priming
Original: priming on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Panel 1 (Man in suit):
Recent studies have cast doubt on the so-called "priming" effect in psychology, in which people are said to change their behavior in response to subtle environmental cues.
Panel 2 (Man in suit):
These doubts are needless because we can prove that priming exists analytically.
Panel 3 (Man in suit):
Imagine an experiment in which subjects are primed to believe priming doesn't work.
Panel 4 (Man in suit):
There are two possible outcomes: the subjects exhibit priming effects OR the subjects don't exhibit priming effects.
Panel 5 (Man in suit):
If they exhibit priming effects, trivially, priming is real.
Panel 6 (Man in suit, gesturing):
If they don't, it shows that we successfully primed them to exhibit no priming effects.
Panel 7 (Man in suit, hands raised):
Given that there is only one possible outcome, the experiment is unnecessary.
Panel 8 (A man in the audience):
This is all stupid.
Panel 9 (Man in suit, pointing triumphantly at the audience):
AHA! You only believe that because I primed you by saying stupid stuff earlier!
Votey:
Please oh please let nobody think this is serious commentary on the field of psychology...
Recent studies have cast doubt on the so-called "priming" effect in psychology, in which people are said to change their behavior in response to subtle environmental cues.
Panel 2 (Man in suit):
These doubts are needless because we can prove that priming exists analytically.
Panel 3 (Man in suit):
Imagine an experiment in which subjects are primed to believe priming doesn't work.
Panel 4 (Man in suit):
There are two possible outcomes: the subjects exhibit priming effects OR the subjects don't exhibit priming effects.
Panel 5 (Man in suit):
If they exhibit priming effects, trivially, priming is real.
Panel 6 (Man in suit, gesturing):
If they don't, it shows that we successfully primed them to exhibit no priming effects.
Panel 7 (Man in suit, hands raised):
Given that there is only one possible outcome, the experiment is unnecessary.
Panel 8 (A man in the audience):
This is all stupid.
Panel 9 (Man in suit, pointing triumphantly at the audience):
AHA! You only believe that because I primed you by saying stupid stuff earlier!
Votey:
Please oh please let nobody think this is serious commentary on the field of psychology...
Alt text
A nine-panel comic. A man in a suit lectures, building an absurd logical proof. He says recent studies have cast doubt on the psychological "priming" effect (where people supposedly change behavior in response to subtle environmental cues), but claims these doubts are needless because priming can be proven analytically. He proposes imagining an experiment in which subjects are primed to believe priming doesn't work. There are two possible outcomes: the subjects exhibit priming effects, or they don't. If they do, priming is trivially real; if they don't, it shows they were successfully primed to exhibit no priming effects. Since there is only one possible outcome, he concludes the experiment is unnecessary. A man in the audience objects, "This is all stupid." The speaker points triumphantly and crows, "AHA! You only believe that because I primed you by saying stupid stuff earlier!" Votey: a handwritten note on a blank panel reads, "Please oh please let nobody think this is serious commentary on the field of psychology..."
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.