Boost Brain Function: The Importance of Priming in Everyday Life
Priming is the ability to influence the brain to behave and act a certain way after experiencing a form of stimuli. Priming is very much like conditioning the brain. The occurrence of priming happens unconsciously meaning people brain’s are being primed without intention. A powerful form of stimuli is visual (shapes, colors, and objects) and audio frequencies as they register with the brain quickly. Often advertisements can be presented on digital platforms, television, or radio since they can come in visual or audio formats. These commercials will try to entice people by making them feel emotional (happy, sad, angry). However, these could be advertisements that were never meant to be seen intentionally. This primes the brain and just seeing the same advertisement multiple times can make a person engage with the brand.
Beyond commercials, priming can be applied to learning a new skill. A person can watch demonstrations of an instructor performing some form of martial arts movement. This primes the students on how to go about the movement.
The Importance of Priming
People are exposed to certain elements daily and they can be influential factors to the person. Ideally, when a person wakes up from sleeping their brain is quite fresh. Depending on what the individual does in the morning it can determine their mood for the day (this can be subjective). Priming can be looked at as a practice even though it happens unconsciously. A warm-up for the brain to prepare for some task or take time to take on what is to come for the day.
Commonly, people tend to journal, exercise, meditate, or take a walk in the morning. It is to help them wake up and prep their brain. Often times after waking up the individual can be feeling tired and unprepared. More likely putting themselves in a reactive state.
Be Careful of Exposure to Certain Elements
As they say “Your environment matters” The environment whether it could be personal spaces, outside, workplaces, or anywhere else a person is involved in frequently. It could be positive or negative and this is why the environment matters. A person unknowingly changes based on their environment. There are all kinds of stimuli such as different levels of noise, people with different personalities, the scent of the area, and others.
As previously mentioned, visual stimuli is quite potent. In modern times digital devices are addictive to some people. People of all ages tend to browse news from their favorite platforms. These platforms can be in the form of social media, news sites, and others. Platforms like this have text, video, and audio forms of content. This is no negative response to this however, people tend to mindlessly consume too much content. With this in mind, it is quite influential depending on what they are consuming. Priming can impact perception, emotions, and decision-making.
Priming on Learning
The most difficult part of wanting to learn a skill is getting started. There has to be a way for one to start to learn. This is where priming comes into play. Doing a deep dive from the start into learning some skills makes it a little difficult. This can be challenging for some to comprehend or at least have an interest in the topic. There must be some warm-up protocol to immerse themselves in the learning experience. Here are a few methods.
Pre-exposure
This method is particular in getting an idea of what the person would be learning. For example, one would like to get into programming they would try to learn about what languages are there, concepts that are most needed, looking at source code, and others. It is building some form of expectations on what is required for a person to learn therefore making the process a bit simpler. The whole idea is to construct an understanding of what to learn to a some degree.
Sample pre-exposure exercise:
Going back to the programming example.
A person may not know anything about it. What research they could do is.
- What tools are needed?
- Explore beginner-friendly programming languages.
- Look over topics that have to do with programming.
- Watch videos on what programming is.
- Review source code and projects.
These are some examples a person can better familiarize themselves with concepts. So as they continue their practice (if they are interested). Getting direction and solidifying the information will become gradually easier.
Prior Knowledge
Using prior knowledge can be some help when trying to get deeper into a topic. People who have knowledge or know the fundamentals of some subject might have an easier time learning advanced concepts. Back to the programming example when one has all the fundamental knowledge of programming. It becomes somewhat understandable in which case individuals can continuously learn therefore learning becomes less difficult.
Sample for prior knowledge:
People with prior knowledge of the practice could have an easier time to advance in the subject matter.
Some exercises they can do is
- Brainstorming.
- Reflect on relative concepts.
- Take assesments.
- Develop questions on the topic.
These exercises will allow a person to conduct critical thinking.
Retrieval Practice
The whole purpose of this is to practice recalling details that were once learned. This is the challenge that will test the individual’s understanding or memorization of what was previously learned. More importantly, when it comes to understanding the topic it becomes easier to remember. Examples could be taking tests or writing down what they recall to ensure the material sticks to memory.
The retrieval process also helps with long-term retention so it is fortified in the long-term memory. Recalling certain information is far more effective than rereading over materials. This process is also known as auto recall where an individual can quickly retrieve details with very little effort.
Similar to practices from the prior knowledge section except it should be made a little bit more challenging.
To reiterate some practices.
- Practice tests.
- Flashcards.
- Solving complex problems.
- Create or find a list of questions around the topic and answer them before seeing the solution.
- Building a challenging project (building projects forces a person to plan and implement the needs for a project. Helping them understand what resources are needed).
- Brain dump on a specific topic. Write down everything that is in mind.
Neural Priming
Expanding on the objective of learning. When it comes to perceptual and conceptual priming there are factors that help with the process of learning. Getting exposure to a higher level of the subject will help with executing tasks effortlessly. With repetition in some practice or learning about a subject, mental resources are not used as much. Meaning there is less neural demand since the person has been exposed to certain details in the past.
For definition:
Perceptual priming is when the brain becomes better at recognizing things that was seen or heard before, even if not consciously aware of it. It’s based on the sensory features of what was previously encountered, like recognizing a word or an image faster after seeing it earlier.
Conceptual priming is when exposure to an idea or concept helps process related information more quickly. For example, if thinking about “furniture,” it might be quicker to recognize or think of related words like “chair” or “table.” It’s based on the meaning, not the appearance, of the information.
The brain is always absorbing something new if it is considered new to the person. If getting repeated exposure to activities there will be less neural activity in the brain since it becomes secondary. With this in mind, there would be reduced cognitive load and speedy reaction time on what is being focused on.
If you want to learn more about memory and how to improve memory performance. Check out: Boost Your Memory for Better Recall
Characters Can Induce Priming
Characters or everyday people have some type of power. Actions and words used with proper delivery can prime someone to do something. Whether the individual reads a story, watches a film, or gets involved with certain people. These characters can influence the person to act and think differently. This is known as social priming and this is more based on behavioral influences. There are numerous sayings about the influence of the people someone chooses to spend time with. Regularly people are told to choose wisely with whom they should associate.
“You become like the people you hang around, and to a great degree, you end up going wherever they’re headed.”
These quotes can be found online but worded differently but they have the same meaning.
It is crucial to be aware of the type of people that one is exposed to.
Conclusion
Priming occurs unconsciously that can influence certain behaviors in a person which can lead to certain actions. This occurs after a form of stimuli has been experienced through visual or auditory stimuli. Although priming is not consciously perceived the individual should be aware of their surroundings or what they may be exposed to (either positive or negative). There are many types of priming it is not only subjected to learning a topics or the social aspect of it. Priming can indirectly condition a person’s thoughts and behaviors which allows the person to respond based on their experiences. It is imperative to get stimuli that would positively impact a person to do well.
Sources:
Three Ways to Prime Students for Learning
Neural Correlates of Repetition Priming: A Coordinate-Based Meta-Analysis of fMRI Studies
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