The Prime Effect And Its Eliminated Mechanism In Impression Formation

Impression formation is an important field in social psychology. Since 1970s, under the influence of cognitive Psychology, this field began to study people's inner mind processes. It was from then on the priming effect study in impression formation rose and developed.In former research, researchers focus on whether the perceivers would infer trait spontaneously when they read target's behaviors sentences, and what influence the priming effect would be made in this process. The behaviors sentences researchers used before imply either significantly trait attributes, or fully neutral. A significant trait can be inferred from the sentence itself even its behavior was invisible in former condition, and none in later condition. Hence stronger spontaneous trait inference effect can be inducted in former then in later. In fact, however, a mount of behaviors are ambiguous, different trait can be inferred when it was linked to different target. So present research try to discus whether STI process would occasion if an ambiguous behavior was primed by different catalogue labels in the base of former researches. In addition, it was found in former researches that if the participations were primed appropriate, related effect must be occur. But recent conclusions show that a superiors decision would be made if one were in the mode of unconscious thought, and ways to eliminate the effect of priming may be found by the theory. So a more important goal would be finding a mechanism to eliminating the effect of priming by unconsciousness thought theory in present research.3 studies show in present research. In study 1, catalogue labels are primed subliminally to find what influence would the value of prime and probe consistence made to the perceivability of ambiguous behaviors.41 collage students participated in this study. Study 2 was promoted in the base of study 1, which the catalogue labels are primed supraliminally.30 collage students participated in this study. In study 3,175 participants (evaluate (target sunder 3.thought mode after priming to prove prime effect could be eliminated under unconscious thought.The following conclusions were drawn from the above three experiments and the former results:1. For target's ambiguous behaviors, perceivers would be influenced by the priming of catalogue label, and more positive trait would be inferred in the condition of positive trait implied in the catalogue label than in the condition of negative trait implied in the catalogue label.2. The effect of priming in subliminal condition is weaker than in supraliminal condition under which participants would make STI to target's behaviors even with ambiguous where effectless in subliminal condition.3. If the target is a individual implied more positive trait, then participants could make stronger STI, and it means that participants show stronger willing to infer traits from targets with positive traits than targets with negative traits which participants intent to avoid to them.4. Since no effects were found when participants evaluate target's ambiguous behaviors after priming in account of some reasons, more evidence is required to prove prime effect could be eliminated by unconscious thought.