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The Role of Priming on Consumers' Purchase Decisions The Role of Priming on Consumers' Purchase Decisions

Hannah Keeports Elizabethtown College

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RUNNING HEAD: THE ROLE OF PRIMING

THE ROLE OF PRIMING ON CONSUMERS’

PURCHASE DECISIONS

By

HANNAH KEEPORTS

This thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for

Honors in the Discipline in Business and the Elizabethtown College

Honors Program

May 1, 2019

Thesis Advisor:

THE ROLE OF PRIMING

2

Honors Senior Thesis

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TABLE OF CONTENTS:

I. Abstract………………………………………………………………………………..4

II. Literature Review

a. Background………………………………………………………………………..5

b. What is Priming?…………………………………………………….……………7

c. How Priming Has Been Studied? ……………………………….………………..8

d. Application to Marketing…………………………………..…………………….12

e. Hypothesis…………………………………………………..……………….…...13

III. Methodology……………………………………………………………………...….14

IV. Results…………………………………………………………………………….….16

V. Discussion……………………………………………………………………………20

VI. Limitations and Future Research……………………….…………………………....23

VII. References…………………………………………………………………………....25

VIII. Appendices………………………………………………………………...…………31

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ABSTRACT:

Due to the declining role of brick and mortar in retail sales, retailers and brands alike are

looking for ways to maximize the space and capabilities in-store to drive sales. One opportunity

that could prove particularly promising in the near future is priming. The theory of priming has

long been proven in studies as a way to impact and alter human behaviors. The goal of this study

is to explore whether priming’s effect can transfer just as easily to altering consumer’s purchasing

behaviors and attitudes while in-store. An experiment was designed to test whether priming stimuli

could be useful in influencing consumer’s purchasing behavior, consumption habits, and attitudes

toward unhealthy food products. Overall, results from the study were mixed but point to potential

for priming effectiveness, especially with further experimentation to ascertain its optimal use.

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BACKGROUND

Magic Bullet Theory

Although the concept of priming may be relatively new to the marketing world, it has been

explored for almost a century from a variety of perspectives and in a number of different fields.

Much of today’s interest and research in priming results from the influence of the Magic Bullet

Theory in the 20th century. During this time, new technology (including the introduction of the

television set) led to large numbers of individuals consuming similar media messages, as well as

to the production of ‘popular culture.’ The Magic Bullet Theory, also known as the Hypodermic

Needle Model, states that media messages were capable of penetrating an individual’s brain (like

a bullet) and rendering them unable to influence their own decisions (Perse, 2008; “Hypodermic”,

2017). In short, the message was so powerful that the individual had no choice but to follow the

message. A number of related theories, including propaganda, brainwashing, and subliminal

advertising, fall under the Magic Bullet Theory.

In the 20th century, there were also a number of stories featured in the press which led to a

public fear of brainwashing and subliminal advertising. In the 1950s, prisoners who had been

captured during the Korean War were returned home, only to defect publicly to communism.

Although dystopian novels eluded to the possibility of brainwashing a decade before, and

psychologists had been researching the effects of subliminal messages for decades, many

wondered for the first time whether it was possible that the soldiers’ conversion was the result of

some type of media they had encountered while in captivity (Crossen, 2007).

What truly brought this subject to the public’s mind, however, were the releases of Edward

Vance’s book, Hidden Persuaders and James Vicary’s study on subliminal messaging, both

released in 1957 (Weiner, 2008; Crossen, 2007). Vicary, a market researcher, claimed in a report

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that he was able to increase concession sales at a New Jersey theater after flashing suggestive

messaging onto the movie screen at speeds that were imperceptible to the human eye. More

specifically, in his experiment the words, “Eat popcorn,” or “Coca-Cola” were flashed on the large

screen at five second intervals, and despite the fact that they appeared so briefly that the audience

didn’t consciously recognize them, the theater saw a significant increase in sales for both popcorn

and Coca-Cola (Crossen, 2007). Vicary named the effect subliminal advertising (Ornes, 2008).

