Priming from novel masked stimuli depends on target set size

• Authors: Andrea Kiesel , Wilfried Kunde , Carsten Pohl , Joachim Hoffmann

Abstracts

EN

When objects denoted by target words are classified as belonging to a certain category (e.g., to be either small or large) responding is faster when the target word is preceded by a masked prime word belonging to the same rather than a different category. Recently, there has been some controversy on whether such masked priming effects are confined to primes that are practised as targets as well, or whether they transfer to other novel prime words. We report data which show that the transfer of unconscious priming to unpractised stimuli depends on the size of the target set. Priming does transfer to novel (unpractised) primes with a large target set (40 different target words), whereas no transfer to novel primes occurs with a small target set (4 different target words). We conclude that the size and structure of the target set crucially determine the way participants handle a task and thus, determine how unconscious stimuli are processed.

Keywords

EN

Masked priming; novel stimuli; action trigger account

• Publisher: VIZJA University
• Journal: Advances in Cognitive Psychology
• Year: 2006
• Volume: 2
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 37-45

Contributors

author

Andrea Kiesel

• Department of Psychology, Julius-Maximilians University of Würzburg, Germany

author

Wilfried Kunde

• Department of Psychology, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Germany

author

Carsten Pohl

• Department of Psychology, Julius-Maximilians University of Würzburg, Germany

author

Joachim Hoffmann

• Department of Psychology, Julius-Maximilians University of Würzburg, Germany

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Identifiers

DOI

10.2478/v10053-008-0043-y