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ElderlyPrimingEffectsonReactionTime,GripStrength,andDrivingProficiencyCarnegieMellonUniversity
ZachAndersonAdvisors:Dr.DavidCreswell,Dr.RobertaKlatzky
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Abstract
Elderlyprimingisatopicwithinpsychologycurrentlyunderintensescrutiny.Generallydefined,elderlyprimingistheideathatprimingstimulirelatingtotheelderlystereotypemakeonemorelikelytosubsequentlybehaveinwaysconsistentwiththisstereotype(e.g.,walkingslower).Thecurrentpaperteststhisphenomenonwiththepredictionthatelderlystereotypeprimingwillreducephysicalgripstrength,reactiontimes,anddrivingperformanceonasimulatortask.Inthisstudy,primingstimuliwerepresentedsupraliminallywithold/youngfaces.Amarginallysignificantincreaseinpeakgripstrengthandoverallgripstrengthfollowingourelderlyprimingmanipulationwasobserved,comparedtoyoungormixedfacescontrolconditions.Additionally,participantsexhibitedsignificantlyslowerresponsetimetopicturesofelderlyfacesinthefacialrecognitiontaskthanintheyoungormixedcondition.Ourhandgripresultssuggestthepresenceofanelderlyprimingeffect,however,nottheonewehadoriginallyhypothesized.Iproposeamodel,whichcombinesourphysicalresourcesmechanism(Klatzky&Creswell,2014)withamotivationprimingeffect.Thismotivationprimearises,asaresultofaparticipant’sawarenessofourdependentmeasure.Therefore,aselderlyprimingalterstheperceptionofparticipants,causinghimorhertofeelrelativelyweak,eachparticipantsqueezesthehandgripapparatusmorefirmlytocompensatefortheperceivedlossofgripstrength.
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IntroductionSocialprimingisanareaofpsychologywhosereliabilityandimpactisunder
intensescrutiny(Abbott2013,Yong2012).Primingeffectshavebeendemonstratedonseveraloccasionsandhavebeenshowntoaffectmanydifferentbehaviors.OneparticularlyfamousexampleofthisisseeninBargh,Chen,Burrows(1996),whereexperimenterspresentedparticipantswithawordscramblingtaskembeddedwithelderlyprimingwords(i.e.Florida,old,grey)andshowedasignificantdecreaseinwalkingspeed.However,alongwiththesefindingscomeaseriesofnon‐replicationswhichhavecalledthisareaofpsychologyintoquestion(e.g.Doyen,Klein,Pichon,&Cleerermans,2012;Pashler,Coburn,&Harris,2012;Shanksetal.,2013).
Inthisstudy,wetestatheoretically‐basedapproachtounderstandingsocialprimingphenomena(Klatzky&Creswell,2014).Thisapproachinvolvestheincorporationofenvironmentalstimuliintoacognitiveweightedbidscalculator.Participants,whenpresentedwithstereotypicstimuli,experienceacognitivespreadingeffecttoothersymbolicnodesofcognition,whichareinsomewayconnectedtotheconceptbeingprimed.Thisgoesontoaffectaparticipant’senergystateattribution,whichthenmanifestsinthechangesinbehaviorormindsetobservedinpreviousstudies.Inthisstudy,wetestwhetheronetypeofpriming,elderlypriming,affectshandgripstrength,reactiontime,anddrivingproficiency. Primingwasoriginallystudiedastheactivationofnodalstructuresofassociatedideasorconceptswheretheactivationofonenodespreadtoallthosenodesconnectedtoit(e.g.,Dehaeneetal.,2001;Meyer&Schvaneveldt,1971;
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Schacter&Buckner,1998).Thisearlymodelofpriminghasbeenrecentlyextendedtoincludeavarietyofdifferentsocialphenomena.Thesephenomenainvolvebothconsciousandnon‐consciouscomponentsandcanbeaffectedbystimuliwithinandwithoutourconsciousattention(Bargh,1994).Oneexampleofthisnewresearchfocusesonthejudgmentoffacesandhowfeaturesofafaceleadtoautomaticdeterminationsofhowtrustworthythefaceis(e.g.Todorovetal,2009;Willis,Todorov,2006).Anotherstudyshowsthatholdinghotdrinksmakesparticipantsmorelikelytoactinsociallywarmways(Williams&Bargh,2008)whileathirdshowstheeffectlemonscentedroomscanhaveonparticipantswhosecharitableactivitiesincreaseswhentheroomtheywaitinfeelscleaner(Liljenquist,Zhong,&Galinsky,2010).Thispreviousworkprovidesafoundationforprimingeffectsacrossavarietyofdifferentstimuliandprimingmanipulations.
