The Florida Effect: The Power Of Priming On Performance

We all like to think that we are in complete control of our actions, our mindsets, and, subsequently, our performance. But what if that weren’t true? Could it be that the words you hear on the radio or read on billboards or the pictures you see on your way to the change room could affect your subsequent performance in the gym, through their impact on your subconscious mind?

Well, it just might, at least according to numerous studies into behavioural psychology that have looked at a concept known as the priming effect.

- Pedro van Gaalen

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There are many studies that offer examples of both. For instance, when authorities in Spain introduced classical music on the subway, rates of vandalism and littering drastically decreased.

In another study, this one referenced in the book Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman, who won a Nobel prize for economics in 2002, researchers operated an ‘honesty box’ system in a university kitchen for the tea and coffee provided to staff. Over a ten-week period, a different image – either flowers or eyes – was placed above the box on alternate weeks. When the image of the eyes was displayed, the researchers found that contributions to the honesty box were three times higher than those received on the days when the image of flowers appeared.

And this priming effect has been witnessed in a number of other contexts, such as tasks related to intelligence, association, perception, manners, Priming refers to the influence that subtle triggers can have on our behaviour, even when we’re not aware of the effects.

It’s an intriguing concept that is not without some controversy. For instance, if the priming effect is real it has the potential to influence behaviour in both negative and positive ways.

It’s a concern raised by best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell, in his book Blink. In it he states, “what we think of as freewill is largely an illusion: much of the time, we are simply operating on automatic pilot, and the way we think and act – and how well we think and act on the spur of the moment – are a lot more susceptible to outside influences than we realize.”

Mainstream advertising agencies know this fact and it has therefore been the primary medium through which our behaviours are shaped – in this instance, influencing our buying and shopping behaviours – through subtle and not-so-subtle priming.