Question

Daniel is headed out on a blind date. The friend who set him up told him that his date was valedictorian of her graduating class. As Daniel is talking with his date, he begins to question his own understanding of math when she tells him that 1+1=3. His perception that she is right, even though it goes against what he understands, is due to:__________.
a. priming
b. heuristics
c. controlled thinking
d. a self-fulfilling prophecy

Answer 1

The correct answer is A) priming.

Daniel is headed out on a blind date. The friend who set him up told him that his date was valedictorian of her graduating class. As Daniel is talking with his date, he begins to question his own understanding of math when she tells him that 1+1=3. His perception that she is right, even though it goes against what he understands, is due to priming.

This phenomenon happens when one external stimulus is able to influence your perception of reality and makes you believe something although you cannot understand it, That is why Daniel started to question his own understanding of math when her date told him that 1+1=3. The effect of priming on a person can be circumstantial, momentary, or last for a while. According to scholars, priming can present itself in the following modalities: affective, negative, positive, and perceptual, and has a direct impact on the receiver.