Aarts,Custers,&Marien(2008)proposeaseparateparadigmforprimingeffects.Participantsintheirstudyaresubliminallypresentedwithexertionprimes(e.g.,exert,vigorous).Aftercompletingareactiontimetask,embeddedwithexertionprimingwords,participantsweretestedonthestrengthanddurationoftheirgrip.Resultsfromthisstudyrevealasignificantincreaseingripstrengthanddurationfollowingthepresentationofexertionprimingwords.Inadditiontothisclassicprimingmanipulation,experimentersinthisstudyaddoneextraconditioninvolvingthecouplingofpositivelyvalencedwordswiththeirprimingmanipulation.Thepurposeofthisadditionwastoaddanaspectofrewardanddemonstratehowchangesinmotivationworkintandemwithprimingeffects.
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Resultsfromthisseparateconditionrevealsignificantlyincreasedgripstrengthanddurationwhencomparedtotheprime‐onlyconditionandthecontrolcondition.
Variousotherexamplesshowhowprimingeffectscanbeachievedusingsubliminal(Greenwaldetal,1998)orsupraliminalstimuli(Barghetal,1992;Fazioetal,1986).Furtheritissuggestedthattheseprimingeffectswillbereasonablyconsistentsolongasaparticipantremainunawareofexactlywhatconstructisbeingprimed(Bargh,1994).Thisseriesofworkestablishesawidevarietyofdifferentprimingparadigmsanddemonstratestheapplicabilityandflexibilityofprimingeffects. Perhapsthemostwell‐knownsocialprimingstudiesfocusontheelderly.Specifically,ithasbeenshownthatscrambledsentencescontainingelderlystereotypicwords(elderlypriming)makesparticipantswalkslower(Bargh,Chen,Burrows,1996).Forexample,intwoinitialstudies,detailedinBarghetal(1996),usedawordscramblingtasktoprimeparticipantswithtwoseparatestereotypes.Themostwellknowninvolvedtheimbeddingofelderlyprimes(i.e.Florida,old,grey)intorandomlyorganizedstringsofwords.Participantswereinstructedtoconstructcoherentsentencesinwhat,theyweretold,wasalanguagerelatedtest.Aftercompletingthistask,participantsweretoldthestudywasoverandtheywereallowedtoleave.Withouttheparticipant’sknowledgetheywerethentimedastheywalkedoutofthedoortothestudytoapredefinedendpoint.Thisprocessmadeupthisstudy’sprimarydependentmeasure,thewalkingspeedofparticipants.Resultsindicatethattheimbeddedelderlyprimeshadasignificantimpactonreducingwalkingspeedinparticipants.
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Asecondstudy(Bargh,Chen&Burrows,1996)observedtheeffectofwordsprimingrudenessandpolitenessonthelikelihoodthataparticipantwillinterruptascriptedconversationbetweentheexperimenterandatrainedconfederate.Experimentersusedthesamewordscramblingtestfromthepreviousexperimenttopresenttheirprimingwords.Resultsrevealedasteplikeprogressionwiththoseprimedwithpolitenessbeingsignificantlylesslikelytointerrupttheconversationthanwerethecontrolgroupwhoweresignificantlylesslikelytointerruptthanwerethoseprimedwithrudewords.
