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Priming mortality salience: supraliminal, subliminal and "double-death" priming techniques
Melissa B Mahoney1, Benjamin A Saunders, Nicole M Cain
1a Department of Psychology , Long Island University , Brooklyn , New York , USA.
Death Studies
|March 6, 2014
Summary
Combining subliminal and supraliminal morality salience primes, known as the "double death" prime, significantly increases death thought accessibility compared to using either prime alone. This suggests complex unconscious networks influence our thoughts on mortality.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Mortality salience influences cognition and behavior.
- Subliminal and supraliminal priming are methods to present stimuli outside or within conscious awareness.
- The combined effect of dual-level (subliminal and supraliminal) priming on death thought accessibility is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of a "double death" prime (successively presented subliminal and supraliminal morality salience primes) on death thought accessibility.
- To compare the effect of the combined prime against subliminal or supraliminal primes presented alone.
- To explore the underlying unconscious neutral networks related to death.
Main Methods:
- A between-subjects experimental design was employed with a 2x2 factorial structure (subliminal prime/control x supraliminal prime/control).
- Participants were exposed to either a subliminal or supraliminal prime related to death, or a control condition.
- Death thought accessibility was measured as the primary outcome.
Main Results:
- Both subliminal and supraliminal priming techniques significantly elicited mortality salience compared to control conditions.
- An interactive influence of both the subliminal and supraliminal primes was observed on death thought accessibility.
- The combined "double death" prime demonstrated a stronger effect than individual priming methods.
Conclusions:
- Successively presented subliminal and supraliminal morality salience primes interact to enhance death thought accessibility.
- Findings suggest the existence of complex, potentially unconscious, neutral networks activated by mortality-related stimuli.
- The study highlights the significant impact of dual-level priming on cognitive accessibility of death-related concepts.
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