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8/12/2019 () Automaticity of Social Behavior
1/15
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Copyright 1996 by the American Psychological Association. Inc.
1996, Vol. 71, No. 2, 230-244 0022-3514/96/ 3.00
A u t o m a t i c i t y o f S o c i a l B e h a v io r D i r e c t E f f ec t s o f T r a it C o n s t r u c t
a n d S t e r e o t y p e A c t i v a t i o n o n A c t i o n
John A. Bargh Mark Chen and Lara Burrows
New York Universi ty
Previous research has shown that trait concepts and stereotypes become active automatically in the
presence of relevant behavior or stereotyped-group features. Through the use of the same priming
procedures as in previous impression formation research, Experiment l showed that participants
whose concept of rudeness was primed interrupted the experimenter more quickly and frequently
than did participants primed with polite-related stimuli. In Experiment 2, participants for whom an
elderly stereotype was primed walked more slowly down the hallway when leaving the experiment
than did control participants, consistent with the content of that stereotype. In Experiment 3, par-
ticipants for whom the African American stereotype was primed subliminally reacted with more
hostility to a vexatious request of the experimenter. Implications of this automatic behavior priming
effect for self-fulfilling rophecies are discussed, as is whether social behavior is necessarilymediated
by conscious choice processes.
For many years, social psychologists have studied the effects
of prim ing on the individual's subsequent impressions of oth-
ers. riming refers to the incidental activation of knowledge
structures, such as trait concepts and stereotypes, by the curre nt
situational context. Many studies have shown that the recent
use of a trait constr uct or stereotype, even in an earlier or unre-
lated situation, carries over for a time to exert an unintended,
passive influence on the interp retati on of behavior (see Bargh,
1994; Higgins, 1989; Wyer Srull , 1989, for reviews).
We argue here that such passive, autom atic effects of pri min g
need not be limited to social perception. Recent research has
shown that attitudes and other affective reac tions can be trig-
gered automatically by the mere presence of relevant objects
and events, so that evaluation and em otion join perception in
the realm of direct, un medi ated psychological effects of the en-
viro nme nt (see Bargh, 1994, i n press, for reviews). But assum-
ing that behavioral responses to si tuations are also represented
mentally, as are stereotypes and attitudes, they should also be
capable of becomi ng automati cally activated, by the same prin -
ciples that govern the development of automaticity of other
representations.
John A. Bargh, Mark Chen, and Lara Burrows, Department of Psy-
chology, New York University.
This research was supported in part by Grant SBR-9409448 from the
National Science Foundation to John A. Bargh and by a Max Planck
Society (Germany) Research Prize to John A. Bargh and Peter Goll-
witzer. The contributions of Elliott Rosenthal, Gayatri Taneja, and
Jayme Yocum to this research in their capacity as experimenters is
gratefully acknowledged. We also thank Peter Gollwitzer, John Skow-
ronski, Dan Wegner,and especiallyLeonard Berkowitz and Dan Gilbert
for their comments and suggestionsconcerning an earlier version of this
article.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to John
A. Bargh, Department of Psychology, New York University,6 Washing-
ton Place, Seventh Floor, New York, New York 10003. Electronic mail
may be sent via the Internet to bargh@psych.nyu.edu.
Automatici ty in Attitudes and Social Cogniti on
The extent to which one's own thought and behavior are or
are not under one's own intentional control is a fundam ental
existential question (see Posner Snyder, 1975; Ulem an
Bargh, 1989). Indeed, over the past two decades, researchers in
the area of attitudes and social cognition have documen ted that
many of the phen omena they study are uninte ntional or auto-
matic in nature (for reviews, see Bargh, 1994; Smith, 1994, in
press; Wegner Bargh, in press). Atti tudes are discovered to
become activated automatically on the mere presence of the at-
titude object, without conscious intention or awareness (i.e.,
preconsciously; see Bargh, 1989), to the n exert their infl uence
on thought and behavior (Bargh, Chaiken, Govender, Pratto,
1992; Bargh, Chaiken, Raym ond, Hymes, 1996; Fazio, San-
bonmat su, Powell, Kardes, 1986). The self-concept (Bargh,
1982; Bargh Tota, 1988; Higgins, 1987; Str aum an Higgins,
1987 ) is shown to become active automatic ally on the presence
of self-relevant stimuli to affect self-perception and emoti ons.
Stereotypes become active automaticall y on the mere presence
of physical features associated with the stereotyped group
(Brewer, 1988; Devine , 1989; Perdue Gurt ma n, 1990; Pratt o
Bargh, 1991 ), a nd categorizing behavior in terms of person-
ality trait s (e.g., Carls ton Skowronski, 1994; Win ter Ule-
man, 1984) and then making dispositional attributions about
the actor's personality (e.g., Gilbert, 1989; Gilbert, Pelham,
Krull, 1988) have both been shown to occur automati cally to
some extent.
This growing evidence ofaut omat icit y in social psychological
phenomena notwithstanding, it remains widely assumed that
behavioral responses to the social envi ronm ent are unde r con-
scious cont rol (see review in Bargh, 1989). These responses
might well be consciously chosen on the basis of automat ically
produced perceptions and feelings (especially when the individ-
ual was not aware of the potential for any such nonconscious
influence; see Herr, 1986, and Neuberg, 1988), but the ultima te
behavioral decisions themselves are believed to be m ade con-
230
8/12/2019 () Automaticity of Social Behavior
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U T O M T I C S O C I L B E H V I O R 2 3 1
s c i ousl y . De v i ne ( 198 9 ) , f o r e xa m pl e , a r gue d f o r a t wo- s t a ge
m o d e l o f p re j u d i c e i n w h i c h t h e p e r c e p t u a l p h a s e i s a u t o m a t i c
( i .e . , a c t i va t i on o f s t e r e o t ype s by t he t a r ge t pe r s o n ' s f e a t u r e s ) ,
w h e r e a s t h e s e c o n d p h a s e o f p r e j u d ic e d b e h a v i o r i s a m a t t e r o f
c o n s c i o u s c h o i c e , d r iv e n b y o n e ' s r e l e v a n t v a lu e s . F i sk e ( 1 9 8 9 )
a r g u e d t h a t a p e r s o n c o u l d m a k e t h e h a r d c h o i c e a n d o v er -
c ome s t e r e o t yp i c i n f l ue nc e s on be ha v i o r i f s u f f i c i e n t l y mo t i -
va t e d t o do s o .
I nde e d , t he t r a d i t i ona l r a t i ona l e f o r t he s t udy o f a t t i t ude s a nd
s oc i a l c ogn i t i on i s t he be l i e f ( e ve n f a i t h ) t ha t c ho i c e s o f s oc i a l
b e h a v i o r a r e b a s e d o n t h e o u t c o m e o f th e s e p r o c e s s e s - - t h u s , i t
i s s oc i a l be ha v i o r t ha t i s t he l ong - t e r m f o c us o f t h is r e s e a r c h
( i .e . , t h i nk i ng i s f o r do i ng ; F i s ke , 1992 ) . The h i s t o r i c pu r po s e
o f a t t i t ude r e s e a r c h ha s be e n t h a t a t t i t ude s p r e d i c t e d be ha v i o r ,
a nd e v i de nc e t o t he c on t r a r y ( e . g ., La P i e r e , 1934 ; Wi c ke r , 1969 )
w a s c a u s e f o r a l a r m , s i m i l a r t o t h e p u r p o s e o f p e rs o n a l it y r e -
s e a r c h ( e . g ., Mi s c he l , 1968 ) .
T h e i m p e t u s b e h i n d a u t o m a t i c i t y r e s e a r c h i s n o d i f f e r e n t .
R e s e a r c h i n t o t h e a u t o m a t i c i t y o f a t ti t u d e s w a s f ir s t c o n d u c t e d
b e c a u s e i t w a s h y p o t h e s i z e d t h a t a t t i tu d e s t h a t b e c a m e a c t iv e
a u t o m a t i c a l l y ( p r e c o n s c i o u s l y ) i n t h e p r e s e n c e o f th e a t t i t u d e
o b j e c t w o u l d b e m o r e l ik e l y t o i n f l u e n c e b e h a v i o r t o w a r d t h e
o b j e c t t h a n t h o s e t h a t d e p e n d e d o n i n t e n t i o n a l c o n s c i o u s r e -
t r ie va l o f t he a t t i t ude ( Fa z i o e t al ,, 1986 ) . Th e p r e s u mp t i on b e -
h i nd s t ud i e s o f a u t o ma t i c i n f l ue nc e s i n soc i a l pe r c e p t i on , s uc h
a s v i a p r i me d o r c h r on i c a l l y a c c e s s i b l e t r a i t c ons t r uc t s ( e . g . ,
B a r g h & P i e t r o m o n a c o , 1 9 8 2 ; B a r g h & T h e i n , 1 9 8 5 ) , w a s t h a t
s u c h p r e c o n s c i o u s i n f l u en c e s w o u l d p l a y a s t r o n g er t h a n u s u a l
r o l e i n s ubs e que n t be ha v i o r t owa r d t he t a r ge t pe r s on , a s t he pe r -
c e i ve r wo u l d n o t be a wa r e o f t he i n t e r p r e t i ve b i a s a nd s o c ou l d
no t c o r r e c t f o r i t ( Ba r gh , 1989 ) . I n a s i mi l a r f a sh i on , r e s e a r c h
i n t o t h e a u t o m a t i c i t y o f s t e re o t y p i n g h a s b e e n m o t i v a te d b y a
l a r ge r c onc e r n w i t h t he c on t r o l l a b i l i ty o f p r e j ud i c i a l be ha v i o r
( De v i ne , 1989 ; F i s ke , 1989 ) .
Foc us i n g t he r e s e a r c h s po t l i gh t on a t t i tude s a nd p e r c e p t i ons
a s me d i a t o r s o f be ha v i o r , i n t he p r e s e n t v ie w , ha s obs c u r e d t he
pos s i b i l i t y t ha t be ha v i o r ne e d no t a l wa ys be s o me d i a t e d . A l -
t h o u g h i t is q u i te r e a s o n a b l e t o a s s u m e t h a t a t t i tu d e s a n d s o c ia l
pe r c e p t u a l p r oc e s s e s e x i s t i n t he s e r v i c e o f gu i d i ng be ha v i o r , t h i s
d o e s n o t r e q u i r e t h e a s s u m p t i o n t h a t b e h a v i o r a l r es p o n s e s a l-
wa ys r e qu i r e s uc h s e r v ic e s .
T h e C a s e f o r A u t o m a t i c S o c ia l B e h a v i o r
We p r opos e t ha t s oc i a l be ha v i o r i s o f t e n t r i gge r e d a u t oma t i -
c a l l y on t he m e r e p r e s e n c e o f r e l e va n t s i t ua t i ona l f e a t u r e s ; t h i s
b e h a v i o r i s u n m e d i a t e d b y c o n s c i o u s p e r c e p tu a l o r j u d g m e n t a l
p r oc e s s e s . We t u r n ne x t t o a d i s c us s i on o f s e ve ra l l i ne s o f s up -
po r t , bo t h t he o r e t i c a l a n d e m p i r i c a l ,, f o r t h is hypo t he s i s .
Behaviora l Responses Can Be Assoc ia ted Wi th
S i tua t iona l Fea tures
S o c i a l - b e h a v i o r a l r e s p o n s e s a r e r e p r e s e n t e d m e n t a l l y j u s t a s
a r e t r a i t c onc e p t s a nd a t t i t ude s . Thus , t he y s hou l d be c a pa b l e
o f b e c o m i n g a c t i v a te d a u t o m a t i c a l l y o n t h e m e r e p r e s e n c e o f
r e l e v an t f e a t u r e s i n t h e e n v i r o n m e n t b y t h e s a m e p r i n c i p l e s t h a t
p r o d u c e a u t o m a t i c t r a i t c a te g o r i z a t io n a n d a u t o m a t i c a t t it u d e
act iva t ion .