Vance’s book echoed similar themes (Weiner, 2008). In 1958, an independent Los Angeles TV

station announced they were going to add subliminal advertising to their programming with public

safety messages such as, “Drive Safely,” or “Join the Army.” Americans, petrified by the notion

that someone or something could have the power to influence them to take actions against their

own free will, overwhelmed the station with complaints and petitions and eventually, the station

cancelled their plans to test subliminal advertising (Crossen, 2007).

Subliminal Advertising

With subliminal advertising more fully in the public eye, many parties began to take action

to understand and, ultimately, find ways to eliminate subliminal advertising. Teams formed to re-

test Vicary’s concept and study. The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. recreated the study by flashing

the words, “Telephone Now,” on the screen 252 times during a 30-minute program. More than 500

viewers responded to a survey after viewing the program. 51% were driven to “do something”

after viewing the program but only a single respondent reported a desire to make a phone call.

After another test in San Francisco resulted similar results, the FCC ordered Vicary to recreate his

study for them in Washington D.C. Vicary’s study, which flashed the words, “Eat popcorn,” on

the screen repeatedly during a brief program, faced its final defeat when one senator in attendance

reportedly told a colleague that he was in the mood for a hot dog (Crossen, 2007).

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In 1962, Vicary admitted in an interview with Advertising Age that the results of the

original study were fabricated, largely in hopes of attracting new business for his firm (Crossen,

2007). According to Vicary, the data collected were, “too small to be meaningful,” (Ornes, 2008).

With Vicary’s confession and all current research concluding that the Magic Bullet Theory did not

exist, or at least was not something anyone knew how to use, both the public and the American

government were satisfied and relived of their fears (Weiner, 2008). Nonetheless, the Magic Bullet

Theory sparked an interest in researchers and led to further studies of how the environment impacts

individuals’ decision-making processes.

WHAT IS PRIMING?

Subliminal v. Supraliminal

Before moving on, it’s important to note the difference between the subliminal messaging

discussed above and the supraliminal messages being explored in this study. Subliminal

messaging (including subliminal advertising) generally refers to signals or messages that occur

below the threshold of human consciousness or awareness. Examples include images that appear

too briefly for the human to perceive or “backmasking,” the practice of recording phrases

backwards onto an audio track. Despite their existence below the threshold of consciousness, older

theories, such as the Magic Bullet Theory, suggest that these messages can influence human

behavior, particularly when the messages relate to existing goals or inclinations (Stroebe, 2012).

On the other hand, supraliminal messages occur above the threshold of human

consciousness. The human mind is able to perceive, notice, or point out the stimuli, whether it be

an image, an audio recording, or any other type of stimuli. Supraliminal message can influence

behaviors and attitudes both on a conscious level as well as on a subconscious level that subjects

are unaware of.

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Subliminal messaging, although not explicitly outlawed in the United States, is generally

considered unethical. This study, which explores the impact of supraliminal cues on behavior and

attitudes, does not condone or support the use of subliminal messaging in any form. Rather the

history is presented as an explanation for the current framework. Although consumers and

researchers are generally satisfied with the conclusion that there is no method by which an

individual can be influenced to perform tasks against their own will, many have come to realize

that environmental cues can have subtle, unconscious influences on everyday decisions.

Priming

Priming is a concept that originally came out of psychology but has found its way into

many other disciplines and applications. In 2005, McNamara defined priming as, “an improvement

in performance in a perceptual or cognitive task, relative to an apparent baseline, produced by

context or prior experience,” (Minton, Cornwell, & Kahle, 2017). Since then, other scholars have

added onto McNamara’s definition by pointing out that the impact does not always result in an

improvement. The effects of priming can also be neutral or even have a negative effect. Priming

occurs by encountering a stimulus of some sort, whether written, visual, or oral. In the context of

priming, these stimuli are simply referred to as primes (Minton et al., 2017).

HOW PRIMING HAS BEEN STUDIED

Over the last several decades, priming has appeared in a myriad of studies across a range

of disciplines and utilized a variety of vehicles to prime targets. Priming through words and

symbols are particularly common in studies. This could be because they are simple or because they

were among the first types of primes to be studied. As priming has spread into other disciplines

and found new applications, characters, visuals, goals, and emotions have also appeared as vehicles

through which a subject can be primed.