Yet,morerecenteffortstoreplicatethesefindingshavemetwithmixedresults.Onestudy(Doyen, Klein, Pichon, & Cleerermans, 2012)soughttoexactlyreplicatethemethodsfromBargh,Chen,&Burrows(1996)inanelderlyprimingstudy.Insteadofaconfederate,alasertimingsystemwasusedtomeasurewalkingspeedasparticipantsleftthestudyroom.Resultsfromthisstudyrevealednosignificantresultsand,followingits’publication,theconceptofelderlyprimingandallpreviousworkinsocialprimingcameunderintensescrutiny(Bartlett,2013).Thecontroversysurroundingelderlyprimingissummedupinaseriesofnonreplications(e.g.Doyen, Klein, Pichon, & Cleerermans, 2012; Pashler, Coburn, & Harris, 2012; Shanks et al., 2013). This group of researchers, among others,
challenged the concept of elderly priming and suggested Bargh’s results were due
to poor experimental methods. However, if this is the case, why then do we see
various successful replications using the same types of primes (Chambon, 2009;
Cesario et al, 2006)?
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In answer to this question, we posit an intersensory interaction theoretical
account to help explain when social priming effects are likely to occur.
Specifically, Klatzky & Creswell (2014) describes this intersensory interaction as
being an integration of a variety of “weighted bids” which is similar to the process
of estimating the weight of a cup sitting on a table. When a participant is asked to
judge this weight, several different sensory tools are at their disposal. First, they
might receive visual input and might realize that a bottle made of plastic might
weigh less than one made of metal. Next they might squeeze or pick up the cup to
gain an appreciation for the cup’s density and other dimensions. Each of these
different types of information receive a different “bid” and some “bids” carry
more weight than others. All of this information, along with their weights, are
then integrated and eventually calculate the estimation of that objects weight
which a participant may then report.
Elderly priming might work in a very similar way. The distinction between
elderly priming and the cup example is seen in the “weighing” process inherent in
this model. In elderly priming “weight” is attributed not to a series of sensory
information, as in the cup example, but to patterns of activation of associated
memories and heuristics which color each person’s unique view of the elderly
stereotype. This activation is thought to originate through the presentation of a
related environmental stimulus, such as an elderly stereotypic word in a sentence
unscrambling priming task.
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We test this model in an elderly priming study.Thecurrentstudyemploysasupraliminalpresentationformat.Weusepicturesofelderlyfacestoactivatetheelderlystereotypeinataskwhichrequiresparticipantstodeterminethegenderofeachface.Dependentmeasuresforthisstudyinvolvehandgripstrength,responsetimetoeachgenderdetermination,andadrivingsimulation.Gripstrengthwasmeasuredinthreeways.Theseincludethepeakstrengthoftheparticipantsgrip,theoverallforcemeasuredwiththeintervalofthegripstrengthfunction,andafinalmeasureofaparticipantsabilitytoreachtheirinitialpeakgripstrength,measuredastheslopefromthebeginningofthesqueezetothefirstrecordedpeak.BuildingontheworkofBarghandcolleagueswepredictedtheparticipantsintheelderlyprimedconditionwouldactinwaysthatareconsistentwiththisstereotype(i.e.,slowertoreact,weakerhandgripstrength,andpoorerdrivingperformance).Specifically,Ihypothesizethattheelderlyprimingconditionwillexhibitweakerandlessresponsivegripthanthemixedandyoungconditions.Ihypothesizethatthe
Figure1:Energystatebidsareactivatedbyelderlyprimingwords.Thisactivationgoesontoaffectourenergystateattribution,manifestinginouralteredexertionlevel.
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elderlyprimeconditionwillexhibitdecreaseddrivingproficiencywhencomparedtotheyoungandmixedconditions.Ihypothesizethatreactiontimewillbesignificantlyslowerinparticipantswhohavebeenprimedwiththeelderlystereotypewhencomparedtotheyoungandmixedcondition.