Se ve r a l t he o r i s t s ha ve a r gue d t ha t be ha v i o r a l r e s pons e s a r e
a c t iv a t e d i m m e d i a t e l y b y t h e s i t u a t io n a l c o n t e x t. L e w i n ' s
( 1 9 4 3 ) n o t i o n o f t h e psychological situation c ons i de r e d i t t o
c o n s i s t o f th e t o t a l i t y o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l ' s i m m e d i a t e r e a c t i o n s t o
t he ob j e c t ive , e x t e r na l s i t ua ti on . M i s c he l ( 197 3 ) f u r t he r de ve l -
o p e d t h i s c o n c e p t a s p a r t o f h i s s o c i a l- c o g n i t i v e m o d e l o f p e r-
s ona l it y . He no t e d t ha t a n i nd i v i dua l c a n ha ve a l l s o r t s o f i m-
me d i a t e r e a c t i ons t o a pe r s on o r e ve n t , no t l i m i t e d t o c ogn i t i ve
o r p e r c e p t u a l o n e s b u t i n c l u d i n g ( a ) e x p e c t a n c i e s f o r w h a t w a s
go i ng t o ha ppe n ne x t i n t he s i t ua t ion ; ( b ) s ub j e c t ive e va l ua t i ons
o f w h a t w a s h a p p e n i n g ; ( c ) e m o t i o n a l r e a c t i o n s o n e h a s h a d i n
t h a t s i t u a t io n i n t h e p a s t; a n d , m o s t i m p o r t a n t t o t h e p r e s e n t
t he s i s , ( d ) t he be ha v i o r a l r e s pons e pa t t e r n s one ha s a va i l a b l e
wi t h i n t he s i t ua t i on ba s e d on one ' s pa s t e xpe r i e nc e ( s e e a l s o
Hi gg i n s , 1987 ) .
The r e i s no t he o r e t i c a l o r c onc e p t ua l r e a s on why t he e f f e c t s
o f p r e c o n s c i o u s , a u t o m a t i c a c t i v a t io n s h o u l d b e l i m i t e d t o p e r -
c e p t i o n a n d e v a l u at i o n . P r e c o n s c i o u s a c t i v a ti o n o f m e n t a l r e p -
r e s e n t a t i ons de ve l ops f r om t he i r f r e que n t a n d c ons i s t e n t a c t i va -
t i on i n t he p r e s e n c e o f a g i ven s t i mu l us e ve n t i n t he e nv i r on -
me n t ( Ba r gh , 1989 ; Sh i f f r in & Sc hne i de r , 1977 ) . Th i s i s t he
m e c h a n i s m b e h i n d t h e a u t o m a t i c i t y o f t r a it c o n s t r u c t a c t i v a-
t i on g i ve n t he me r e o bs e r va t i on o f t r a i t -r e l e va n t be ha v i o r , o f a t -
t i t ude s i n t he m e r e p r e s e nc e o f t he a t t i t ude ob j e c t , a nd o f s t e -
r e o t y p e s o n t h e m e r e p r e s e n c e o f a s t e r eo t y p e d g r o u p m e m b e r .
T o t h e e x t e n t t h a t a n i n d i v id u a l r e p e a t e d l y h a s t h e s a m e r e a c -
t i on t o a s oc i a l s t i mu l us e ve n t , t he r e p r e s e n t a t i on o f t ha t r e -
s p o n s e s h o u l d c o m e e v e n t u a ll y t o b e a c t i v a t ed a u t o m a t i c a l l y o n
t h e m e r e o c c u r r e n c e o f t h a t e v e n t. T h u s , i f a n i n d i v id u a l c o n -
s i s te n t l y be ha ve s t he s a me w a y in r e s po ns e t o a s i t ua t i on , t h a t
b e h a v i o r a l r e s p o n s e s h o u l d b e c o m e a u t o m a t i c a l l y a s s o c i a t e d
wi t h t hos e s i t ua t i ona l f e a t u r e s . I n ha r mony wi t h t h i s hypo t he -
s is , Mi s c he l a nd S hod a ( 1995; Shoda , Mi s c he l , & Wr i gh t , 1994 )
h a v e p r o v i d e d s e v er a l d e m o n s t r a t i o n s o f a h i g h d e g r e e o f c o n -
s i s t e nc y ove r t i me i n a n i nd i v i dua l ' s be ha v i o r a l r e s pons e s t o t he
s a m e s i tua t i ons , w he n s i t ua t i ons a r e de f i ne d i n t e r m s o f s pe ci f ic ,
c onc r e t e s e t s o f f e a t u r e s .
The Pr inc ip le o f ldeomotor Act ion
W i l l ia m J a m e s h e l d t h a t th e m e r e a c t o f t h i n k i n g a b o u t a
b e h a v i o r i n c re a s e d t h e t e n d e n c y t o e n g a g e i n t h a t b e h a v i o r ; h e
cal led th is the
principle ofideomotor action
W e m a y l a y i t
d o w n f o r c e r t a in t h a t e v e r y r e p r e s e n t a ti o n o f a m o v e m e n t a w a k -
e n s i n s o m e d e g r e e t h e a c t u a l m o v e m e n t w h i c h i s i ts o b j e c t
( 1890 , p . 526 ) . J a me s ' s no t i on o f a wa k e n i ng he r e i s s i mi l a r t o
m ode r n n o t i ons o f a c ce s si bi li ty , i n t ha t t he i n t e r na l ( t h r oug h
i de a t i on ) a c t i va t i on o f a r e p r e s e n t a t i on ( i . e ., t h r oug h i ma g i n i ng
t he b e ha v i o r ) i nc r e a s e s i t s a c c e s s ib i l i ty o f li ke l i hood o f a c ti va -
t io n . M o d e r n r e s e a r c h o n c o n s t r u c t a c c e ss i b il it y h a s s h o w n t h a t
m e n t a l r e p r e s e n t a t io n s c a n b e c o m e ac t i v at e d f r o m m a n y
s ou r c e s , i nc l ud i ng one ' s goa ls , e x t e r na l e nv i r onm e n t a l e ve n t s ,
l ong - t e r m us e , a nd r e c e n t t houg h t . M or e ove r , a l l o f the s e pos s i -
b l e s ou r c e s i nc r e a s e t he a c c e s s i b i l it y o r e a s e o f u s e o f t ha t r e p -
r e s e n t a t i on i n a n i n t e r c ha nge a b l e , a dd i t i ve f a s h i on ( Ba r gh ,
Bond , Lo mb a r d i , & T o t a , 1986 ; H i gg i n s & Ki ng , 1981 ) . Fo r
J a m e s , i m a g i n i n g o r t h i n k i n g a b o u t a b e h a v i o r a l r e sp o n s e h a d
t h e s a m e k i n d o f p r i m i n g e f fe c t o n t h e l i k e l ih o o d o f e ng a g i n g i n
t ha t r e s pons e .
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23 2 BARGH, CHEN, AND BURROWS
H o w e v e r , L a s h l e y ( 1 9 5 1 ) , i n a f a m o u s d i s c o u r s e o n t h e s e -
q u e n t i a l o r g a n i z a t i o n o f b e h a v i o r , w a s th e f i r s t t o u s e t h e t e r m
priming t o d e s c r i b e t h e p r e p a r a t o r y f u n c t i o n o f t h o u g h t .
T h i n k i n g h a s t h e f u n c t i o n o f p r e p a r i n g t h e b o d y f o r ac t i o n, a n d
L a s h l e y ' s g i v en e x a m p l e o f t h i s w a s th e p r o d u c t i o n o f f l u e n t
s p e e c h . T o b e a b l e t o s p e a k w o r d s i n a n u n d e r s t a n d a b l e , s e r i a l
f a s h i o n , j u s t a s t o a c t in a s e q u e n t i a l m a n n e r , r e q u i r e s a p r i o r
o r g a n i z a t i o n o f t h e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s t h a t a r e t o b e u s e d , i n t h e
i n t e n d e d s e q u e n c e . T h e f u n c t i o n o f t h i s p r e p a r a t i o n a l l o w s fo r
t h e f l u i d it y o f s p o k e n t h o u g h t s a n d i d e a s a n d t h e e n a c t m e n t o f
o r g a n i z e d m o v e m e n t s i n t h e p r o p e r o r d e r. T h u s , l i k e J a m e s ,
L a s h l e y a r g u e d f o r t h e n e c e s s i t y o f a d i r e c t c o n n e c t i o n b e t w e e n
t h o u g h t a n d b e h a v i o r a l r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s ( N . B . , n o t l i m i t e d t o
t h o s e u s e d i n s p e e c h ) .
T h e a u t o m a t i c i t y o f t h e i d e o m o t o r - a c t i o n e f f e c t - - t h a t m e r e l y
t h i n k i n g a b o u t a b e h a v i o r m a k e s i t m o r e l i k e l y t o o c c u r , ev e n i f
i t is u n i n t e n d e d - - h a s b e e n d e m o n s t r a t e d r e c e n t ly i n a s er i e s o f
s t u d i e s b y W e g n e r a n d h i s c o l l e a g u e s ( s e e W e g n e r , 1 9 9 4 , f o r a
r e v i e w ) . W e g n e r ' s
ironic process
m o d e l c o n t e n d s t h a t a c t s o f
i n t e n t i o n a l c o n t r o l o v e r o u r t h o u g h t a n d b e h a v i o r i n v o lv e a n
a u t o m a t i c m o n i t o r i n g o f t h e p r e s e n ce o f t h e u n w a n t e d s t a te .
W h e n t h i s a u t o m a t i c v i g i la n c e n o ti c e s th e t o - b e - c o n t r o l l e d
t h o u g h t o r r e s p o n s e t e n d e n cy , c o n s c i o u s p r o c e s s i n g c a n i n h i b i t
i t f r o m o c c u r r i n g . I n t h i s w ay , e x p e r i m e n t a l p a r t i c i p a n t s c a n
d i s t r a c t t h e m s e l v e s f r o m t h i n k i n g a b o u t w h i t e b e a r s (f o r
e x a m p l e ) b y c o n s c i o u s l y th i n k i n g a b o u t s o m e t h i n g e ls e . B u t
t h i s c o n t ro l o v e r u n w a n t e d t h o u g h t s c a n o c c u r o n l y w h e n t h e r e
i s s u f f i c ie n t a t t e n t i o n a l c a p a c i t y a v a i l a b l e f o r th e a c t o f c o n t r o l .
I f t h e p e r s o n i s d i s t r a c t e d , o r i s u n d e r a t t e n t i o n a l l o a d , a n i r o n i c
e f f e ct is li k e l y t o o c c u r : T h e v e r y t h o u g h t o r b e h a v i o r o n e d i d
n o t w a n t t o h a p p e n , d o e s h a p p e n .
