Priming is the effect of random things on our perception of everything else.
If we watch a movie where somebody is acting brave, you will see other people as more brave than if you had not seen that movie.
It is similar to framing, whereby politicians refer to tax cuts vs tax releif. Call them tax releif and you presume somebody is against “releiving” taxes.
This example was astonishing because the test involved handing somebody a cold or warm drink before interviewing somebody & asking them questions such as whether they trust them, would hire them, etc.
So, on the way up to the interviewing room, the examiner asks the volunteer to hold his drink. If it is warm, the volunteers all rate the interviewee higher. They would have him lead a company, they trust him, etc.
Given the cold drink in the elevator, they all rate him poorly. The interviewee doesn’t fit as a leader, they don’t trust him, etc.
Amazing? Makes sense, but I’d like to carry out this experiment myself one day because it seems utterly too powerful.
Entering a warm store in the cold weather is certainly an amazing feeling, and that cozy feeling is unmistakably powerful, but does touching a drink have that much of an effect? It just might.
Yuji Tomita 