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Words

There are a number of ways in which words can appear as primes. One of the most common

methods is through a scrambled sentence task. This task requires participants to turn a set of words

into a grammatically correct and logical sentence by removing one of the words and rearranging

the remaining words (Rigdon and D’Esterre, 2017). This method, as well as similar ones, have

been used repeatedly by psychologists to study the effects of certain words when used as primes.

Bargh, Chen, & Burrows (1996) conducted a similar exercise using words priming either rudeness

or politeness. Participants were also instructed to come to the room next door when they were

finished with the task, but when they entered the room the researcher was already engaged in

conservation with someone else. Those who had received the primes relating to politeness were

willing to wait significantly longer before interrupting the conversation than those in the control

group. In a different study that year, the same group of researchers also found that participants

who were primed with words related to senior citizens (ex. Florida, shuffleboard, wrinkles),

walked out of the testing room slower than those in the control group who were not primed.

Words have also been used as primes in more recent studies. A study published in 2015

found that men with mental illnesses were more likely to seek help after being primed with words

related to communication and sharing (Yousaf and Popat, 2015). Additionally, Laran, Dalton, &

Andrade (2011) discovered that when primed with brand names, some consumers change their

purchasing habits to correspond to the brand they just saw. In the study, those primed with Walmart

exhibited more thrifty purchasing habits while those primed with Nordstrom were less likely to

shop for low-value products. An interesting result from this study was the discovery that brand

slogans actually had an effect opposite of what would have been predicted (ex. Walmart’s “Save

Money. Live Better” increased desire for high-value products).

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Symbols

Symbols have also been used frequently in priming studies because they are a way to

simply remind individuals of a concept, topic, or subject. A variety of researchers have been

successful in using symbols to prime participants. Wang (2012) that found that participants who

were shown warning labels from pharmaceutical advertisements were more trusting. Another

study conducted by Aarts and Dijksterhuis (2003) found that participants primed with an image of

a library spoke more quietly and softly. The same study also found that when primed with images

relating to business, participants showed more signs of competition and another study conducted

by Friedman and Elliott (2008) found that participants primed with the image of a bottle of sports

drink displayed increased physical endurance. Finally, the results of a study published by

Fitzsimons, Chartrand, & Fitzsimons (2008) showed that participants primed with the Apple logo

behaved more creatively in the experiment than those who saw the IBM logo.

Goals

A review of previous research also reveals evidence that goals and goal-activation play a

role in priming. Priming an individual with a goal that is already important or relevant to them can

encourage them to take action or behave in a way consistent with achieving the desired goal.

Anschutz, van Strien, & Engels (2011) found that dieters who were primed with their goal of

weight control were less distracted by temptations. Additionally, in research conducted by Papies

et al. (2014), grocery shoppers were handed a recipe card as they walked into the store. Half the

recipe cards contained primes related to health and nutrition. The other half were simply the control

group. The results of the study showed that obese shoppers who received the prime purchased 75%

less snack foods on that shopping trip than those in the control group, after being reminded of their

goal to eat healthier. To date, a majority of studies using goals as primes have health or wellness

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as a focus but there are other potential applications. For example, Rigdon and D’Esterre (2017)

primed participants in a contest with words associated with competitiveness, which is related to

the goal of winning. Those who received the primes acted aggressively and were more likely to

sabotage other competitors.

Images/Visuals

Primes can also appear in the form of visuals we see, either in person or through some type

of image. Eagle, Wolitzky, & Klein (1966) conducted a study in which participants were shown

an image of a tree trunk. There were two different tree trunks; one had an outline of a duck and

the other was a control image. The participants were then asked to draw a nature scene and those

who saw the trunk with the duck outline drew significantly more ducks. More anecdotal research

suggests that groceries routinely place the produce, floral, and bakery at the front of the store to

prime shoppers with thoughts of freshness that hopefully travel throughout the store with the

shopper (Hageman, 2010; “The psychology”, 2013; Kumer, 2018). Although little research has

been done to prove this, the number of retailers who have this layout and the length of time many

of them have kept it, suggests it is true, as retailers should not keep a layout if it is not performing.