T h e i r o n y o f th i s e f f e ct i s t h a t t h e l i k e l i h o o d o f t h i s o c c u r -
r e n c e ( u n d e r a t t e n t i o n a l l o a d ) i s a c t u a l l y g r e a t e r th a n i f t h e p e r -
s o n h a d n o t t r i e d t o s t o p t h a t r e s p o n s e . T h u s , i n o n e e x p e r i -
m e n t , p a r t i c i p a n t s u n d e r a t t e n t i o n a l l o a d w h o a r e t r y i n g n o t t o
m a k e s e x is t c o m p l e t i o n s t o w o r d f r a g m e n t s a c t u a l ly m a k e m o r e
t h a n p a r t i c i p a n t s n o t i n s t r u c t e d t o t r y t o a v o i d s e x is m . A c c o r d -
i n g t o t h e i r o n i c p r o c e s s m o d e l , t h i s o c c u r s b e c a u s e t h e r e p r e -
s e n t a t io n o f th e u n w a n t e d r e s p o n s e i s m o r e a c c e s si b l e t h a n
u s u a l b e c a u s e t h e p e r s o n i s w a t c h i n g o u t f o r it s o c c u r r e n c e a n d
h a s t o k e e p i t i n m i n d t o d o s o . F o r p r e s e n t p u r p o s e s , t h e i m -
p o r t a n c e o f th e s e f i n d in g s is t h a t t h e m e r e a c t o f t h i n k i n g a b o u t
a r e s p o n s e , ev e n w h e n t h e t h o u g h t i n v o l v e d is m e a n t t o h e l p
p r e v e n t t h a t r e s p o n s e , h a s t h e a u t o m a t i c e f lb c t o f i n c r e a s i n g t h e
l i k e l i h o o d o f t h a t r e s p o n s e . T h e p r i n c i p l e o f i d e o m o t o r a c t i o n ,
t o p u t i t a n o t h e r w a y , o p e r a t e s i n t h e a b s e n c e o f t h e p e r s o n ' s
i n t e n t i o n t o e n g a g e in t h a t b e h a v i o r a n d e v e n w h e n t h e p e r s o n
i s t r y i n g t o a v o i d t h a t b e h a v i o r .
A n s f i e l d a n d W e g n e r ( 1 9 9 6 ) a p p l i e d t h e i r o n i c p ro c e s s m o d e l
t o u n d e r s t a n d i n g t h e c l a s s ic l it e r a t u r e o n a u t o m a t i s m s , o r b e -
h a v i o r s t h a t d o n o t a p p e a r t o b e c o n s c i o u s l y p r o d u c e d , l i k e th e
s p i n n i n g t a b l e i n s e a nc e s , a d i v i n i n g r o d , o r t h e m o v e m e n t o f
t h e p e n d u l u m i n C h e v r e u i i ' s il l u si o n . I n t h e l a t t e r ca s e, t h e p e n -
d u l u m h e l d d a n g li n g a b o v e a ta b l e m o v e s - - a p p a r e n t l y o f i ts
o w n a c c o r d - - w h e n t h e p e r s o n i s t o l d t o h o l d i t c o m p l e t e l y s ti ll .
I n f a c t, t h e p e n d u l u m t e n d s t o m o v e a l o n g th e v e r y a x i s al o n g
w h i c h t h e p e r s o n i s t r y i n g t o p r e v e n t i t f r o m m o v i n g . A n s f i e l d
a n d W e g n e r s h o w e d i n s e v e r a l e x p e r i m e n t s t h a t t h i s e f f e c t i s
p r o d u c e d b y t h e v e r y a t t e m p t t o p r e v e n t t h e s e a n c e ta b l e o r t h e
p e n d u l u m f r o m m o v i n g ; p a r t i c i p a n t s a r e o f c o u r s e n o t a w a r e o f
t h e a u t o m a t i c e f fe c t t h a t t h e t h o u g h t s a b o u t t h e t o - b e - a v o i d e d
m o v e m e n t h a v e o n t h e i r b e h a v i o r a n d s o c a n n o t c o n t r o l i t .
The Perception Behavior Link
J u s t a s t h e a c c e s s i b i l i t y o r l i k e l i h o o d o f u s e o f a c o n c e p t i n -
c r e a s e s n o m a t t e r w h a t t h e p a r t i c u l a r t h e s o u r c e o f t h a t a c c e ss i -
b i li t y, th e l i k e l i h o o d o f a b e h a v i o r a l r e s p o n s e m a y i n c r e a s e f r o m
t h i n k i n g a b o u t t h a t b e h a v i o r , r e g ar d l e s s o f t h e s o u r c e o f t h a t
t h o u g h t . S p e c i f ic a l l y , c o g n i t i o n s a b o u t a t y p e o f b e h a v i o r c a n
c o m e n o t o n l y f r o m i n t e r n a l s o u r c e s, a s i n t h e a b o v e e x a m p l e s ,
b u t a l s o f r o m e x t e r n a l s o u r c e s , s u c h a s p e r c e i v i n g t h a t t y p e o f
b e h a v i o r e n a c t e d b y o t h e r s .
T h e r e i s a s t r o n g h i s t o r i c a l p r e c e d e n t f o r p o s t u l a t i n g a n a u t o -
m a t i c l i n k b e t w e e n t h e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s u s e d t o p e r c ei v e b e h a v -
i o r a n d t h o s e u s e d t o e n g a g e in t h a t b e h a v i o r o n e s e l f . I m i t a t i o n ,
f o r e x a m p l e , c o n s i st s o f p e r f o r m i n g a n a c t i o n t h a t c o r r e s p o n d s
i n i t s s t r u c t u r e t o t h e p e r c e iv e d a c t i o n o f a n o t h e r p e r s o n. T h e
c a p a c i t y t o i m i t a t e i s p r e s e n t i n e a r l y c h i l d h o o d ( P i a g e t, 1 9 4 6 )
a n d e v e n i n n e w b o r n s ( M e l t z o f f & M o o r e , 1 97 7 , 1 9 8 3 ) . S u c h
s c h o l a rs o f i m i t a t i v e b e h a v i o r a s K o f f k a ( 1 9 3 5 ) , P i a g e t ( 1 9 4 6 ) ,
a n d B a n d u r a ( 1 9 7 7 ) a l l h a v e p r o p o s e d t h a t i m i t a t i o n i s m a d e
p o s s i b l e b y a c o m m o n o r s h a r e d r e p r e s e n t a t i o n a l s y s te m f o r
p e r c e p t u a l a n d a c t i o n c o d e s ( s e e P r i n z , 1 9 90 , f o r a r e v i e w ) .
S c h a n k a n d A b e l s o n ' s ( 1 9 7 7 ) s c r i p t th e o r y a r g u e s th a t t h e s a m e
m e n t a l s t r u c t u r e s u s e d t o u n d e r s t a n d a n d a n t i c i p a t e th e s e -
q u e n c e o f b e h a v i o r i n s o c i a l s i t u a t i o n s a l s o i s u s e d t o g e n e r a t e
a p p r o p r i a t e r e s p o n s es to t h e m . T h e o r i e s o f s p e e c h p r o d u c t i o n
h a v e i n c r e a s in g l y e m p h a s i z e d t h e m e d i a t i o n a l r o l e p l a y e d b y
t h e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s i n v o l v e d i n s p e e c h p e r c e p t i o n ( s e e D e l l ,
1 98 6 ; M e y e r & G o r d o n , 1 98 4 ; P r i n z , 1 9 9 0 ) . A l s o , Z a j o n c , P i e -
t r o m o n a c o , a n d B a r g h ( 1 9 8 2 ) s h o w e d t h a t p e o p l e i m p l i c i t l y
m i m i c t h e f a c i a l e x p r e s s i o n s o f o t h e r s , s u c h t h a t w h e n t h i s s u b -
t l e i m i t a t i o n i s p r e v e n t e d ( i . e. , b y h a v i n g t h e m c h e w g u m w h i l e
t h e f a c es a r e p r e s e n t e d ) , m e m o r y f o r th e f a c e s i s im p a i r e d .
I n 1 9 84 , B e r k o w i t z r e f o r m u l a t e d h i s t h e o r y o f h o w v i o l e n c e
p o r t r a y e d i n t h e m a s s m e d i a i n c r e a s e d t h e p r o b a b i l i t y o f a g -
g r e s si o n i n t h e v i e w er b y i n v o k i n g J a m e s ' s p r i n c i p l e o f i d e o m o -
t o r a c t i o n . A c t iv a t i o n w a s s a id t o s p r e a d i n m e m o r y f r o m r e p -
r e s e n t a t i o n s o f t h e v i o l e n t a c t s p e r c e i v e d i n t h e m e d i a t o o t h e r
a g g r e s si v e id e a s o f t h e v i ew e r , a n d t h i s s p r e a d i n g a c t i v a t i o n o c -
c u r r e d a u t o m a t i c a l l y a n d w i t h o u t m u c h t h i n k i n g ( p . 4 1 0 ) .
S i m i l a r t o M i s c h e l 's ( 1 9 7 3 ) a n a l y si s , B e r k o w i t z ( 1 9 8 4 ) a r g u e d
t h a t b e h a v i o r a l r e s p o n s e s a s w e l l a s t h o u g h t s a n d e m o t i o n s
c o u l d a l l b e a c t i v a t e d a u t o m a t i c a l l y b y a gg r e s s iv e s t i m u l i : T h e
p r e s e n t c o n c e p t i o n d o e s n o t s t o p w i t h t h e i n d i v i d u a l ' s t h o u g h t s
a n d m e m o r i e s . . . I t h o l ds th a t e x t er n a ll y p r e s e nt e d i d ea s c a n
a c t i v a t e p a r t i c u l a r f e e l in g s a n d e v e n s p e c i f i c a c t i o n t e n d e n c i e s
a s w e l l ( p . 4 1 0 ) .
A n e x p e r i m e n t b y C a r v er , G a n e l l e n , F r o m i n g , a n d C h a m b e r s
( 1 9 8 3 ) p r o v i d e d e v i d en c e i n l in e w i t h B e r k o w i t z ' s ( 1 9 8 4 ) i d e o -
m o t o r a c t i o n m o d e l o f t h e e ff e c t o f a g g r e ss i v e c u e s o n a g g r e s -
s i o n . I n a f ir s t e x p e r i m e n t , s o m e p a r t i c i p a n t s ' c o n c e p t o f h o s t i l -
i t y w a s p r i m e d s u b l i m i n a ll y , fo l lo w i n g t h e p r o c e d u r e o f B a r g h
a n d P i e t r o m o n a c o ( 1 9 8 2 ) . T h e n , i n w h a t t h e y b e li e v e d t o b e a n
u n r e l a t e d s e c o n d e x p e r i m e n t , p a r t i c i p a n t s w e r e i n s t r u c t e d t o
g i ve s h o c k s t o a n o t h e r l e a r n e r p a r t i c i p a n t ( a c t u a l l y a
c o n f e d e r a t e ) w h e n e v e r h e o r s h e g a v e a n i n c o r r e c t a n sw e r . C o m -
8/12/2019 () Automaticity of Social Behavior
4/15
8/12/2019 () Automaticity of Social Behavior
5/15
2 3 4 B A R G H , C H E N , A N D B U R R O W S
a n d a t h i r d w a s i n t en d e d t o p r i m e n e i t h e r t r a it ( t h e n e u t r a l p r i m i n g
c o n d i t i o n ) . F o r b o t h t h e ru d e a n d t h e p o l i t e p r i m i n g v e rs i o n s, 1 5 o f t h e
3 0 i t e ms c o n t a i n e d a n a d j e c t i v e o r v e rb se ma n t i c a l l y re l a te d t o t h e t r a i t
i n q u e s t i o n . Fo r t h e ru d e p r i m i n g v e rs i o n , t h e c r i t i c a l p r i m i n g s t i mu l i
we re aggressively, bold, rude. bother, disturb, intrude, a nnoyingly, in-
terrupt, audaciously, brazen, impolitely, infringe, obnoxious, aggravat-
ing,
a n d
blunt ly
(e.g ., t h e y h e r b o t h e r s e e u su a l l y ) . Fo r t h e p o l i t e
p r i m i n g v e rs i o n , t h e 1 5 c r i t i c a l s t imu l i we re
respect, honor, considerate,
appreciate, patiently, cordially, yield, polite, cautiously, courteous, gra-
ciously, sensitively; discreetly, beh aved, a n d unobtrusively e.g., t h e y h e r
re sp e c t s e e u su a l l y ) , i n t h e n e u t ra l p r i m i n g v e rs i o n , t h e se t 5 wo rd s
we re re p l a c e d b y exercising, flawlessly; occasiona lly rapidly, gleefully,
practiced, optimistically, successfully, normally, send, watches, encour-
ages. gives, clears,
a n d
p rep a res
(e .g ., ' t h e y h e r s e n d se e u su a l l y ) .
