How graphic design can use priming to influence behaviour

Here at Boom Create, we have an obsession with the workings of the mind, specifically behavioural influence. We are huge fans of Derren Brown. His use of psychological persuasion and mind control techniques fascinates us and we love to look at the research that influences him. We believe that soaking up as many of these neurological findings will prove invaluable in our design work. We are communicators, we help others communicate, so we do everything we can to ensure that messages are heard, understood, and responded to as intended. A comprehensive understanding of how the brain interprets imagery is crucial for producing work that isn’t just a pretty picture. So with that, let’s take a look at priming!

What is Priming?

Professor John A Bargh (Ph.D, 1981, University of Michigan) is one of the lead researchers and theorists on the subject of automaticity, directing his studies towards the influencing free will. His research into the effects of priming show that behaviour can be affected by exposing subjects to stimulus that then enables the human brains semantic network of association to work towards a specific outcome in an effect called ‘Priming’. “Priming refers to the incidental activation of knowledge structures, such as trait concepts and stereotypes, by the current situational context” (Bargh, Chen and Burrows, 1996, p230). For instance, if I was to give you a list of words, some of which contained the words ‘doctor’ or ‘nurse’, then asked you the question ‘where would you find a bed’, you would more than likely answer ‘a hospital’. This is because the primed list of words have opened up the semantic network in your brain with things associated with the medical profession. (Meyer and Schvaneveldt, 1971)

The evidence

John Bargh conducted an experiment whereby 34 students were given a list of ten scrambled sentences, each made up of five words. They were then asked to create a logical sentence using only four of the words provided, leaving one word aside. The group was split in two with half constructing sentences that included words semantically linked to “rudeness” and the other half receiving words linked with “politeness”. After completing the experiment, test subjects were asked to leave the room and make their way down the corridor, which was blocked by a members of staff engaging in a lengthy conversation. The only way students could leave the test facility was by interrupting and pushing their way through. The results showed that 67% of the participants primed to be “rude” interrupted the conversation, whereas only 16% of the group primed to be patient pushed past. (Bargh and Wyer, 1997). Bargh has conducted several experiments of this nature which seem to confirm the theory that exposure to specific stimuli prior to the undertaking of task could affect behaviour and ultimately the outcome. (For another example see video below)

“Priming research has already demonstrated that a variety of complex social and physical behaviours—such as aggression, loyalty, rudeness, and walking speed—can be activated by relevant external stimuli without the person’s intent to behave that way or awareness of the influence” (Harris, Bargh and Brownell, 2009). I attempted to confirm these results with an experiment of my own using a different priming technique. Research shows that people are more competitive if there is a briefcase in sight, and people are more co-operative if they see the words support or dependable. These faint glimpses of objects or words can trigger our subconscious network of association and alter behaviour accordingly. I set up an experiment whereby I sat in a busy high street holding a sign which read “Participate”. Approximately 100 yards away stood a friend of mine who was asking people to participate in a survey.

I sat there for an hour and recorded the number of people that were happy to help out my friend. I then sat for another hour this time without the sign to act as a control test and again recorded the amount of participating people. The results seemed to support these claims, showing that 61.9% of the people that agreed to take the survey did so after walking past the primed sign post in the first hour of testing, the other 38.1% completed the survey without the sign. This test was not conducted under strict lab settings and the results were subject to variables and external influence, but I still feel that it is still a positive step towards the confirmation of subliminal influence on behaviour.

How can Graphic Design influence others

So we have established that by warming up specific areas of peoples semantic network of association, you can guide them towards certain thoughts and feelings. In advertising, priming can be used to associate particular values and attach specific emotional responses to its products and brand identity. Multiple resources are used to produce different connotations that can be derived from product attributes (Gardner 1983), these are affected by the environment in which they are placed e.g articles in magazines, billboards and other advertisement methods (Soldow and Principe, 1981). When the context of the advert exposes people to a specific attribute the advert may become “highly accessible and subsequently, that attribute is likely to be used in processing the ad information and evaluating the advertised brand” (Youjae Yi, 1991 p 418). Perception of a product is then affected by contextual factors. One example of this is in televised commercials. Advertisements are strategically placed in the breaks before, during and after programs that conjure certain emotional responses, the schemata created by the programs are then linked to the products featured in the advertisements. “Specific cognitive and affective response to a particular stimulus will affect the cognitive and affective responses toward that stimulus, respectively” (Coulter, 1998, p6) Consider the Coca-cola adverts that are placed in the build up to Christmas. This global corporate organisation has managed to semantically associate the most enjoyable time of the year with its product.

Many describe the Coca cola adverts as being the defining mark that the Christmas period has begun, waiting in excitement for the adverts to appear.

As well as having re-branded the image of Santa Clause to suit their corporate colour scheme of red and white, they have dominated this one period of the year where by families are brought together at a time when everyone is happy and excited, stuffing their faces with food and drink. A time where we are made to feel that greed is acceptable and that we can have what we want, when we want. And all of these feelings have been semantically linked to Coca-cola through their clever marketing strategies. This is not done on a conscious level, we do not actually decide to by a can of coke believing that somehow it will bring Christmas to us, but deep seated in our subconscious those associations are there, embedded in us due to the way we are raised in a society that has been hijacked by the coca-cola corporation. Coca-cola are not the only corporation using these techniques in the pursuit of controlling behaviour through psychological influence, all advertisers attempt to do this with their products, use the intrinsic values associated with one thing and attach them to their product. Events like the ‘Superbowl’ football game in the United States of America have advertising breaks that fetch millions of dollars for a 30 second ad. The high volume of people watching is one reason for this but the advertisers also recognise the priming effect that will see their product semantically linked with the excitement and intensity that comes with watching the nations largest sporting event.