Nonconscious activation of behavioral goals, a methodologically refined replication

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Cognitive Psychology

Background:

• Previous research indicated achievement-related word priming enhances performance.
• Potential confounding variables, such as word class (verbs vs. nouns), were not adequately controlled in prior studies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the priming effect of achievement-related words on subsequent achievement.
• To control for word class as a potential confounding variable.
• To confirm Bargh et al.'s findings regarding the role of achievement content in priming effects.

Main Methods:

• An online experiment with a 2x2 factorial design was employed.
• Independent variables included achievement-priming (achievement words vs. neutral words) and word class (verbs vs. nouns).
• Participants (89 men, 123 women, mean age 25.8 years) were recruited from a university student email list and previous experiment participants.

Main Results:

• The study confirmed Bargh et al.'s findings that achievement content is responsible for the priming effect.
• The priming effect on achievement was observed regardless of whether achievement words were verbs or nouns.
• Moderator effects of task difficulty and achievement motivation were explored.

Conclusions:

• Achievement-priming reliably enhances subsequent achievement, independent of word class.
• The content of the primed words, specifically achievement-related themes, is the key driver of the observed effect.
• Future research should consider task difficulty and individual achievement motivation as important moderators.