Method
ParticipantsandDesign
Thedesignofthecurrentexperimentwasawithinsubjectsone‐waydesignwiththreelevelsofourindependentvariable.Irecruited34participants,17malesand17females,fromtheCarnegieMellonUniversitycampus.Participantswerecompensatedwithoneresearchcredittowardintroductiontopsychologylevelcourseswitharesearchrequirement.Participantswererunthroughaonehourexperimentwhichwaspresentedasaseriesofunrelatedtasksthatthelabwasinterestedinusinginfuturestudies.Thesamplewas44.1%AsianAmerican,23.5%Caucasian,2.9%AfricanAmerican,5.9%Latino/Hispanic,and20.6%Other.Procedure
Uponentryintothestudyroom,participantscompleteinformedconsentandthenbeginaseriesoftaskswhicharebrokenupintothreeidenticalblocks,eachcorrespondingwiththeelderlyprimecondition,theyoungprimecondition,orthemixedcontrolcondition.Everyparticipantcompletedeachofthesethreeblocksandtheorder,whichtheywerepresentedwascounterbalancedacrossstudyparticipants.Bothexperimenterandsubjectwereblindtotheorderofconditions.
Eachblockconsistedofthreesubparts.Firstparticipantscompletedareactiontimetaskwheretheyidentifythegenderofpicturesdepictingdifferent
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faces.Theycompletedthistaskonacomputerbypressing“1”ifthepicturedisplayedafemalefaceand“2”ifthepicturewasofamaleface.Eachconditionconsistedoffiftytotaltrialsandpulledpicturesfromthreeseparatesetsofpictures.Ourprimarymanipulationwastheageofthepictureswhichvarieddependingonwhichsetofpictureswasselected.Inoneconditionparticipantswereshownonlyelderlyfaces(Ages49andup).Inasecondcondition,participantswereshownonlyyoungfaces(Ages22andbelow).Inathirdconditionparticipantswerepresentedwitharandommixofbothagegroups.Therewerenorepeatedfacesinthisfinalconditionandeveryconditionwasmatchedforthenumberoffaces.Pictureswererandomlyselectedfromeachlistleadingtoequalrepetitionoffacesineachcondition.Thespeedwithwhicheachparticipantrespondedtoeachpictureaswellastheoverallnumberofcorrectresponseswererecorded.
PicturesforthistaskwerepulledfromtheneutralfacestimulidatabasefromtheParkAgingMindLaboratory(Minear&Park,2004).Thefortytotalpicturesselectedforthistaskwerechosenbasedupon,first,thepreviouslymentionedagerequirements,thenthegenderandethnicityofthepersondisplayedinthepicture.HalfofthefacespresentinthecurrentstudyarefemalefacesandtwentypercentofthefacespresentedareAfricanAmerican,theremainderbeingcomposedofCaucasianfaces.Picturesarematchedacrossconditionbasedongenderandethnicity.Eachconditionismatchedforthetwelvenewfacespresentedineachofthethreeconditionsofthestudy.
Followingthecompletionofone50‐trialsequence,participantsperformedagriptest,usingahanddynamometerwhichfitintotheirhandmuchlikethehandle
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ofatennisracket.Eachgriptestconsistedofa2000ms“Ready”screenfollowedbya3000ms“Squeeze“screenandfinallya1000ms“Stop”screen.Aperiodofcalibrationtookplaceatthebeginningofthestudywheretheexperimenterinstructedparticipantstosqueezethedynamometerwithsimilartotheforcetheymightexertduringahandshake.Ifforcewasnotwithin0‐100Newtons,feedbackwasprovided.Participantswerethentoldtomimicthisgriptothebestoftheirabilitythroughouttheremaininghandgriptrials.Withineachblock,thesqueezetestoccurredthreetimes,onceafterthesequenceofoldfaces,onceaftertheyoung,andonceafterthemixed.Thevariablesofinterestwerethetotalforceexertedoverthreeseconds(measuredastheIntegralofthecurvegeneratedbythehandgripsoftware)andtheparticipant’speakgripstrength.DatawasrecordedandprocessedusingLoggerProsoftware.