Characters

The use of characters, including stereotyped personalities, can appear in a variety of

situations. Banaji, Hardin, & Rothman (1993) found that the perceptions of actions of female and

male actors can be perceived differently based on priming. When primed with behavior consistent

with dependence, participants rated the female actor as more dependent even though the actors

performed the exact same task. When primed with aggression instead, the male actor was rated as

more aggressive than the female even though they were still performing the exact same task.

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Another study found that participants who listed characteristics of an average college professor

before taking a knowledge-based test performed better than those who listed the characteristics of

a “typical soccer hooligan” beforehand (Rigdon & D’Esterre, 2017).

Emotions

Finally, emotions can be used as primes. Charles-Sire et al. (2012) reviewed a series of studies

conducted by Lamy, Fischer-Lou, and Guéguen, which found that participants who were first

asked to recall a memory of love were more willing to give directions, donate money, or pick up

someone else’s dropped belongings. Research published by Zemack-Rugar, Bettman, &

Fitzsimons (2007) found that individuals primed with feelings of guilt were more helpful than

those who were primed with sadness. Guéguen (2013) also determined that a donation jar located

near a bakery cash register accumulated more tips if there was a heart on the front, rather than a

circle or square. A similar effect was seen in restaurants with hearts on bill dishes. Those with

hearts received more tips than those with a circle or square. Finally, research published by Charles-

Sire et al. (2012) found that blood drive participation increased when volunteers wore t-shirts that

said, “Loving=Helping”, rather than the original design of, “Donating=Helping.”

APPLICATION TO MARKETING

While priming has been explored by a variety of scholars across a variety of disciplines,

one area with little research is the role priming could play in the marketing of unhealthy food

products. A number of researchers have researched the impact that priming can have on an

individual’s choice to select healthy foods. For example, Anschutz et al. (2011) found that dieters

who were primed with their goal of weight control were less distracted by temptations. In another

study conducted by Papies et al. (2014), grocery shoppers who were handed a recipe card with

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healthy primes as they walked through the door purchased less snack food on that trip. However,

whether primes can be used to influence consumer’s unhealthy purchase decisions has been only

lightly studied. In fact, the role that priming could have on individual’s decisions to take actions

that could potentially be harmful to them has also not been the focus of many studies.

Research conducted by Harris, Bargh & Brownell (2009), concluded that consumers

unconsciously consumed a higher volume of snack foods while watching television commercials.

A study conducted by Rigdon and D’Esterre (2017) in which some test groups were primed

competitively, resulted in more aggressive behavior, and even cheating, in the testing groups.

Although influencing consumers to choices that are unhealthy or not beneficial to them is central

to consumer marketing, only a small number of studies overall address this question. This study

seeks to find the role priming could play in marketing unhealthy food products to consumers, and

ultimately in influencing them to make decisions that may be harmful to them.

HYPOTHESES

H1: Priming individuals with positive messaging supporting unhealthy food choices will result in

higher intentions to purchase unhealthy food items.

H2: Priming individuals with positive messaging supporting unhealthy food choices will result in

higher consumption of unhealthy food items.

Previous studies have shown that priming is able to affect participant behavior. Friedman

and Elliot (2008) found that participants primed with the image of a bottle of sport drink

displayed increased physical endurance and Fitzsimons et al. (2008) showed that

participants primed with the Apple logo behaved more creatively than those primed with

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an IBM logo. This study hypothesizes that priming will impact individual’s intentions to

purchase and consume unhealthy food items.

H3: Priming individuals with positive messaging supporting unhealthy food choices will result in

more positive attitudes toward unhealthy food items.

Priming has also been shown to have an impact on participants attitudes. A study by Banaji

et al. (1993) found that priming participants with different character traits influenced their

attitude or perception of two characters who later walked into the room. In the same way,

positive messaging relating to unhealthy food items is expected to increase consumer’s

perception and attitudes of unhealthy food products.

H4: Priming individuals with both words and images will be more effective than priming

individuals with only images.