Procedure.
Pa r t i c i p a n t s t o o k p a r t i n t h e e x p e r i me n t o n e a t a t i me .
W h e n t h e y a r r i v e d a t t h e c e n t ra l wa i t i n g a re a , t h e y we re g re e t e d b y t h e
e x p e r i me n t e r , wh o sh o we d t h e m i n t o t h e f ir s t e x p e r i m e n t a l ro o m. T h e y
w e r e t o ld t h a t t h e e x p e r i m e n t w a s a c t u a l ly c o m p o s e d o f t w o s h o r t s t u d -
i e s h a v i n g t o d o g e n e ra l ly w i t h l a n g u a g e a b il it y. Af t e r o b t a i n i n g t h e i r
c o n se n t t o p a r t i c i p a t e , t h e f i r s t s t u d y, o s t e n s i b l y t o d o w i t h c o n s t ru c t i o n
o f g ra mm a t i c a l En g l i sh se n t e n c e s , wa s e x p l a i n e d t o t h e m. Th e e x p e r i -
m e n t e r h a n d e d t h e p a r t i c i p a n t a n e n v e lo p e t h a t c o n t a i n e d o n e o f t h e
t h r e e f o r m s o f t h e s c r a m b l e d - s e n t e n c e t e s t. W h i c h o f t h e t h r e e v e r s i o n s
( r u d e , p o l i te , o r n e u t r a l p r i m i n g ) t h e p a r t i c i p a n t r e c e iv e d h a d b e e n r a n -
d o m l y d e t e r m i n e d b y a n o t h e r e x p e r i m e n t e r w h o d i d n o t h a v e a n y c o n -
t a c t w i t h t h e p a r t i c ip a n t , w i t h t h e c o n s t r a i n t t h a t a p p r o x i m a t e l y e q u a l
n u m b e r s o f p a r t i c i p a n t s r e c e iv e d e a c h o f t h e f o r m s . N e i t h er t h e e x p e r i -
m e n t e r n o r t h e c o n f e d e r a t e ( s e e b e l ow ) k n e w t h e p r i m i n g c o n d i t i o n t o
wh i c h a p a r t i c u l a r p a r t i c i p a n t h a d b e e n a s s i g n e d u n t i l a f t e r t h e e x p e r i -
me nta l session was over.
Th e p a r t i c i p a n t wa s g iv e n t h e g e n e ra l i n s t ru c t i o n s fo r t h e sc ra mb l e d -
se n t e n c e t e s t . Th e e x p e r i me n t e r t o l d t h e p a r t i c i p a n t t h a t wh e n t h e t e s t
h a d b e e n c o m p l e t e d ( m o s t p a r t i c i p a n t s t o o k a b o u t 5 r a i n t o c o m p l e t e
t h e 3 0 - i t e m t e s t ) , h e o r sh e sh o u l d c o m e o u t i n t o t h e h a l l wa y t o f i n d th e
e x p e r i m e n te r , w h o w o u l d b e a t a d i f fe r e n t r o o m a r o u n d t h e c o r n er . T h e
e x p e r i m e n t e r s a i d t h a t a t t h a t t i m e h e w o u l d g iv e t h e p a r t i c i p a n t th e
n e x t s h o r t e x p e r i m e n t a l t a s k t o c o m p l e t e.
T h e e x p e r i m e n t e r t h e n w a i t e d f o r t h e p a r t i c i p a n t i n t h e d o o rw a y o f
a n o t h e r l a b o r a t o r y r o o m , l o c a te d o n t h e s a m e h a l l w a y b u t a r o u n d a
c o r n e r f r o m t h e f i r s t r o o m . A c o n f e d e r a t e o f t h e e x p e r i m e n t e r w a s
se a t e d i n t h i s s e c o n d ro o m , i n s i g h t o f t h e e x p e r i m e n t e r b u t n o t o f a n y -
o n e c o m i n g f ro m t h e d i re c t i o n o f t h e f i rs t ro o m , a s sh e wa s se a t e d b e -
h i n d a h a l f -o p e n e d d o or . Th e c o n fe d e ra t e p o se d a s a n o t h e r p a r t i c i p a n t
wh o w a s a p p a re n t l y h a v i n g d i f f ic u l t y u n d e rs t a n d i n g h o w t o c o m p l e t e a
t a sk . Th e e x p e r i me n t e r a n d c o n fe d e ra t e e n g a g e d i n a c o n v e rsa t i o n , wi t h
t h e e x p e r i m e n t e r s t a n d i n g s o t h a t h i s b o d y w a s o p e n t o t h e d i r e c t i o n
f r o m w h i c h t h e p a r t i c i p a n t w o u l d b e c o m i n g d o w n t h e h a l l, a t a b o u t a
4 5 a n g le , wh i l e s t i l l f a c i n g t h e c o n fe d e ra t e i n t h e ro o m .
W h e n t h e p a r t i c i p a n t t u r n e d t h e h a l lw a y c o r n e r a n d b e c a m e v i s i bl e
t o t h e e x p e r i me n t e r , wi t h o u t l o o k i n g a t t h e p a r t i c i p a n t o r a c k n o wl e d g -
i n g h i s o r h e r p r e s e n c e t h e e x p e r i m e n t e r m a d e a s u b t l e p r e a r r a n g e d s ig n
t o t h e c o n fe d e ra t e ( i . e ., t o u c h i n g h i s r i g h t p a n t l e g ) . A t t h i s t h e c o n fe d -
e r a t e s t a r te d a s t o p w a t ch . T h e e x p e r i m e n t e r a n d c o n f e d e r at e c o n t i n u e d
t h e i r c o n v e rs a t io n a s t h e p a r t i c i p a n t a p p r o a c h e d a n d w h i l e h e o r s h e
s t o o d n e a r t h e e x p e r i me n t e r , wa i t i n g fo r t h e e x p e r i me n t e r t o a c k n o wl -
e d g e h i s o r h e r p re se n c e a n d g i v e h i m o r h e r t h e n e x t e x p e r i me n t a l t a sk
t o c o mp l e t e .
O u r d e p e n d e n t m e a s u r e w a s t h e a m o u n t o f t i m e t h e p a r t i c i p a n t
w o u l d w a i t u n t i l i n t e r r u p t i n g t h e c o n v e r s a t i o n b e tw e e n e x p e r i m e n t e r
a n d c o n f e d e r at e a n d a s k t o b e g i v e n th e n e x t e x p e r i m e n t a l t a sk . U n t i l
h e o r sh e d i d so , t h e c o n v e rs a t i o n c o n t i n u e d , w i t h t h e c o n fe d e ra t e a sk i n g
q u e s t i o n s a n d re q u e s t i n g c l a r i f i c a t i o n a n d j u s t n o t g e t t i n g i t , a n d t h e
e x p e r i m e n t e r r e p e a t in g t h e i n s t r u c t i o n s a n d c l a r if y i n g i f p o ss i b le a n d
a l s o n o t t u r n i n g t o l o o k a t t h e p a r t i c i p a n t o r m a k e e y e c o n t a c t w i t h h i m
o r h e r. Ou r h y p o t h e s i s wa s t h a t p a r t i c i p a n t s i n t h e ru d e p r i me c o n d i t i o n
w o u l d i n t e r r u p t m o r e q u i c k l y t h a n n e u t r a l p r i m e c o n d i t i o n p a r t i c i -
p a n t s , a n d t h o se i n t h e p o l i t e p r i me c o n d i t i o n wo u l d w a i t l on g e r t o i n -
t e r ru p t t h a n wo u l d n e u t ra l c o n d i t i o n p a r t i c i p a n t s .
W h e n t h e p a r t i c i p a n t b e g a n t o sa y a n y t h i n g t o th e e x p e r i me n t e r , su c h
a s E x c u s e m e , o r S o r r y , b u t . . . ' t h e c o n f e d e ra t e s t o p p ed t h e s to p -
wa t c h a n d re c o r d e d t h e e l a p se d t i me . We p l a c e d a 1 0 -m i n l i mi t o n h o w
l o n g t h e p a r t i c i p a n t wo u l d h a v e t o wa i t i f h e o r sh e d i d n o t i n t e r ru p t a t
a l l, r e a s o n i n g t h a t b y t h a t t i m e h e o r s h e w a s n o t g o i n g t o. W h e n t h e
p a r t i c i p a n t in t e r r u p t e d , o r a t t h e e n d o f th e 1 0 - m i n m a x i m u m w a i t in g
t i m e , t h e e x p e r i m e n t e r sh o w e d h i m o r h e r i n t o a r o o m a d j a c e n t to t h e
o n e i n w h i c h t h e c o n fe d e ra t e wa s se a t e d a n d g a v e t h e p a r t i c i p a n t a b r i e f
a n a g r a m p u z z l e t a s k th a t t o o k n o m o r e t h a n 2 m i n t o c o m p l e t e . A f t er
t h e p a r t i c i p a n t h a d c o mp l e t e d t h i s t a sk , h e o r sh e wa s p a r t i a l l y d e b r i e fe d
a n d q u e s t i o n e d c o n c e rn i n g h o w t h e y t h o u g h t t h e f i r s t , s c ra mb l e d -se n -
t e n c e t e s t mi g h t h a v e i n f l u e n c e d t h e m i n t h e re s t o f th e e x p e r i m e n t .
No p a r t i c i p a n t sh o we d a n y a wa re n e ss o r su sp i c i o n a s t o t h e sc ra mb l e d -
se n t e n c e t e s t ' s p o ss i b l e i n f lu e n c e o n t h e i r i n t e r r u p t i o n b e h a v i o r ; n e a r l y
a l l p a r t i c i p a n t s r e p o r t e d e i t h e r n o e f fe c t o f th e f i r s t t a sk o r t h a t b o t h i t
a n d t h e a n a g r a m t a sk we re re l a t e d t o l a n g u a g e a bi li ty , w h i c h wa s t h e
cov er story.