FinallyparticipantswereaskedtocompleteabriefdrivingsimulationcompletedontheSpeedDreams2.0software.ThesimulationinvolvedtheRuudskogenRacetrack,whichparticipantsweretoldtocomplete“assafelyaspossible”.Thisfinaltaskinvolvesthreeprimarydependentmeasures,namely,thetimetocompletetherace,themaximumspeed,andarecklessnessscore.Thefinalmeasureiscalculatedbytheexperimenterasthesumofthenumberofcrashesandthenumberoftimestheparticipantgoesoffroadthroughoutthedurationoftherace.Thiscalculationwasmadebytheexperimenterwhowasblindtostudycondition.DataAnalysis
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Handgripdataforthisstudywasaveragedacrossthethreesqueezesperformedineachblock.Thespanofa“squeeze”wasdefinedasstartingafterarecordedincreaseinstrengthofgreaterthanoneNewton,andendingoncetherestinggripstrengthhadagainbeenreached.Theintegralwastakenofeachfunctionwiththeconstraintsofthepreviouslydefinedgripaslimits.Peakwasdefinedasthemaximumstrengthachievedwithinthelimitsofthesqueeze.Reactiontimewasrecordedthrougheprimeoutput.Finallydrivingperformancewasmeasuredinmultipleways.OverallracecompletiontimeandtopspeedwererecordedfromSpeedDreams2.0dataoutput.Therecklessnessmeasurewasrecordedbyablindexperimenterwhocountedthenumberoftimesaparticipantdroveoffroadandthenumberoftimestheparticipantranintoawall.Thesetwomeasureswerethensummedcreatingtherecklessnessmeasure.Onesubjectwasremovedfromdataanalysisonthegroundsthattheyweresignificantlyweakerinthegripstrengthmeasure.
Results
Allhanddynamometerdata(peakgripstrengthandintegralgripstrength)showedsignificantpositiveskewinpreliminaryanalysesandwerelogtransformedpriortoanalysis.Itwaspredictedthatpeakgripstrengthwoulddecreasefollowingexposuretoelderlyfacescomparedtopeakstrengthfollowingthemixedandyoungconditions.TotestthishypothesisweconductedarepeatedmeasuresANOVAwithprimingconditionasthewithin‐subjectsindependentvariableconsistingofthreelevels.Wefoundasignificanteffectforprimingcondition,F(1,31)=4.02,p=0.05,η2= 0.12.Specifically,participantswhohadbeenexposedtoelderlyfaces(M=
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1.68N,SE=0.04N)exhibitedhigherpeakgripstrengththandidthemixedcondition(M=1.63,SE=0.05)ortheyoungcondition(M=1.634,SE=0.04).Follow‐uppairwisecomparisonsrevealasignificantdifferencebetweentheelderlyandmixedconditions(p=0.03),aswellasasignificanteffectbetweentheelderlyandyoungconditions(p=0.05).
Itwaspredictedthattheoverallforceexertedinourgripstrengthmeasure,measuredastheintegraloftheforcefunction,woulddecreaseforparticipantsintheelderlycondition.TotestthishypothesisweconductedrepeatedmeasuresANOVAwithprimingconditionasthewithin‐subjectsindependentvariableconsistingofthreelevels.Wefoundamarginallysignificanteffectforprimingcondition,F(1,31)=3.973,p=0.055.Specifically,participantswhohadbeenexposedtoelderlyfaces(M=2.02,SE=0.04)exhibitedgreateroverallgripstrengththandidthemixedcondition(M=1.98,SE=0.04)ortheyoungcondition(M=1.97,SE=0.04).Pairwisecomparisonsrevealasignificanteffectbetweentheelderlyandmixedconditions,(p=0.04),aswellasamarginallysignificanteffectbetweentheelderlyandyoungconditions,(p=0.055).
Wepredictedrecklessnesstobesignificantlyhigherfollowingexposuretoelderlyprimescomparedtoexposuretoyoungprimeormixedprimeconditions.TotestthishypothesisweconductedarepeatedmeasuresANOVAwithprimingconditionasthewithinsubjectsindependentvariableconsistingofthreelevels.Contrarytothishypothesiswedidnotfoundasignificantprimingeffectforage,F(1,33)=0.35,p=0.56,η2= 0.01.Therewerenosignificantdifferenceinrecklessness
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betweentheelderly(M=7.50,SE=.74),mixed(M=7.56,SE=0.81),andyoungconditions(M=7.03,SE=0.83).