Both words and images have been shown to be effective primes. Studies conducted by

Bargh et al. (1996) successfully used word primes to influence how quickly individuals

walked out of the testing room and how willing they were to interrupt the researcher. The

same year, Eagle et al. (1966) proved the potential of image primes by showing participants

an image of a tree with a duck hidden in the trunk. Those in the test group, draw

significantly more ducks in a nature scene after seeing the tree. Since both primes are

effective on their own, this study hypothesizes that using words and images together will

increase the impact the prime has on an individual.

METHODOLOGY

In order to test these hypotheses, an experimental approach was utilized. The experiment

was conducted via a written survey (Appendix #1). The survey was distributed to college students

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via a convenience sample at a small liberal art college. It included 16 questions in a variety of

formats, including open-ended, scales, and multiple-choice, and took less than five minutes to

complete. In order to test the study’s hypotheses, three treatments groups were required. Therefore,

three versions of the survey were created and randomly assigned among participants.

The survey, although one packet, contained three distinct sections of questions. The first

asked for basic demographic information about the participant. After completing this section,

participants flipped the page to find an advertisement covering the next page. This is the only page

of the survey where there was any variation between the three groups. The three treatment groups

were:

Group A: Control Group - saw a typical ad for a banking product

Group B: Primed with an Image - saw an ad for carbonated beverages; ad featured only

an image

Group C: Primed with an Image & Words - saw an ad for carbonated beverages; ad

featured both an image and words

After examining the ad, participants moved onto the next page where they were asked to

respond to statements about the advertisement on a strongly agree/strongly disagree five-point

scale, as well as to select words that they felt described the ad from a list of adjectives. These

statements were the same for all three treatment groups and included statements like, “I enjoy this

ad,” and “This ad is relevant to me.” These questions are unrelated to the study’s hypotheses and

were added to mask the study’s true purpose.

Participants then moved into the final section of the study, which prompted respondents to

answer questions about food choices, servings, and attitudes toward food items. The section

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included a question designed to simulate the purchase of food items, open-ended questions on

serving sizes to gauge consumption, and a five-point strongly agree/strongly disagree scale with

statements like, “Soda is healthy,” and “Almonds are healthy,” to measure attitudes toward a

variety of food items.

RESULTS

Overall, the study’s final sample included a total of 107 participants. Although the results

from the experiment were mixed overall, they do provide insight into priming’s potential as a

marketing tool and offer a guide for future research.

Hypothesis #1

The study’s first hypothesis expected that participants who were primed with messaging

relating to unhealthy food items would display increased intentions to purchase unhealthy food

items. For this variable, an independent samples t-test was conducted using a priming variable that

defined whether or not an individual had been primed as the independent variable and their net

unhealthy purchases as the dependent variable. The dependent variable, net unhealthy purchases,

was calculated from question seven in the survey. In that question, participants were asked to

“purchase” (select) five snack items from a diverse selection of both healthy and unhealthy snack

items. Subtracting the count of healthy selections from the count of unhealthy selections resulted

in a net purchase number. A t-test between this variable and the priming variable was statistically

significant at the 95% level, supporting the hypothesis (t=-2.609, p=.011). Additionally, the

difference between the two groups was also apparent in the means of the groups. Those who were

primed purchased a net of 1.60 unhealthy items versus those in the control group who selected

only 0.29 unhealthy items.

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Hypothesis #2

The study’s second hypothesis expected priming with positive messages related to

unhealthy food items to increase consumption of unhealthy food items. This study measured

consumption through a variety of measures relating to perceived serving sizes (questions eight to

ten on the survey). These questions asked participants to define what they believed was an

appropriate serving of Oreo cookies, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Hershey’s Kisses. A second set of

questions asked for the appropriate number of servings of vegetables and snack foods in a week.

Running a t-test between these five variables and the priming variable, resulted in no

statistical significance for any of the variables. Additionally, there were only scant differences

between the groups when examining means. Table 1 displays both the mean values and the t- and

p-values for the five variables relating to servings sizes. The results of these t-tests lead to a

rejection of the second hypothesis.