A t t h i s p o i n t t h e e x p e r i m e n t e r t h a n k e d t h e p a r t i c i p a n t f o r h e l p in g
wi t h t h e s t u d y , a n d t h e p a r t i c i p a n t h e a d e d t o w a rd t h e e l e v a t o r t o l ea v e
t h e b u i l d i n g . Wa i t i n g t h e re wa s a se c o n d c o n fe d e ra t e , wh o p o se d a s a
d e p a r t m e n t r e p r e s e n ta t i v e i n q u i r in g a s t o t h e p a r t i c i p a n t ' s e x p e r i e n c e
i n p sy c h o l og y e x p e r i me n t s . Th e c o n fe d e ra t e a sk e d i f t h e p a r t i c i p a n t
w o u l d m i n d c o m p l e t i n g a ' S u rv e y o f E x p e r i m e n t a l P a rt i c ip a n t s , a n d
a l l h u t 3 p a r t i c i p a n t s a g re e d t o d o so . On t h e su rv e y we re s i x q u e s t i o n s
c o n c e rn i n g wh e t h e r t h e e x p e r i m e n t wa s i n t e re s t i n g a n d w h e t h e r i t wa s
c o n s i d e re d a v a l i d e d u c a t i o n a l e x p e r i e n c e . Th e l a s t t h re e i t e ms c o n -
c e rn e d t h e e x p e r i m e n t e r , wh e t h e r h e o r sh e wa s o n t ime , wh e t h e r h e o r
sh e e x p l a i n e d t h e s t u d y a n d a n swe re d q u e s t i o n s , a n d t h e c r i t i c a l it e m:
W a s t h e e x p e r i m e n t e r c o u r t e o u s a n d p o l it e to y o u ? T h i s t h e p a r ti c i -
p a n t r e s p o n d e d t o o n a - 3 t o + 3 s c a le t h a t ra n g e d f ro m - 3 n o t a t a l l )
t o + 3
v e r y m u c h s o ) .
Th i s i t e m se rv e d a s o u r c h e c k fo r a p o t e n t i a l
a l t e rn a t i v e i n t e rp re t a t i o n o f o u r re su l t s , t o b e d i sc u sse d b e l ow.
Wh e n t h e p a r t i c i p a n t h a d c o mp l e t e d t h e su rv e y , h e o r sh e wa s fu l l y
d e b r i e f ed a s t o t h e p u r p o s e a n d h y p o t he s i s o f t h e e x p e r i m e n t a n d w a s
t h a n k e d a g a i n b y t h e se c o n d c o n fe d e ra t e .
R e s u l t s
O u r p r i m a r y d e p e n d e n t v a r i a b le w a s t h e n u m b e r o f s ec o n d s
t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s w a i t e d b e f o r e i n t e r r u p t i n g t h e e x p e r im e n t e r .
A o n e - w a y a n a l y s i s o f v a r i a n c e ( A N O V A ) o f th e s e d a t a , w i t h
p r i m i n g c o n d i t i o n a s t h e s i n g l e f a c t o r , r e v e a l e d a s i g n i f i c a n t
m a i n e f f e c t, F ( 2 , 3 3 ) = 5 . 7 6 , p = . 0 0 8 . P a r t i c i p a n t s i n t h e r u d e
p r i m i n g c o n d i t i o n i n t e r r u p t e d s i g n i fi c a n tl y f a s t e r ( M = 3 2 6 s )
t h a n d i d p a r t i c i p a n t s i n t h e n e u t r a l ( M = 5 t 9 s ) o r p o l i t e ( M =
5 5 8 s ) p r i m i n g c o n d i t i o n s . W i t h i n t h e s i g n i f i c a n t m a i n e f f e c t ,
s i m p l e t te s t s re v e a l e d t h a t t h e r u d e p r i m e c o n d i t i o n m e a n w a s
s i g n if i c a n tl y s h o r t e r t h a n e a c h o f t h e o t h e r t w o m e a n s ( b o t h p s
< . 0 4 ) , w h i c h w e r e n o t r e l ia b l y d i f f e r en t f r o m o n e a n o t h e r
( t < 1 ) .
A l t h o u g h t h i s r e s u l t s u p p o r t s o u r h y p o t h e s i s t h a t s o c ia l i n -
t e r a c t i o n b e h a v i o r c a n b e p r i m e d , t h e t i m e - t o - i n t e r r u p t i o n d i s -
t r i b u t i o n v a r i e d c o n s i d e r a b l y f r o m n o r m a l i t y . F u l ly 2 1 o f th e 3 4
p a r t i c i p a n t s d i d n o t i n t e r r u p t a t a ll in t h e 1 0 r a i n a v a i l a b le t o
t h e m , s o t h a t t h e t i m e v a r i a b l e s u f fe r e d f r o m a s e v e re c e i li n g
e f fe c t. T h u s , w e r e a n a l y z e d t h e d a t a i n t e r m s o f t h e p e r c e n t a g e
o f p a r t ic i p a n t s i n e a c h p r i m i n g c o n d i t i o n w h o i n t e r r u p t e d a t a l l
d u r i n g t h e 1 0 - r a i n p e r i o d . T h e s e p e r c e n t a g e s a r e s h o w n i n F i g -
u r e 1 .
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AUTOMATIC SOCIAL BEHAVIOR 23 5
Figure 1. Percentage of participants who interrupted the experi-
menter within the 10-rain period, by trait priming condition
(Experiment 1 .
Because we made a spec i f ic d i rec t iona l predic t ion regarding
the order ing of the three percentages, ra ther than an om nibus
predic t ion of any d i f fe rence among the three , we appl ied the test
for a l inear t rend in prop ort ions (S nedecor & Cochra n , 1980,
pp . 206 -208 ) . The spec i f ic hypothesis tested was tha t the pro-
p o r t i o n o f p a r t i c ip a n t s w h o in t e r ru p te d th e e x p e r ime n te r
would increase as a func t ion of the t ra i t concept pr im ed, f rom
pol i teness through no pr i ming to rudeness. In suppo rt of the
hypothesis , the test revea led a re l iab le l inear t rend (Z = 2 .32 , p
--- .02 , two-ta i led) . Par t ic ipants whose concept of rudeness had
been surrep t i t iously ac t iva ted in the sc ram bled-sentence test
subsequent ly were more l ike ly to in te rrupt the conversa t ion be-
tween the exper imenter and confedera te than were the o ther
par t ic ipants , and those whose concept o f pol i teness had been
ac t iva ted were the least l ike ly to in te rrupt .
Where as our in te rpre ta t ion of th is resu l t is tha t the pr imi ng
manip ula t ion prod uced a d i rec t , p reconsc ious e ffec t on the par-
t ic ipants ' subsequent behavior in a soc ia l in te rac t ion , an a l -
te rna t ive explana t ion in t e rms of the soc ia l perceptua l e ffects of
pr im ing m ust be considered . This a l te rna t ive cente rs on how the
par t ic ipant may have in te rpre ted or perce ived the exper iment-
e r 's behavior dur ing h is conversa t ion wi t h the confedera te . I f
t h e e x p e r ime n te r ' s b e h av io r w as a mb ig u o u s e n o u g h to p e rmi t
d i f fe rent impress ions of h im, depending on the re la t ive accessi -
b i l i ty of the par t ic ipant 's re levant t ra i t const ruc ts (e .g . , Higgins
& King, 1981 ) , i t i s possib le tha t rude- pr im ed par t ic ip ants were
mor e l ike ly to perce ive the exp er imen ter as rude because he was
ignoring them and a t tending to the confedera te , whereas pol i te -
pr im ed par t ic ipants were m ore l ike ly to perce ive the exper i -
mente r as pol i te because he so pa t ien t ly dea l t wi th the confed-
era te 's questions. The p ar t ic ip ants ' own behavior to the exper i -
menter ( i .e . , whether they in te rrupted h im) might have been
based on these d i f fe rent ia l percept ions (as has been dem on-
st ra ted in s tudies by Neuberg , 1988, and Herr , 1986) instead of
as a d i rec t e ffec t of the pr iming manipu la t ion .
I t i s important to note , however , tha t we d id not design or
in tend the expe r imenter 's behavior to be am biguou s in th is way,
because our in tent ion was to demo nstra te an e ffec t of pr imin g
on behavior tha t was not media ted by d i f fe rent ia l in te r-
pre ta t ions o f the exper im enter 's behavior . In previous ca tegory
accessib i l ity research , some studies have sought to exa mine fea-
tures o f accessib i l ity o ther th an i t s e ffec t on in te rpre ta t ion .
Bargh and The in ( 1985 ) , for instance , s tudied the abi l i ty of ac -
cessib le const ruc ts to p ick up re levant behaviora l inform at ion
under a t ten t iona l over load . In th is s tudy, the const ru c t -re levant
behaviors were unam biguou s a nd c lear ly d iagnost ic of the t ra i t
in quest ion , and accessib i l i ty of the t ra i t concept d i d no t inf lu-
ence impres sions of the ta rge t ( though i t d id a ffec t ab i l i ty to
process the inform at ion) . The top-down effec ts of accessib i l i ty
should inf luence impressions only when the informat iona l in-
put i s suff icien tly ambigu ous ( i .e , a re la t ive ly weak bo t tom -up
effect; see Higgins, 1989).
To assess whether the pr imi ng m anipula t ions had resul ted in
diffe rent ia l percept ions of the exper im enter 's pol i teness, we ex-
a min e d th e r at i n g s p a r t i c ip a n t s ma d e o n th e Ex p e r ime n ta l
Par t ic ipa t ion Survey. On the c r i t ica l i tem having to do wi th
the exper imenter 's pol iteness, which ranged from - 3 (not at all
pol i te to +3 (very poli te , there was no re l iab le d i f fe rence in
the ra t ings made in the three pr im ing condi t ions, F( 2 , 28) < 1
(pol i te pr ime condi t ion M: = 0 .6 , rude pr ime condi t ion: M =
0.4 , neutra l pr ime condi t ion: M = 0 .8) . Apparent ly , the fac t
tha t the expe r imenter essent ia l ly ignored par t ic ip ants ( focusing
his a t ten t ion on the confedera te and her quest ions) whi le they
wai ted in the ha l l led a l l of them to perce ive h im as equiva lent ly
n o n p o l i te (b u t n o t im p o l i t e e it h e r ) .
The fac t tha t the behaviora l measure showed qui te s t rong
effec ts of the pr iming manipu la t ion , whereas the e ffect on the
judg men t mea sure was nonexisten t , a rgues aga inst the a l te rna-
t ive in te rpre ta t ion of our f indings. I t was no t the case tha t the
p r imin g ma n ip u la t i o n a f fe c t e d c o n sc io u s ly ma d e ju d g me n t s
about the exper imenter , which then de te rmined behaviora l re -
sponses to h im. The resul ts instead poin t to a d i rec t e ffec t on
behavior tha t i s not media ted b y consc ious perceptua l or judg-
menta l processes. In fac t , the present pr im ing e ffect on behavior
is much more substant ia l than the typica l pr imin g e ffec t in im-
pression formation research (cf. Bargh et al . , 1986; Srull &
Wyer, 1979) . The powerfu l e ffec ts of pr iming on behaviora l re l -
a t ive to percep tua l depend ent var iab les i s a topic to w hich we
re turn in the Genera l D iscussion .
D i s c u s s i o n
In th is f i rs t exper im enta l test of whether t ra i t const ru c t pr i m-
ing would pro duce d i f fe rences in behavior as i t has been shown
to do for perceptua l in te rpre ta t ion , par t ic ipants pr imed wi th
rudeness-re la ted s t imul i in an ostensib ly unre la ted f i rs t exper i -
ment in te rr upted a conversa t ion re l iab ly faste r and , as a group,
more f requent ly than d id o the r par t ic ipants . Those whose con-
cept of pol i teness was surrept i t iously ac t iva ted in te rrupt ed the
least of ten . Behavior in soc ia l in te rac t ion , l ike soc ial percept ion
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2 3 6 B A R G H , C H E N , A N D B U R R O W S
a n d e v a l u a t i o n , a p p a r e n t l y c a n b e d r i v e n d i re c t l y b y e n v i r o n -
m e n t a l s t i m u l i - - t h a t i s, p r ec o n s c i o u s ly a n d a u t o m a t ic a l ly .
