Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

1983

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Abstract

Previous research has shown that priming of digits is a function of the ordinal distance of the target digit from the priming sequence and that under certain conditions this effect may be automatic. The present experiment, which employs a choice RT task, was designed to test automaticity by manipulating subjects' expectancies and the time available for processing the priming sequence. Schematically valid primes (e.g., "1,2,3" preceding "4") were presented on 30%, 50%, or 70% of the trials to a given subject. Invalid primes (e.g., "5, 6, 7" preceding "4") were presented on the remaining trials. There was a highly significant effect of priming modified by interactions with exposure time and frequency. Employing a cost-benefit analysis to the frequency factor, it was found that the most frequently occurring prime resulted in decreased response latency but the less frequently occurring prime did not result in an increase in response latency (benefit wihout cost). On this basis, it is concluded that frequency influences an automatic process in this experiment. Since frequency interacts with priming, it is therefore argued that priming also affects an automatic process.

Extent

62 p.

Comments

FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1983.|Charles E. Schmidt College of Science|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Identifier

FADT14183

Format

pdf

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