Table 1: Means and Statistics for Serving Size Variables

Oreo

Serving

Donut

Serving

Kiss

Serving

Vegetable

Serving

Snack

Serving

Mean: Prime 3.41 1.17 4.52 15.13 6.46

Mean: No Prime 3.25 1.16 4.82 14.59 5.79

t = -.435 -1.01 .507 -.216 -.659

p = .664 .920 .615 .830 .512

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Hypothesis #3

The study’s third hypothesis related to the connection between priming and consumer

attitude toward unhealthy food items. Specifically, it hypothesized that priming with unhealthy

food items would increase attitudes toward unhealthy food items. The variables for this test

hypothesis were measured on a strongly disagree/strongly agree five-point scale. The scale was

used to respond to statements about the perceived healthiness of both healthy and unhealthy food

items. As shown in Table 2, Running a t-test between these variables and the priming variable

resulted in no statistical significance. There is also little difference between the two groups in

regard to means. Therefore, the third hypothesis is also rejected.

Table 2: Means and Statistics for Attitude Variables

Attitude

Cookie

Attitude

Chips

Attitude

Almonds

Attitude

Soda

Attitude

Water

Mean: Prime 1.77 1.85 4.14 1.42 3.13

Mean: No Prime 1.91 1.83 4.08 1.51 3.29

t = 1.017 -.113 .498 .712 .927

p = .312 .910 .619 .479 .357

Hypothesis #4

The fourth hypothesis expected that priming individuals with both words and images would

be more effective than only images. In order to test this hypothesis, the variables from the first

three hypotheses were analyzed again, but this time comparing the two primed groups rather than

those who were primed and those who weren’t.

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A t-test compared the five serving variables between the group that had been primed with

an image only and those who had been primed with images and words. As Table 3 shows, the t-

tests for the attitude variables found no statistically significant difference between the means of

the two groups. However, there was one variable (Snack Serving) that was approaching

significance at the 95% level. With a larger sample size, it’s possible that there may have been a

statistically significant difference between the means of the two groups.

Table 3: Means and Statistics for Serving Size Variables Between Primed Groups

Oreo

Serving

Donut

Serving

Kiss

Serving

Vegetable

Serving

Snack

Serving

Mean: Image Only 3.23 1.15 4.31 16.73 7.83

Mean: Image + Words 3.61 1.20 4.74 13.63 5.21

t = -.743 -.406 -.882 1.237 1.704

p = .461 .686 .382 .221 .096

Table 4: Means and Statistics for Attitude Variables Between Primed Groups

Attitude

Cookie

Attitude

Chips

Attitude

Almonds

Attitude

Soda

Attitude

Water

Mean: Image Only 1.83 1.83 4.14 1.47 3.19

Mean: Image + Words 1.71 1.86 4.03 1.37 3.06

t = .663 -.127 .671 .657 .634

p = .510 .899 .504 .513 .528

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A second set of t-tests compared the five attitude variables between the group that had been

primed with an image only and those who had been primed with images and words. Table 4 shows

the means, t-statistics, and p-values. The t-test found no statistically significant difference between

the two groups’ means.

A final t-test that compared the net purchase variable between the group that had been

primed with an image only and those who had been primed with images and words, found no

statistically significant difference in the means. The means, t-statistic, and p-value are displayed

in Table 5 below.

Table 5: Means and Statistics for Purchase Variable Between Primed Groups

Mean: Image

Only

Mean: Image

+ Words

t = p =

Net Unhealthy Purchases 1.62 1.57 .084 .933

Based on this analysis of the second priming variable and the other eleven variables, and

the lack of statistical significance, the fourth hypothesis is rejected.

DISCUSSION

Overall, the results from this experiment were mixed. The first hypothesis was accepted

with statistical significance at the 95%, while the remaining were all rejected. While it may seem

easy to conclude, based on this study, that priming has no application or use in marketing, there

are other conclusions that could be made. While priming appeared to have little effect on many of

the variables in this study, it impacted participant’s intent to purchase in a large way. The number

of unhealthy snack items selected more than quadrupled when participants were exposed to the

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priming stimuli (from 0.29 to 1.60). Although this effect was not seen on other variables, it leaves

hope that priming could still be useful as a marketing tool.