T h e r e s u l t s o f E x p e r i m e n t 1 s h o w e d t h a t t h e p a s s i v e , a u t o -
m a t i c a c t i v a t i o n o f a t r a i t c o n c e p t r e s u l t s i n t r a i tl i k e b e h a v i o r
b y t h e i n d i v i d u a l , b u t t h e r e a r e t w o w a y s i n w h i c h t r a i t c o n c e p t s
c a n b e a c t i v a t e d d i r e c t ly b y t h e e n v i r o n m e n t . O n e i s a d i r e c t
a c t iv a t i o n b y t h e p r e s e n c e i n t h e e n v i r o n m e n t o f t ra i t -r e l e v an t
b e h a v i o r ; s e v e r al l i n e s o f r e s e a r c h s h o w t h a t b e h a v i o r r e l e v a n t
t o a t r a i t a u t o m a t i c a l l y a c t i v a t e s t h a t t r a i t c o n c e p t ( N e w m a n
U l e m a n , 1 9 8 9 ; S r u l l W y e r , 1 9 7 9 ) . A n o t h e r w a y i n w h i c h a
g i v e n t r a i t c o n c e p t c a n b e a c t i v a t e d a u t o m a t i c a l l y , h o w e v e r , is
b y i t s m e m b e r s h i p i n a la r g e r s c h e m a , s u c h a s a s t e r e o t y p e . S t e -
r e o t y p e s o f s o c ia l g r o u p s c o n s i s t , i n p a r t , o f c o n s t e l l a t i o n s o f
i n t e r r e l a t e d t r a i t c o n c e p t s ( e . g . , B r e w e r , 1 9 8 8 ; D e v i n e , 1 9 8 9 ;
F i s k e N e u b e r g , 1 9 9 0 ) t h a t b e c o m e a c t i v e i n a n a l l - o r - n o n e
f a s h i o n ( s e e H a y e s - R o t h , 1 9 7 7 ) i n t h e p r e s e n c e o f t h e f e a t u r e s
o f a g r o u p m e m b e r .
D e v i n e ' s ( 1 9 8 9 ) E x p e r i m e n t 2 d e m o n s t r a t e d t h e a ll - o r- n o n e
a c t i v a t i o n f e a t u r e q u i t e c l e a r l y . S h e p r i m e d t h e s t e r e o t y p e o f
A f r i c a n A m e r i c a n s ( a s h e l d b y W h i t e A m e r i c a n s ) s u b l i m i n a l l y
u s i n g a s e t o f s t e r e o t y p e - r e l a t e d s t i m u l i ( e . g ., m u s i c a l , a t h l e t i c )
t h a t d i d n o t i n c l u d e a n y i t e m r e l a t e d t o h o s t i li t y , t h o u g h h o s t i l -
i ty h a d b e e n s h o w n b y p r e t es t i n g ( a n d m u c h p r i o r r e s e a r c h ) to
p a r t i c i p a t e i n t h e s te r e o t y p e . H o w e v e r , D e v i n e ( 1 9 8 9 ) s h o w e d
t h a t t h e c o n c e p t o f h o s t il i ty h a d i n d e e d b e c o m e a c t i v a te d b y t h e
p r i m i n g m a n i p u l a t i o n , b e c a u s e p r i m e d p a r t i ci p a n t s s u b s e-
q u e n t l y r a t e d a t a r g e t p e r s o n ' s a m b i g u o u s l y r e l e v a n t b e h a v i o r
a s m o r e h o s t i l e t h a n d i d a c o n t r o l g r o u p ( j u s t a s h a d p a r t i c i -
p a n t s i n B a r g h P i e t r o m o n a c o ' s [ 1 9 8 2 ] s t u d y w h o w e r e
p r i m e d d i r e c t l y w i t h h o s t i l e - r e la t e d s t i m u l i ) . T h e o n l y w a y t h i s
r e s u l t c o u l d h a v e b e e n o b t a i n e d w a s i f t h e c o n c e p t o f h o s t i li t y
h a d b e c o m e a c ti v e ( a n d t h u s t e m p o r a r i l y m o r e a c ce s si b l e f o r
u s e i n i n t e r p r e t i n g t h e t a r g e t ' s b e h a v i o r ) b y i t s p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n
t h e a c t i v a t e d s t e r e o t y p e .
T h u s , r e s e a r c h h a s s h o w n t h a t t h e p r i m i n g o r a u t o m a t i c a c -
t i v a t i o n o f b o t h s i n g l e t r a i t c o n c e p t s ( e .g . , B a r g h P i e t r o m o -
n a c o , 1 9 8 2; S r u l l W y e r , 1 9 7 9 ) a n d s t e r e o t y p e s ( D e v i n e ,
1 9 8 9 ) i n f l u e n c e s s o c i a l p e r c e p t i o n w i t h o u t t h e i n d i v i d u a l b e i n g
a w a r e o f o r i n t e n d i n g t h i s in f l u en c e . T h e p r e s e n t E x p e r i m e n t 1
h a s s h o w n t h a t p r i m i n g a s i n g l e t r a i t c o n c e p t i n f l u e n c e s s u b s e -
q u e n t s o c i a l b e h a v i o r a s w e l l. T h e d e d u c t i o n t h a t f o l l o w s n a t u -
r a l ly f r o m t h e s e t w o s e t s o f f i n d i n g s is th a t t h e p r i m i n g o r a u t o -
m a t i c a c t i v a t i o n o f s te r e o t y p e s s h o u l d m a k e t h e p e r c e i v e r h i m -
o r h e r s e l f m o r e l i k e l y t o a c t i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h t h e t r a i t c o n -
c e p t s th a t p a r t i c i p a t e i n t h a t s t e r e o t y p e . W e d e s i g n e d E x p e r i -
m e n t s 2 a n d 3 t o te s t th i s h y p o t h e s i s i n t h e c o n t e x t o f t w o d i s-
t i n c t s t e r e o t y p e s : o n e f o r e l d e rl y p e o p l e a n d o n e f o r A f r i c a n
A m e r i c a n s .
E x p e r i m e n t s 2 a a n d 2 b : B e h a v i o r a l E f f e c ts o f A c t i va t i ng
t h e E l d e r l y S t e r e o t y p e
M e t h o d
Overview. The m e thod a nd proc e dure for Expe r im e nts 2a a nd 2b
are identica l and so are descr ibed together . E xpe rime nt 2b is a replica-
t ion of 2a . T he p re se nt e xpe r im e nts we re de s igne d to s tudy the e f fe ct of
ac t iva t ion of the e lder ly s tereotyp e on behavior. Par t ic ipants were in-
s truc ted to work on a scram bled-senten ce task as par t of a language
prof ic ie nc y e xpe r im e nt . The sc ra m ble d- se ntenc e t a sk c onta ine d w ords
re levant to the e lder ly s tereotype in the e lder ly pr iming condit ion, but
a l l references to s lowness , which is a quali ty s tereotypica l ly associa ted
with e lder ly people , were excluded. The neutra l pr iming condit ion
scramb led-sentence task conta in ed age-non-specific words in the place
of e lderly s tereotyped words .
After complet in g the task, each p ar t ic ipan t was par t ia l ly debriefed
a nd tha nke d for h is or he r pa r t ic ipa t ion . A se c ond e xpe r im e n te r the n
sur re pt it ious ly r e c orde d the a m oun t o f tim e the pa r t i c ipa nt took to
walk down th e corr ido r af ter exi t ing the labora tory room . Subsequently,
pa r t i c ipa nt s we re de br ie fe d onc e a ga in w i th a c om p le te e xpla na t ion of
the purpose of the e xpe r im e nt . The m a in hy pothe s is wa s tha t pa r t i c i -
pa nt s who ha d be e n pr im e d wi th the e lde r ly s t e re o type would wa lk
m ore s lowly c om pa re d to pa r t i c ipa nt s who ha d not be e n p r im e d w i th
the s tereotype-re lev ant s t imuli .
Participants. Thi r ty m a le a nd f e m a le Ne w York Unive rs i ty unde r -
gra dua te s who we re e nro l l e d in In t rod uc tory Psychology p a r t i c ipa te d
in Exp e r im e nt 2a , a nd a d i f f e re nt s a m ple of 30 pa r t i c ipa te d in Ex pe r i -
ment 2b, to par t ia l ly fulf i l l a course requirement. In both experiments ,
par t ic ipants were randomly ass igned to e i ther an e lder ly pr ime condi-
t ion or a ne ut r a l p r im e c ond i t ion . The e xpe r im e nte r ke pt h im se l f b l ind
to c on di t ion by p re pa c ka ging the va r ious s c ra m ble d- se nte nc e t a sks a nd
pic king pa c ket s r a ndom ly w he n the p a r t i c ipa nt a r r ive d a t the l a bora tory
wait ing area .
Materials . As in Expe r im e nt 1 , the pr im ing m a nipula t ion too k the
form of a s c ra m ble d- se nte nc e ta sk pre se nte d to pa r t i c ipa nts a s a t e s t o f
language prof ic iency. W e constructed tw o vers ions of the scram bled-
sentence task: one e lderly pr im e vers ion, which con ta ined w ords re la ted
to the e lder ly s tereotype , and another , neutra l version. Fo r the e lder ly
prime vers ion, the cr i t ica l s t imuli were worried Florida old lonely
grey self ishly careful sentimental wise stubborn courteous bingo
withdraw forgetfuL retired w rinkle rigid traditional bitter obedien t
conservative knits dependent ancient helpless gullible cautious a nd
alone.
The se pr im e words we re obta ine d f rom pre vious r e se a rc h tha t
e xa m in e d the c om pone nts of the e lde r ly s t e re o type (Brewe r, Dul l ,
Lui , 1981; Har r is Associa tes , 1975; McTavish, 1971; Perdue Gu rt-
man , 1990) . In the n eutra l vers ion, the e lder ly pr im e words were re-
placed w ith the wo rds un re la ted to the e lder ly s tereo type (e .g. , thirs ty,
c lean, pr iva te) .
Procedure.
Pa r t i cipa nt s took pa r t in the e xpe r im e nt one a t a t im e .
The p a r t i c ipa nt wa s inform e d tha t the purpose o f the s tudy wa s to in-
vest iga te language prof ic iency and tha t he or she was to complete a
scrambled -sentence task. T he task consis ted of 30 se ts of f ive word co m-
bina t ions . The pa r t i c ipa nt wa s ins t ruc te d to wr i t e down a gra m m a t i -
ca l ly correc t sentence usin g only fou r of the f ive words given. Par t ic i-
pants w ere a lso inform ed tha t the task was se lf-paced. A fter giving the
ins t ruc t ions , the e xpe r im e nte r l e f t the room so tha t the pa r t i c ipa nt
could co mple te the task in pr ivacy.
Af te r the pa r t i c ipa nt c om ple te d the t a sk a nd not i f i e d the e xpe r i -
m e nte r , the e xpe r im e nte r r e -e n te re d the l a b room a nd pa r t i a l ly de -
br ie fed the pa r t i c ipa nt . He o r she was inform e d tha t the e xpe r im e nt
was concerne d with ho w individu als use words in var ious , f lexible ways.
Wait ing unti l th e par t ic ip ant had gath ered a l l of his or her be longings ,
the e xpe r im e nte r to ld the pa r t i c ipa nt tha t the e le va tor wa s down the ha l l
a nd tha nke d h im or he r for pa r ti c ipa t ing .
