had presented you with an image of a kitchen scene with a chunk of bread sat next to a bowl, you would be more likely to respond SOUP.
The prime has created context which directs you to the required response.
If I showed you a yellow piece of paper which had the request “name a fruit” written on it, you would be primed to think of a yellow fruit and are more likely to answer “banana” or possibly “lemon” than to suggest the perfectly reasonable answer of Strawberry or Kiwi.
If I added a picture of a minion from the “Despicable Me” films (assuming you had you seen the films) you would be primed to respond “banana”.
But it works across all our senses. Why do Estate Agents often tell people to have fresh flowers in the house – or even to have the aroma of freshly baked bread filling the house when people come to view. They help activate associations in our minds that the house is ‘homely’, warm, welcoming.
Types of Priming
There are technically different types of priming:
- Semantic priming – the influence of prior exposure to a word on the processing of subsequent words. For example, when a person is primed with the word “bird,” they are more likely to respond more quickly to related words such as “egg”, “branch” or “feather.”
- Conceptual Priming – the influence of prior exposure to a concept on the processing of subsequent concepts. For example, when a person is primed with the concept of “fitness,” they are more likely to respond to related concepts such as “exercise” or “nutrition.”
- Perceptual priming – the influence of prior exposure to a visual stimulus on the processing of subsequent stimuli. When a person is primed with an image of a “green apple”, they are more likely to respond more quickly to related images such as an “apple pie” or even a “green car”.
- Response priming – refers to the influence of prior exposure to a response on the processing of subsequent responses. For example, when a person is primed with the response “yes,” they are more likely to respond more quickly to subsequent questions with “yes.”
The Process of Priming
Priming works by helping to direct someone towards and to access ideas and concepts in their brain – which in priming terms psychologists call “representations”.
Mental representations refer to “patterns of neural activity that encode abstract concepts or representational ‘copies’ of sensory information from the outside world”.
Attention and Priming
Priming may direct a person’s attention toward the “representation” that is most relevant. If a person is primed with the idea of “well-being,” their attention can be favourably directed towards related concepts such as “exercise”, “nutrition” or “meditation”.
The Role of Memory in Priming
Priming influences the activation levels of certain ideas in the brain – so making it easier for that person to access them from their memory. Which is why priming can improve recollection and memory performance.
The Timeframe of Priming
Priming can occur in a very short time frame, of milliseconds or it can persist for longer periods. The duration of the effects of priming may depends on the type of prime, the nature of the task, and an individual’s prior experiences.
The Strength of Priming
The strength of priming effects can vary depending on factors such as the repetition of the prime, the similarity between the prime and the target, and the individual’s prior experiences with the prime.
Speed and Accuracy of Processing
Priming can affect the speed and accuracy of processing by directing or heightening a person’s attention toward the information that is most relevant to that prime. This can result in faster and more accurate responses.
Priming can improve memory performance by increasing the activation levels, making it easier for a person to access the desired ‘representation’ from their memory.
Behavioural Effects
Priming can also have behavioural effects, such as influencing a person’s attitudes, emotions, and decision-making. For example, if a person is primed with the concept of “health,” they may be more likely to make healthier decisions and engage in health-promoting behaviours. Perhaps they have positive mental associations with a period of their life when they were most healthy. Possibly they played group sports and so have an emotional response triggered to the memories of comradery, fun and connection that sport and health had for them at that time.
Contextual Effects
Priming can have contextual effects – meaning that the effects of priming can vary depending on the context and the individual’s prior experiences. If a person is primed with the concept of “health” in a medical setting, they may respond differently than if they were primed with the same concept in a gym or sports club setting .
This all means that, like all psychological techniques, priming could be used maliciously to manipulate people.
Priming in Design
Using Priming to Influence User Behaviour
Designers can use priming to influence user behaviour by creating design elements that prime users toward certain actions or decisions.
At a very simply level, placing a “Buy now” button prominently on a website can prime users towards making a purchase decision.
More subtly if the messaging around a product suggests limited availability or scarcity then people may bye more readily because they fear missing out altogether.
How can we be ethical in our use of primes in our design work.
Creating Effective Primes in Design
Effective primes in design should be relevant, noticeable, and consistent with the user’s goals and values. The primes should also be easy to process and should not distract the user from the main task at hand.
Priming and Speed of Processing
Imagine again my wife visiting a website that sells sports equipment. The website has a section that showcases the latest running shoes. The images of the running shoes are displayed in a way that primes the user to focus on speed, with words such as “fast” and “lightweight” appearing near the images. As a result, she could be primed to focus on the speed and agility associated with the shoes, making it easier for her to process and evaluate the information related to these aspects.
Priming and Memory Performance
Now consider a scenario where a user visits a website that sells home furnishings. The website’s dominant colour is green. If the website features a section on eco-friendly products, the user can be primed to pay more attention to the green/eco messaging.
Priming and Behavioral Effects
Suppose a user visits a website that sells books. This website has a section that features books about relaxation, mindfulness and meditation. The images and texts in this section are designed to prime the user with a peaceful and calm atmosphere, featuring pastoral images of nature and calming, muted colours. As a result, the user may be primed to feel more relaxed and calm – and may be more likely to make a purchase related to mindfulness and meditation as a result.
Priming and Contextual Effects
Imagine our user visiting a food shop with a section that features healthy food options. The images and texts in this section of the shop are designed to prime the user with the concept of health, with fresh fruits and vegetables depicted on the signage and words such as “nutritious” and “delicious” featured on the packaging. These in-store primes will likley build on other primes that shoppers have seen.
However, it’s also worth remembering that the user’s prior experiences and current context can both influence the effectiveness of this prime.
For example, if our shopper were in a rush when they entered the store and is looking for a quick snack, then they will likely be less influenced by the prime toward healthy food options and more likely to respond to messaging of speed. Even more so if whilst walking to the store they saw a poster advertising a chocolate bar.
Ethical Implications of Priming
Consider a scenario where a user visits a website that sells financial products. The website has a section that features high-risk investment options.
The images and texts in this section are designed to prime the user with a sense of excitement and adventure, featuring images of fast cars, speedboats and extreme sports.
While this prime may be effective in influencing the user towards risk-taking and making a purchase that they might otherwise not make, it raises ethical concerns as it may lead the user to make a decision that is not in their best interest long-term.
Summing Up
Priming refers to the phenomenon in psychology where exposure to a stimulus influences a person’s subsequent behaviours and perceptions.
Priming has been widely studied and has been shown to affect various aspects of our processing abilities including: memory, perception, decision-making, and behaviour.
Priming can be used to create more effective design and communications materials, and is widely used in the worlds of UX and Website design specifically – but it should always be used ethically and without manipulating the public.
- It’s worth noting that some psychologists have questioned the robustness of some of the studies into Priming.