Additionally, an argument could be made that although only one variable saw the expected

results, it was the important variable in the group. As a tool to be implemented in retail settings,

priming could interest both retailers and manufacturers. These two groups typically have different

goals and objectives when implementing a promotional strategy. Typically, retailers care more

about immediate purchase decisions, than about consumer’s consumption habits and attitudes

toward the product. This is particularly true in the short term when inventory turn over must be

managed and quarterly profit benchmarks met. The results of this experiment show that retail

managers who take this approach should consider priming’s potential use as a marketing tool to

increase product sales.

On the flip side, a manufacturer may find this study’s conclusions rather concerning.

Manufacturers may be more focused on connecting with consumers and building loyal brand

enthusiasts than they are with simply increasing the number of units swiped at the check-out

counter. If, as this study suggest, priming is successful in influencing consumers’ purchases and

nothing more, manufacturers may end up losing sales to competitors who are more centrally

located in the store or better priced when shoppers place the simplest choice in their cart.

Additionally, if a manufacturer’s goals truly are to build their brands and strengthen attitudes, than

priming would be an entirely ineffective promotional vehicle based on this study’s results.

Therefore, it is possible that priming, like other promotional vehicles, is not simply a one size fits

all solution to retail marketing. Rather, its impact and effectiveness depend on the current situation

and the related goals and objectives.

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Additionally, priming offers unique opportunities to both retailers and manufacturers to

reach consumers in new ways. This can be specifically advantageous when marketing unhealthy

food items, or similar products. Even in countries like the United States where such products are

readily available and frequently consumed, there is a limit on how much promotional material for

these products the general public is willing and interested in consuming. As obesity rates rise in

the United States and London implements a ban on all junk food advertisements on public

transportation, it raises a question of what may be next for this industry (Romo, 2018). It is possible

that a day will come when marketers are limited in the channels and methods through which such

goods can be promoted. Perhaps consumers begin to respond poorly to in-store promotional

displays designed to drive impulse purchases. Priming could be a perfect way to reach consumers

in more subtle and indirect ways, perhaps by filling a retail outlet with the smell of freshly baked

cookies and driving shoppers to visit the bakery. As the retail landscape and this industry evolve,

priming could allow marketers access to consumers through new, more subtle channels that could

prove valuable.

Finally, although this study focused on unhealthy food items, the concept of priming

potentially holds validity and usefulness for large range of products and interests. The study

presents interesting findings on influencing consumer’s decisions to purchase products that are

unhealthy and/or not beneficial. These findings could be interesting to manufactures and retailers

in major sin industries (ex. alcohol and cigarettes). Priming could play a role in helping these

businesses stabilize consumption levels, and even find new customer segments, especially as

health education becomes more and more accessible in the United States. On the other hand,

piming’s potential applications to retail sales and consumer packaged goods could impact a

number of major players in the industry. In an era of rapid change for the retail industry and the

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overall decline of brick-and-mortar stores, priming could offer solutions to increase consumer

engagement in stores for all CPG items, not only unhealthy food items.

LIMITATIONS & FUTURE RESEARCH

This study faced a number of limitations that lead to questions for future research. One of

these limitations was the sample. Due to the constraints of conducting the experiment on the

campus of a small liberal arts college, the sample size was not as large as it could have been.

Conducting a similar study with a larger sampler size could result in significant differences

between the two groups appearing on several variables where there is currently no statistical

significance but yet a difference in means. Additionally, this study aimed to find insights on

priming’s role in marketing to consumers but did not include a wide variety of consumer segments.

Expanding the study’s sample, both in size and composition, could unlock powerful insights about

the way different consumer segments and sub-segments respond to priming. It’s possible that some

groups of consumers respond very strongly to the primes, while other groups do not. Another

group may even respond to the primes but in the opposite manner of what was intended. Further

research would help answer these questions.

Another limitation of this study was the constraint the format of the experiment placed on

the priming stimuli. The impact that stimuli have on an individual is, in some ways, dictated by

their interaction with it. Encountering it more than once or for longer periods of time can change

the impact it has. The “size” of the prime, referring both to physical size and the noticeability of

the prime, (i.e. whether it’s a small logo in the corner of an object or a giant billboard next to the

highway) can also be relevant. Because this study was conducted via a written survey, it was

limited in its ability to include a very large prime or to increase the frequency at which the prime

appeared. This opens up a question for future research as certain frequency or noticeability levels

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may be more favorable for consumer marketing. Pinning down these details could be the key to

making priming an accessible tool for marketers.

