Media Priming Theory
Going into week 5 of this semester, we have learned about the concepts of “Media Priming” and “Framing” in both our readings and lectures. In our reading Priming by Carpentier, she discussed two definitions of priming that come from Tulving and Schacter researcher which is explicit and implicit memory. Explicit memory is “memory that is intentionally recalled” and implicit memory “occurs below one’s radar or conscious awareness”. The reason why I selected these two definitions is that they are what help me grasp a better understanding of what priming means.
I have never given much thought to priming and how it plays into my everyday life, but after hearing some examples coming from Professor Davis and our reading it kinda became more clear to me. For example, explicit memories occur constantly in my life when I drive by places or see objects that involve an unforgettable memory. Whenever I walk past Jessie Hall the memory of taking pictures there for a campus organization I’m involved with always pops up, or when I go to the Portillo’s back home in Vernon Hills it reminds me of eating there with my dad and sister after every dentist appointment when we were younger. These are just a few ways that priming is used and connects to my everyday life.
Not going to lie this topic is stumping me a bit and trying to figure out what media artifact/example that goes along with the theories applied to priming. After some research and typical overthinking, I’m going to go the schema route to analyze the concept of Thanksgiving. When we think about this holiday we think about the attributes that go along with it such as turkey, pumpkin pie, family, football. The reason why we think of these things is that when you live in the United States it is a holiday that is represented in the media and all throughout our lives, so when you see or think of a turkey your mind will go to Thanksgiving.
Growing up in the U.S. it is a no-brainer to think of these things, but if you look at a different culture or country they are going to have a different schema on the idea of “Thanksgiving”. An article from Jeff Pankin on Schema Theory talks about the differences between Schema and Culture, quoting that “The nature of schemas work to support one’s own cultural identity. Once a schema is formed it focuses our attention on aspects of the culture as experienced and by assimilating, accommodating or rejecting aspects which don’t conform” (Pakin). So when you talk to someone else who has no idea of what this holiday is they might develop a Schema based on what they see in the media from TV, movies, or Instagram post, and assume that every thanksgiving is the same for everyone who lives in the U.S because of how the media influenced that filter.
This is just one example of how schemas work to represent knowledge about a concept, but there are hundreds of more ways this can be analyzed just by what we see through media. I think this can affect us in how we interpret certain things due to media exposure that can be more harmful than good. Priming is a concept that makes things more accessible in our memory that has the ability to alter our behaviors, in the past and even nowadays when people see someone who is Muslim or African-American people will associate them with words such as “terrorist” or “criminal” due to being labeled and depicted that way in many movies and TV shows that people watch. It is interesting to see how based on where you come from a concept will have a different schema that can be complete opposites which circles back to the study of “Media Priming”. This theory is mainly categorized to an individual-level due to each person retaining a specific memory to a certain location or category. When I think of the holidays and memories of places I have been to, I never realize that someone can have a separate memory coming from the same location.
Dillman Carpentier, F. R. (2011). Priming. Communication. doi:10.1093/obo/9780199756841–0012
Pakin, J. (2013). Schema Theory. Retrieved February 16, 2021, from http://web.mit.edu/pankin/www/Schema_Theory_and_Concept_Formation.pdf