Inasecondarymeasure,wepredictedthatthepresentationofelderlyfaceswouldresultinsignificantlyslowerreactiontimesinparticipantsinthefacialprimingtask.TotestthishypothesisweconductedarepeatedmeasuresANOVAwithprimeconditionasthewithinsubjectsindependentvariableconsistingofthreelevels.Consistentwiththishypothesiswefoundasignificanteffectforprimecondition,F(1,29)=4.15,p=0.05,η2= 0.12.Specifically,participantswereslowertomakegenderdiscriminationswhenexposedtothemixedcondition(M=738.10ms,SE=19.80ms)andtotheelderlycondition(M=722.602,SE=25.85),whilemakingthefastestgenderdiscriminationjudgmentswithyoungfaces(M=694.96ms,SE=25.36ms).Pairwisecomparisonsrevealasignificantdifferencebetweentheelderlyconditionandtheyoungcondition,(p=0.05),aswellasasignificantdifferencebetweenthemixedandyoungconditions,(p=0.006).
Discussion
Thestudyresultsarenotconsistentwithouroriginalhypothesesthatthesupraliminalpresentationofelderlyprimeswouldreducegripstrength,slowresponsetime,anddecreasedrivingproficiency.Resultsfromourmeasuresofoverallgripstrengthandpeakgripstrengthindicatesignificantdifferencesintheelderlyconditionwhencomparedtotheyoungandmixedconditions.Pairwisecomparisonsindicatesignificantlyincreasedoverallandpeakgripstrengthintheelderlyconditionwhencomparedwiththemixedandyoungconditions.
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Atfirstglance,theseresultssupporttheideathatelderlypriminghasaneffectongripstrength.However,thiselderlyprimemanipulationappearsto,contrarytoouroriginalhypotheses,providemorephysicalresourcestoparticipants.Hulletal(2002)proposesthepowerofprimingarisesasaresultoftheselfrelevanceoftheprimingstimuli.Thisintegrationofsensorystimuli,theyargue,maythenhaveasignificanteffectonourperceptions.Throughthesechangesinperception,wordssuchasold,sicklyorgreyarethoughttoalterourbehavior.Hulletal(2002)alsomakesanimportantpointregardingonerequirementforprimingeffectstowork.Withinhismodelofpriming,supportedbyotherresearchers(Barghetal,2012),itisvitalfortheprimingmanipulationtonotrevealits’naturetotheparticipant.Therefore,whetherusingsubliminalorsupraliminalprimes,itisimportantfortheprimingmanipulationofagivenstudytoremainunknowntotheparticipant.
Thissenseofawarenessisthedistinguishingcharacteristicofthecurrentstudyandisafactorthatseparatesitfrompreviousworkinpriming(Barghetal,1996).Thisdifferencecouldbebehindthecounterintuitivefindingsseeninthecurrentstudy.ParticipantsinBarghetal(1996),completethewordscramblingtaskandbelievetheirperformanceonthattaskisthesolemeasurementofthestudy.Thetruedependentmeasureofthestudy(walkingspeed)isonlyrevealedtothemoncetheybelievetheyhavecompletedthestudyandareontheirwayoutofthebuilding.Thesurreptitiousnatureofthisdependentmeasureisfundamentallydifferentfromthehandgripmeasureinthisstudyasparticipantsareawarethey
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arebeingtested.Itispossiblethatthisawarenessisleadingtoasortofsubconsciouscompensationeffectfollowingthepresentationofthefaceprimes.