Using a hidden s topwatch, a confedera te of the experimenter , who
was s i tt ing in a chair apparen tly wait ing to ta lk to a pro fessor in a nearby
of fice , r e c orde d the a m oun t o f im e in s e c onds tha t the pa r t i c ipa nt spe nt
wa lk ing a l e ngth of the c or r idor s t a r ting f rom the doorwa y o f the e xpe r -
im e nta l room a nd e nd ing a t a broa d s t r ip of s ilve r c a rpe t t a pe on the
floor 9.75 m away.
Af te rwa rd , the e xpe r im e nte r c a ught up w i th the pa r t i c ipa nt ne a r the
elevator and gave the complete debriefing, expla inin g the exper imen ta l
hypotheses verbally as well as giving the par t ic ipant an acco mpa nyin g
writ ten vers ion. Par t ic ipants were a lso informally asked (pr ior to this
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AUTOMATIC SOCIAL BEHAVIOR 23 7
Figure 2
Mea n ime (in seconds) to walk down the hallway after the
conclusion of the experiment, by stereotype priming condition, sepa-
rately for participants in Experiment 2a and 2b.
final debriefing) whether they thought the scrambled-sentence task
might have affected them in any way, and if they had known that the
task contained words relevant to the elderly stereotype. No participant
expressed any knowledgeof he relevanceof the words in the scrambled-
sentence task to the elderly stereotype. Furthermore, no participant be-
lieved that the words bad an impact on his or her behavior.
Results
Experiment 2a A t test was compute d to ascertain the effect
of the pr iming m anipul ation on walking speed. Participants in
the elderly prim ing conditio n (M = 8.28 s) had a slower walking
speed compared to participants in the neutral prim ing condi-
tion ( M = 7.30 s), t(28 ) = 2.86, p < .0 l, as predicted.
Experiment 2b In the replication, analyses revealed that
participants in the elderly primin g condition (M = 8.20 s) again
had a slower walking speed compared t o part icipan ts in the neu-
tral prim ing conditio n (M = 7.23 s), t(28 ) = 2.16, p < .05.
Thus, across both studies, passively activating the elderly stereo-
type r esult ed in a slower walking speed (see Figure 2 ).
Discussion
The results of the presen t experimen ts suggest t hat exposing
individu als o a series of words linked to a parti cular stereotype
influence s behavior nonconsciously. How the activated stereo-
type influen ces behavior depends on the c onten t of the activated
stereotype itself, not the sti mulus words actually presented. Be-
cause there were no allusions to time or speed in the stimulus
materials, the results of the study suggest that the elderly prim-
ing stimuli activated the elderly stereotype in memory, and par-
ticipan ts subsequently acted i n ways consistent with that acti-
vated stereotype.
Awareness Check Study
The crucia l factor in concludi ng that these results show auto-
matic effects on behavior derives from t he perceiver 's lack of
awareness of the influence of the words. Previous research (see
review in Bargh, 1992) has indicated that it is not whether the
primes are presented supraliminally or subliminally, but
whether the indivi dual is aware of the potential i nfluence of the
prime that is critical; diametrically opposite effects on judg-
ments are o btaine d if the pa rtici pant is aware versus not aware
of a possible influence by the priming stimuli (see Lombardi,
Higgins, Bargh, 1987; Strack Hannover, 1996). We con-
ducted a subsequent study to explicitly test whether the partici-
pants were aware of the potential influence of the scrambled-
sentence task. Our conclusions in terms o f automatic social be-
havior depend on the participants' not being aware of this
influence.
Method Nineteen male and female undergraduate students at New
York Universityparticipated in the experiment to partially fulfillcourse
credit. On arrival at the laboratory waiting room, participants were ran-
domly assigned to either the elderly stereotype priming condition or the
neutral priming condition.
Participants took part in the experiment one at a time. They were
informed that the purpose of the study was to investigate anguage pro-
ficiency and that they would complete a scrambled-sentence task. Par-
ticipants were randomly administered either the version of the task con-
taining words relevant to the elderly stereotype or the neutral version
containing no stereotype-relevantwords. Immediately after completion
of the task, participants were asked to complete a version of the contin-
gency awareness funnel debriefing, modeled after Page (1969). This
contingency awareness debriefing contained items concerning the pur-
pose of the study, whether the participant had suspected that the pur-
pose of;the experiment was different from what the experimenter had
explained, whether the words had any relation to each other, what pos-
sible ways the words could have influenced their behavior, whether the
participants could predict the direction of an influence if the experi-
menter had intended one, what the words in the scrambled-sentence
task could have related to (if anything), and if the participant had sus-
pected or had noticed any relation between the scrambled-sentence ask
and the concept of age. Afterward, the experimenter explained the
hypotheses to the participants and thanked them for their help.
Results and discussion Inspection of the responses revealed
that only l of the 19 participants showed any awareness of a
relationship between the st imulus words and the elderly stereo-
type. However, even this partici pant could no t predi ct in what
form or direction their behavior might have been influenced
had such an i nfluence occurred. Thus, it appears safe to con-
clude that the effect of the elderly priming manipulation on
walking speed occurre d nonconsciously.
Does Mood Mediate the Effect o f Priming
on Walking Speed?
One alt ernative expl anat ion that can be offered for the effect
of the elderly-stereotype-related stimuli on walking speed is
that, in general, the words relating to the elderly stereotype are
more likely than control words to induce in pa rticip ants a sad
mood, which might t hen be the re ason they walked more slowly.
Method
A total of 33 undergraduate men and women from New
York Universityparticipated in the experiment in order to partially ful-
fill course credit. On arrival at the experimental waiting area, partici-
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38 B A R G H , C H E N , A N D B U R R O W S
p a n t s we re ra n d o ml y a s s i g n e d t o e i t h e r th e e l d e rl y o r t h e n e u t ra l p r i m -
i n g c o n d i t i o n s .
E a c h p a r t i c i p a n t c o m p l e t e d t h e v e r si o n o f t h e s c r a m b l e d - s e n t e n c e
t a s k c o r r e s p o n d i n g t o t h e i r a s s i gn e d p r i m i n g c o n d i ti o n : e i t h e r t h e p r i m e
v e rs i o n c o n t a i n i n g e l d e r l y - s t e re o t y p e - re l e v a n t wo rd s , o r a n e u t ra l v e r -
s i o n wi t h o u t t h e e l d e r l y - s t e re o t y p e - re l e v a n t wo rd s . Im me d i a t e l y a f t e r
t h e y c o mp l e t e d t h e t a sk , a mo d i f i e d v e rs io n o f th e Af fe c t -Aro u sa l Sc a l e
( S a lo v e y & B i r n b a u m , 1 9 8 9 ) w a s a d m i n i s t e r e d to e a c h p a r t i c i p a n t .
Th i s q u e s t i o n n a i re c o n t a i n e d e i g h t b i p o l a r i t e ms d i f fe re n t i a t i n g fe e l in g s
o f e m o t i o n a n d a r o u s a l o n s c al e s r a n g i n g f r o m - 8 t o + 8 . T h e e m o t i o n
d i m e n s i o n s w e r e
bad-good disappointed-satisfied sad-happy
a n d
displeased-pleased.
T h e a r o u s a l d i m e n s i o n s w e r e
calm-excited tired-
energetic down -elated
a n d
sedate-aroused.
Pa r t i c i p a n t s r e sp o n d e d t o
e a c h d i m e n s i o n i n t e r m s o f h o w t h e y f e l t a t t h a t m o m e n t . A f t e r c o m p le -
t i o n o f t h e sc al es , p a r t i c i p a n t s we re d e b r i e fe d a n d t h a n k e d fo r t h e i r
c o o p e ra t i o n .
Results.
W e c o n d u c t e d a m u l t i v a r i a t e a na l y s is o f v a r i a n c e
( M A N O V A ) u s i n g p r i m i n g c o n d i t i o n a s th e i n d e p e n d e n t v a ri -
a b l e a n d t h e a v e r a ge o f t h e f o u r e m o t i o n s c a le s a n d t h e a v e r a g e
o f t h e f o u r a r o u s a l s c a l e s a s t h e d e p e n d e n t m e a s u r e s . A n a l y s e s
r e v e a l e d t h a t t h e m a i n e f f ec t o f p r i m i n g c o n d i t i o n w a s n o t s ig -
n i f i c a n t a c r o s s t h e t w o d e p e n d e n t m e a s u r e s , F ( 1 , 3 1 ) < 1 . F u r -
t h e r m o r e , t h e r e w a s n o i n t e r a c t i o n b e tw e e n p r i m i n g c o n d i t io n
a n d t h e tw o d e p e n d e n t m e a s u r e s o f e m o t i o n a n d a r o u s a l , F ( 1,
3 1 ) < 1 . I f a n y t h i n g , p a r t i c i p a n t s i n t h e e l d e r l y p r i m i n g c o n d i -
t i o n w e r e in a m o r e p o s i t iv e m o o d ( M = 1 . 7) t h a n c o n t r o l p a r -
t i c i p a n t s ( M = 0 . 3 ) a n d w e r e m o r e a r o u s e d o r e n e r g e ti c a s w e l l
( M s = - 0 . 5 a n d - 1 . 2 , r e s p e c ti v el y ) . T h u s , p a r t i c i pa n t s w h o
w e r e e x p o s e d t o t h e e l d er l y s t e re o t y p e s t i m u l i w e r e n o t m o r e
l ik e l y t o b e s a d o r le s s a r o u s e d c o m p a r e d t o p a r t i c i p a n t s w h o
w e r e n o t e x p o s e d t o t h e s t e r e o t y p e - r e l a te d s t i m u l i . T h e a l t e r n a -
t iv e e x p l a n a t i o n f o r o u r f i n d i n g s i n t e r m s o f a m e d i a t i n g e f f e ct
o f m o o d c a u s e d b y t h e e l de r ly s t e r e o t y p e p r i m e s a p p e a r s
u n t e n a b l e .
E x p e r i m e n t 3 : B e h a v i o r a l E f f e c t s o f t h e A f r i c a n
A m e r i c a n S t e r e o t y p e
T h e r e s u l t s o f E x p e r i m e n t 2 s h o w e d t h a t t h e a u t o m a t i c a c t i -
v a t i o n o f th e e l d e rl y s t e r e o ty p e h a s d i r e c t a n d n o n c o n s c i o u s
e f f ec t s o n b e h a v i o r i n l i n e w i t h t h e c o n t e n t o f t h e s t e r e o ty p e .
E x p e r i m e n t 3 w a s i n t e n d e d t o a s s e ss t h e g e n e r a l it y o f t he s e r e -
s u l t s t o a n e n t i r e l y d i f f e r e n t s t e r e o t y p e - - t h a t f o r A f r i c a n
A m e r i c a n s . A s d i s c u s s e d a b o v e , D e v i n e ( 1 9 8 9 ) a l r e a d y s h o w e d
t h a t t h i s s t e r e o t y p e b e c o m e s a c t i v e a u t o m a t i c a l l y t o i n f l u e n c e
p e r c e p t i o n s o f a t a r g e t ' s h o st i li ty . T h e r e f o r e , a c c o r d i n g t o t h e
p r e s e n t m o d e l , t h i s a u t o m a t i c a c t i v a t i o n s h o u l d a ls o p r o d u c e a
t e n d e n c y t o w a r d h o s t i le b e h a v i o r i n t h e p e r ce i ve r .
A n o t h e r i m p o r t a n t c h a n g e in p r o c e d u r e f r o m E x p e r i m e n t 2
w a s t h a t t h e p r i m i n g s t i m u l i w e r e p r e s e n t e d s u b l i m i n a ll y , c o m -
p l e te l y r u l i n g o u t e x p e r i m e n t e r d e m a n d o r o t h e r e x p l a n a t i o n s
o f o u r r e s u l ts i n t e r m s o f c o n s c i o u s , s t r a te g i c p r o c e s se s .