Finally, a third point of possible research in the future is the field in which the experiment

is conducted. This study relied on a convenience sample of college students, so its setting was a

college campus. However, the impacts that priming has are in no way limited to that setting. Future

researchers can explore how effective priming is in a variety of different formats. The next logical

step from this study may be a food retailer but the options do not stop there. The concept could

also be useful for mass retailers and specialty outlets, or even e-commerce retailers. Only when

researchers begin to explore these options will we truly know what impact priming is capable of

having on consumer decision-making processes.

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APPENDIX #1:

Priming Stimuli used in Study:

*The following priming images were swapped out on the second page of the study to create the

three treatment groups*

Group A: Control Group- saw a typical ad for a banking product

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Group B: Primed with an Image- saw an ad for carbonated beverages; ad featured only an

image

Group C: Primed with an Image & Words- saw an ad for carbonated beverages; ad featured

both an image and words

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Survey used in the Study:

Part I- Introduction Version A

For the following questions, please circle one answer only.

1. Which gender do you identify with?

a. Male

b. Female

c. Other: _______________

2. What is your ethnicity? (If multiple, select the one you most identify with)

a. White

b. Hispanic or Latino

c. Black or African American

d. Native American or American Indian

e. Asian/Pacific Islander

f. Other: _______________

3. What is your current class standing?

a. First-Year

b. Sophomore

c. Junior

d. Senior

e. Graduate Student

4. Where do you live during the school year?

a. Traditional Dorm (Royer, Myer, Schlosser, Ober, Brinser, Founders)

b. Apartment-Style (Hackman, Quads, Off-campus but not with family)

c. With Family

d. Other: ________________

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Part II- Student Attitudes on Advertisements

In this section, please view the ad below, taking time to study all aspects of it. Then, answer the

questions that follow.

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5. Please respond to each of the following statements on a scale of strongly disagree to

strongly agree by checking the appropriate box.

Strongly

Disagree Disagree

Neither

Agree nor

Disagree

Agree Strongly

Agree

I enjoy this ad.

This ad is believable.

This ad is unique.

This ad is relevant to

me.

This is ad better than

typical ads for this

type of product.

6. If asked to describe this ad to a friend who hadn’t seen it, what words would you use?

Circle all words that you believe describe the ad.

a. Cheerful

b. Boring

c. Emotional

d. Offensive

e. Genuine

f. Memorable

g. Irritating

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Part III- Student Attitudes on Consumer Goods

In this section, we will be testing student attitudes on consumer goods. Please answer the

following questions as accurately as possible.

7. You purchase five items to take back to your room and snack on throughout the week.

Circle your five selections.

8. What do you believe is an appropriate serving of the following food items?

a. Oreo Cookies: ________________

b. Dunkin Donuts: _______________

c. Hershey Kisses: _______________

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9. What do you believe is an appropriate number of servings of vegetables to eat in one

week?

10. What do you believe is an appropriate number of servings of snack foods (chips, cookies,

ice cream, and candy) to eat in one week?

11. During an average week, how many days do you eat breakfast? ___________________

Of those….

a. ... how many days do you eat in the Marketplace or

Jay’s Nest?

b. ... how many days do you eat out or eat food

prepared by someone else?

12. During an average week, how many days do you eat lunch? ___________________

Of those….

a. … how many days do you eat in the Marketplace or

Jay’s Nest?

b. … how many days do you eat out or eat food

prepared by someone else?

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13. During an average week, how many days do you eat dinner? ___________________

Of those…

a. … how many days do you eat in the Marketplace or

Jay’s Nest?

b. … how many days do you eat out or eat food

prepared by someone else?

14. Please mark your agreement with the following statements.

Strongly

Disagree Disagree

Neither

Agree nor

Disagree

Agree Strongly

Agree

Cookies are

healthy.

Potato chips are

healthy.

Almonds are

healthy.

Soda is healthy.

Sparkling water

is healthy.

15. What do you believe is an appropriate weight for a 20-year-old woman?

16. What do you believe is an appropriate weight for a 20-year-old man?