Evidencecanbeseenforthiscompensationmechanisminliteraturepertainingtothecognitiveimpairmentassociatedwithalcoholimpairment.Withinthiswork,workhasbeendonewhichshowstheimpactenvironmentandcontextcanhaveonthemotordeficitsassociatedwithalcoholconsumption(Vogel‐Sprott,1992).Furthermore,whenthisenvironmentalstimulusinvolvesmonetaryreward,experimentersseeadrasticreductionintheimpairmentsfollowingtheconsumptionofalcohol(Vogel‐Sprott&Sdao‐Jarvie,1989).Itisgenerallyagreeduponthatthistoleranceforalcoholresultsfromanadaptive,compensatoryreactionthatworksagainstthedrugs’effect.These,drug‐compensatoryeffectshavebeentheoreticallylinkedtoanexpectedrewardingoutcomefollowingnon‐alcoholicperformance(Vogel‐Sprott&Sdao‐Jarvie,1989).Withinthecurrentstudy,itispossiblewearewitnessingasimilareffect,witharewardconsistingofexperimenterapprovalforgoodperformanceonstudytasks.
Klatzky&Creswell(2014)proposethataweightedbidsmodelisatworkintheelderlyprimingphenomenon.Withinthismodel,severalincomingsignalsarecoded,weighted,andthensummedaswecreatethecorrespondingperceptualexperience.Thecupexampleusedintheintroductioninvolvedlargelytactilesensationaswemadeanestimationofhowheavythecupmightbe.Characteristicsofthecupunderconsiderationincludedhowdensetheobjectfelt,whatmaterialthebottleappearedtobemadeof,andalsohowmuchforceneededtobeexertedwhenpickingupthecup.Itispossiblethattheseprocessesweresimilarlyatplayin
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elderlyprimingwithelderlyprimingwordsactivatingourconceptoftheelderly,whichtheninterplayswithourselfconcepteventuallymanifestinginthealteredbehaviorseeninpreviouselderlyprimingstudies.Itispossiblethatthereisanaddedelementtothismodellinkedtoparticipantawarenessofbeingtestedandthecompensationeffectdiscussedpreviously.Forexample,theintroductionofanelderlyprimingstimulus,ifeffective,mightcreateasemiconsciousperceptionofareducedperceptionofavailablephysicalresources.Thisalterationmightthenbebroughttoconsciousawarenessatthebeginningofthegriptestsasparticipantsbecomeawareof,whatseemstobe,reducedstrengthintheirhand.Thisrealizationmightthencausethemtoovercompensatebysqueezingsignificantlyharderastheyattempttomakeupfortheapparentreductionintheirphysicalresources.
Onestudytestedtheaffectofexplicitachievementmotivationonmotivationprimingandfoundasignificanteffectfortheirachievementmanipulation(Engeser&Baumann,2014).Similartothephysicalresourcesmechanismproposedthecurrentstudy,Engeser&Baumannattributetheirsignificantincreaseinexplicitachievementmotivationasbeingactivatedbytheintroductionofself‐relevantachievementprimingstimuli.
ThisphysicalresourcescompensatoryaccountisalsoconsistentwithresultsfromAarts,Cluster&Marien(2008).Resultsofthisstudyrevealedincreasedgripstrengthuponthesubliminalpresentationofexertionprimesandthenfurtherincreaseingripstrengthwhenexertionprimeswerepairedwitharewardingstimulus.Experimentersinthisstudysuggesttheseresultsareduetoanincreaseinmotivation,linkedtothecouplingoftheprimingeffectandarewardbasedincrease
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inmotivation.Thisincreaseinmotivationcomplementsthenatureoftheirexertionprimes,furtherincreasinggripstrength.Withintheseresults,liesthesamemotivationbasedincreaseinperformanceattherootoftheproposedmodelforthecurrentstudy.Thissynchronousactivityofexertionandachievementprimesisanareaofdistinctionwhencomparingresultstothecurrentstudy.WhereastheprimesinAartsetal(2008)worktogethertoincreaseeffectsize,ourelderlyprimeworksagainsttheparticipant’smotivationtoprovidegooddata.Thisoppositionmanifestsinthesmallandreversedeffectsizesdemonstratedinthisstudy.
