Awareness of the prime versus awareness of its influence: implications for the real-world scope of unconscious higher mental processes

Unconscious priming effects involve passive activation of internal mental representations that influence judgments and behavior without the person's intention or awareness. An important distinction is between unawareness of the priming stimuli or events per se (as in subliminal priming) and unawareness of the influence of those primes: the latter is the more important and practically relevant of the two forms. Meta-analytic reviews as well as a new wave of subliminal persuasion studies reveal stronger behavior priming effects when the primes correspond to an important or currently active goal of the individual. Recent field studies using incidental priming methods have produced changes in dishonest behavior of investment bankers, as well as reduction of snack purchases by obese grocery store shoppers.