M e t h o d
Overview.
Th e p re se n t e x p e r i me n t wa s d e s i g n e d t o s t u d y t h e e f fe c t
o f a c t i v a t io n o f a n Af r i c a n Am e r i c a n s t e re o t y p e o n so c i a l b e h a v i o r . Pa r -
t i c i p a n t s we re i n s t ru c t e d t o wo rk o n a c o mp u t e r i z e d v i su a l t a sk t h a t
p re t e s t i n g h a d sh o wn wa s c o n s i d e re d t o b e v e ry b o r i n g a n d t e d i o u s .
Imme d i a t e l y b e fo re e a c h t r i a l , t h e c o mp u t e r f l a sh e d a su b l i mi n a l p i c -
t u r e o f a y o u n g A f r i c a n A m e r i c a n m a l e f a ce o r a p i c t u r e o f a y o u n g
C a u c a s i a n ma l e fa c e. On t h e 1 3 0 t h t r i a l , t h e c o m p u t e r a l e r t e d t h e p a r -
t i c i p a n t o f a n o s t e n s i b l e d a t a - sa v i n g fa i l u re a n d a l so i n fo rm e d t h e p a r -
t i c i p a n t t h a t h e o r sh e wo u l d h a v e t o d o t h e e n t i re c o m p u t e r t a sk a g a i n .
A h i d d e n v i d e o c a me ra wa s p l a c e d i n t h e l a b ro o m t o c a p t u re p a r t i c i -
p a n t s ' f a c i a l r e a c t i o n s t o t h e o s t e n s i b l e c o m p u t e r e r ro r a n d n e ws t h a t
t h e t a sk wo u l d h a v e t o b e re d o n e . Al so , t h e e x p e r i m e n t e r r a t e d t h e h o s -
t i l it y o f t h e p a r t i c i p a n t ' s r e a c t i o n . Th e h y p o t h e s i s wa s t h a t p a r t i c i p a n t s
p re se n t e d su b l i m i n a l l y wi t h Af r i c a n A me r i c a n fa c e s wo u l d re a c t wi t h
g r e a t er h o s t i li t y to t h e c o m p u t e r e r r o r, c o m p a r e d t o p a r t i c i p a n t s p r i m e d
wi t h C a u c a s i a n fa ce s .
Participants
P a r t i c i p a n ts w e r e 4 1 n o n - A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n u n d e r -
g ra d u a t e s t u d e n t s f ro m Ne w Yo rk Un i v e rs i ty wh o p a r t i c i p a t e d i n t h e
experiment to part ia l ly fu l f i l l course cred i t .
Apparatus.
A G a t e w a y 4 8 6 c o m p u t e r w i t h a V G A c o l o r m o n i t o r
wa s u se d t o a d mi n i s t e r t h e p r i mi n g ma n i p u l a t i o n . A Vi su a l B a s i c p ro -
g r a m w a s c r e a t e d t h a t a l lo w e d t h e e x p e r i m e n t e r t o b e b l i n d t o p r i m i n g
c o n d i t i o n s , g a v e p a r t i c i p a n t s d i re c t i o n s a b o u t a n o d d -e v e n t a sk , a n d
a d m i n i s t e r e d t h e e x p e r i m e n t a l t r ia l s. W h e n t h e e x p e r i m e n t e r e n t e r e d
t h e p a r t i c i p a n t ' s I D n u m b e r i n t o t h e c o m p u t e r, t h e c o m p u t e r r a n d o m l y
a ss i g n e d th e p a r t i c i p a n t t o a c o n d i t i o n , k e e p i n g t h e p a r t i c i p a n t ' s c o n d i -
t i o n f ro m t h e e x p e r i me n t e r ' s k n o wl e d g e . Du r i n g t h e e x p e r i me n t a l
p h a se , e a c h p a r t i c i p a n t wa s su b l i mi n a l l y e x p o se d t o b l a c k -a n d -wh i t e
p h o t o g r a p h s o f Af r i c a n Am e r i c a n o r C a u c a s i a n fa c es . On a g i v en tr i a l ,
t h e fa c e p h o t o g ra p h wa s fo l l o we d b y t wo d i f fe re n t p a t t e rn ma sk s i n
ra p i d su c c e ss i o n . Th e f i r s t p a t t e rn ma sk w a s c o mp o se d o f a b l a c k -a n d -
wh i t e p a t t e rn o f d i a g o n a l c ro s s -h a tc h e s . Th e se c o n d ma sk , p re s e n t e d
i mm e d i a t e l y a f t e r t h e f i r st , wa s c o n c e p t u a l l y s i mi l a r b u t n o t i d e n t i c a l t o
t h e t a rg e t p ic t u re , wh i c h w a s c o mp o se d o f f ro m 4 t o 2 0 c o l o re d c i rc l es
o n a g ra y b a c k g ro u n d . P re t e s t i n g h a d sh o wn t h a t t h e ma sk i n g p ro c e -
d u re wa s e f fe c ti ve i n t h a t i n d i v i d u a l s we re n o t a wa re o f t h e p re se n c e o f
t h e fa c e p h o t o g ra p h s .
T h e p r e s e n t a t io n s p e e d o f e a c h s u b l i m i n a l p i c tu r e ( f a c e s a n d m a s k s )
wa s b o u n d e d b y t h e c o mp u t e r h a rd wa re . Sp e c if ic a ll y, t h e 7 6 H z m o n i t o r
s c r e e n r e fr e s h r a t e r e s u lt e d i n a m i n i m u m p r e s e n t a ti o n t i m e o f 1 3 m s
a n d a m a x i m u m o f 2 6 m s . E a c h t a r g e t p i c t u r e w a s t h e n p r e s e n t e d f o r 3
s b e fo re i t d i sa p p e a re d a n d t h e p a r t i c i p a n t wa s a sk e d t o ma k e t h e o d d
o r e v e n re sp o n se .
P a r t i c i p an t s w e r e v i d e o ta p e d t h r o u g h o u t t h e o d d - e v e n t a s k b y m e a n s
o f a h i d d e n v i d e o c a me ra . T h e v i d e o c a m e ra a l l o we d a c le a r v i ew o f
fa c i a l e x p re s s i o n s wh i l e t h e p a r t i c i p a n t c o mp l e t e d t h e c o mp u t e r t a sk
a n d wa s e x p o se d t o t h e o s t e n s i b l e c o m p u t e r e r ro r .
Procedure.
E a c h p a r t i c i p a n t c o m p l e t e d t h e e x p e r i m e n t i n d i v i d u -
a ll y. W h e n b r o u g h t i n t o t h e e x p e r i m e n t a l r o o m , h e o r s h e w a s i n f o r m e d
t h a t t h e e x p e r i me n t e r wa s i n t e re s t e d i n h o w i n d i v i d u a l s u se d i f fe re n t
a sp e c t s o f a p i c t u re t o ma k e q u i c k ju d g m e n t s . P i c t u re s o f 4 -2 5 d i f fe re n t
c o l o re d c i rc le s wo u l d a p p e a r i n s i d e a sma l l b o x d ra wn o n t h e sc re e n fo r
a fe w se c o n d s a t a t i me . Fo r e a c h p i c t u re , t h e p a r t i c i p a n t wa s t o ma k e a
d e c is i o n as t o w h e t h e r t h e p i c tu r e c o n t a i n e d a n o d d o r a n e v e n n u m b e r
o r c i rc l e s . Al t h o u g h e a c h t a rg e t p i c t u re wa s o n fo r o n l y 2 o r 3 s , t h e
p a r t i c i p a n t wa s a sk e d t o ma k e t h e mo s t a c c u ra t e j u d g me n t p o ss i b l e .
T h e e x p e r i m e n t e r l e ft t h e r o o m a f t e r t h e p a r t i c i p a n t c o m p l e t e d t h e
p r a c t ic e t r i a l s a n d w h e n t h e e x p e r i m e n t e r w a s s u r e t h e p a r t i c i p a n t u n -
d e rs t o o d t h e d i re c t i o n s .
A t t h e e n d o f t h e 1 3 0 t h t r ia l , t h e c o m p u t e r p r o g r a m b e e p e d a n d d i s -
p l a y e d a n e r ro r me ssa g e s t a t i n g F1 1 e r ro r : f a il u re sa v i n g d a t a . Af t e r
t h e e x p e r i m e n t e r c l ic k e d o n t h e s c r e en r e sp o n s e b u t t o n O K t h e c o m -
p u t e r d i sp la y e d a n o t h e r me ssa ge : Yo u mu s t s ta r t t h e p ro g ra m o v e r
a g a i n , Th e p a r t i c i p a n t wa s t h e n i n s t ru c t e d t o g et t h e e x p e r i me n t e r . Th e
e x p e r i m e n t e r c a m e b a c k i n t o t h e r o o m a n d f i dd l e d w i t h t h e c o m p u t e r ,
f i na l ly a n n o u n c i n g I ' m s o rr y , b u t y o u ' ll h a v e t o d o t h e e x p e r i m e n t o v e r
a g a i n . Af t e r mo re f id d l i ng , t h e e x p e r i m e n t e r c o n c l u d e d Ac t u a l l y , i t
l o o k s l ik e t h e c o mp u t e r d i d sa v e y o u r d a t a . Yo u d o n ' t h a v e t o d o i t o v e r
a g a i n . Th e c r i t i c a l d e p e n d e n t me a su re s we re t h e p a r t i c i p a n t ' s v i d e o -
t a p e d re a c t i o n s t o t h e n e ws t h a t h e o r sh e mi g h t h a v e t o d o t h e t a sk
8/12/2019 () Automaticity of Social Behavior
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AUTOMATIC SOCIAL BEHAVIOR 23 9
over again and the experimenter's rating of the participant's degree of
hostility.
Subsequently, participants were asked to fil l out two questionnaires:
the Racial Ambivalence Scale (Katz & Hass, 1988) and the Modern
Racism Scale ( McConahay, 1986). Participants were informed that the
scales were just part of a pilot pretest in preparation for some future
experiments and were not linked to the previous experiment. When the
experimenter left the room to allow he participant to fill out the surveys
in private, the experimenter recorded her own ratings of the partici-
pant's irritability, hostility, anger, and uncooperativeness on 10-point
unipolar scales based on her interaction with the participant.
Finally, participants were probed for suspicion and then debriefed.
Participants were asked if they had seen anything unusual in the com-
puter pictures, if they thought the presence of any pictures could have
changed their behavior in any way, and to describe how. Only 2 of the
participants actually reported seeing faces in the computer task. How-
ever, those participants could not identify whether the faces were Cau-
casian or African American, and the participants could not guess that
the study was about race in any way. Furthermore, no participants were
suspicious that completing the two race scales had anything to do with
the present experiment. Participants were informed that they had been
videotaped to obtain facial reactions to the computer error.
Two coders who were blind to experimental conditions and hypothe-
ses rated all the videotaped facial expressions from the 41 participants
on a 5-point unipolar scale of hostility ranging from 0 (not at all hostile)
to 10
extre mely hostile).
The correlation between the two raters was
.64, and discrepancies between the two sets of ratings were resolved by
averaging he two sets into an overall hostility index.
Figure 3. Meanhostility ratings of the participants' reactions to the
computer error, by stereotype priming condition, separately for the ex-
perimenters and the blind coders ratings (Experiment 3).
R e s u l t s
We conducted a MANOVA using an average of the experi-
ment er's hostility ratings across the four trai t scales and an av-
erage of the two videotape coders' hostility ratings as dependent
measures, and primin g condition as the independent
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