Priming explains how subtle external factors influence our state and behavior.

Asian women asked their ethnicity before a math test scored 11% higher than those asked their gender. Those shown Apple logo scored 20%+ higher creativity. The top chain restaurants play music to get you to eat faster / slower or buy certain items (eg Italian music for Italian wine). You need to be able to prime yourself and others. This is also known as suggestion.

Dan Gilbert (Stumbling on Happiness) writes that people are generally unaware of why they truly do things but if prompted they will supply a reason. Nicholas Epley makes a similar point in Mindwise).

Experiments of flashing words on screen (faster than they eye can consciously detect) in order to prime participants results in people making more negative judgements when word "hostile" is shown, walking slower when "elderly" is shown, and testing worse when word "stupid" is shown. When they ask participants why their behavior changed they don't know but will go fishing for seemingly plausible reasons (e.g. I felt like walking slower).

Keywords & Nodes

• influence
• environment
• persuasion
• This has implications for organizational culture.
• This has relationship and psychology implications.
• 8. The World Out There
• “People’s lives are a direct reflection of the expectations of their peer group.” — Tony Robbins
• To influence people use reciprocation, liking, social proof, consistency, scarcity, and/or authority.

If you feel you have time you’re more likely to care about others (and help).

Prevalence Inflation describes how people (especially youth) can consume so much information about mental health disorders that they begin to process normal qualities of human experience as mental illness.