Inadditiontothesignificanthandgripfindingsofthisstudy,wereportsignificantslowerresponsetimeinthegenderrecognitiontaskforelderly(andmixedfaces).Inthebeginningofthestudywehypothesizedthiseffectwouldoccur(namely,whenoneisprimedwithanelderlyface,itslowstheircorrespondingmovements,suchasreactiontime),however,thereareseveralpossibleexplanations.Firstitispossiblethatouryoungadultparticipantswerebetterabletoidentifygenderinthosefaces,whichweresimilartotheirownage.Thisfamiliarityeffectwouldlikelymanifestsimilarlytotheresultsseeninthisstudy.Second,elderlyfacesmightbelessdistinctivethanyoungfaces,resultinginslowerreactiontimes.Forexample,facialhairwaslessprevalentintheelderlypicturesanditispossiblethatthehairstylesseenintheelderlypicturesaremoregenderneutralthaninthecaseoftheconditionsincludingyoungerfaces.Finally,thiseffect,consistentwithouroriginalhypothesis,maybeduetoanelderlyprimingeffect.Thismeasureofreactiontimeistheclosestmeasurewehavetemporallytotheactualpresentationoftheelderlyprimes.Theseresultsmaythereforereflectthe
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immediateincorporationoftheageconceptintoourproposedphysicalresourcesmodelofelderlypriming.Additionally,thereissomequestionastowhythemixedgrouprespondedmoreslowlythantheelderlygroup.Oneexplanationcouldbethatthecognitivemechanismbehindgenderdiscriminationcouldbesomewhatagedependent.Ifthiswerethecase,thentheswitchingbackandforthbetweenayoungandoldconceptcouldbecausingthereducedreactiontime.
Thequestionsexploredintheprimingliteratureextendtoenvelopourunderstandingofourownself‐conceptand,further,theconceptoffreewill.Whataspectsofourenvironmentandourcharacterformhowwethink,feel,andbehave?Thisstudyemphasizestheimportanceofawarenessinthegoverninghowwethinkaboutthesetypesofquestions.Althoughthisstudysuggestsourthoughtsandbehaviorscanbecontrolledbyenvironmentalstimulipresentedoutsideconsciousawareness,italsosupportsamodelbuiltonself‐control,governedbyourabilitytoattendtoandcriticallyconsiderthosepreconceptionsandattitudes,whichbecomeactivewithprimingmanipulations.
Futureworkinthisareamightexploretheeffectofmotivationandrewardonthevarioustypesofprimingmanipulations.Discoveringthelimitationsandextensionsofthisphysicalresourcesmechanismwillbeimportantinimprovingourunderstandingofprimingeffects.Additionalworkmightalsofocusonthedifferencesbetweendependentmeasuresrequiringparticipantattentionandthoseperformedwithouttheparticipants’awareness(e.g.,walkingspeed).Thistypeofresearchcouldprovideaclearerpictureofsocialprimingeffectsandourpresentresults.
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ElderlyPeakGripStrength
MixedPeakGripStrength
YoungPeakGripStrength
ElderlyOverallGripStrength(Integral)
MixedOverallGripStrength(Integral)
YoungOverallGripStrength(Inegral)
MeanValue 115.37
109.85
104.29
53.33
50.76
49.75
StandardDeviation
55.11
60.37
53.77
25.36
29.36
29.13
Log10(Mean) 1.68
1.63
1.63
2.02 1.98
1.96
Table1:Mean,standarddeviation,andlogtransformedvaluesforrelevanthandgripmeasures.
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Figure2:Logtransformedpeakgripstrengthmeasuredastheaveragepeakstrengthofthreegriptestsineachofthreeconditions.
1.561.581.61.621.641.661.681.71.72
Elderly Mixed Young
log(New
tons)
PeakGripStrength
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Figure3:Logtransformedoverallgripstrengthmeasuredastheaverageintegralofthreegriptestsineachofthreeconditions.
1.91.921.941.961.98
22.022.042.06
Elderly Mixed Young
log(New
tons)
OverallGripStrength
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Figure4:Reactiontimeinthefacialrecognitiontaskaveragedacrossfiftytrials.
640660680700720740760
Elderly Mixed Young
ResponseTime(ms)
ReactionTimeinFacialRecognitionTask
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