Religious priming produces real but small and sometimes unreliable effects

Evidence

The results of this meta-analysis have implications for research design in this field. For example, the overall effect of priming on prejudice is small, which indicates that many studies on religious priming may be underpowered. In addition, priming as a methodology has been quite controversial, with some researchers voicing concerns about the reliability of the results of priming studies in general (e.g., Doyen et al., 2012). In their critique of religious priming, Watanabe and Laurent (2020) note that religious priming studies have demonstrated difficulties in producing reliable priming effects. The present meta-analysis demonstrates that priming as a methodology can be effective but is likely to produce only small effects and thus, studies that wish to use priming must Table 4. — Annetta Snell and Miron Zuckerman and Bonnie M. Le, Does Religious Priming Induce Greater…, 95

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Religious primes vary in depth of awareness and mechanism of effect — Annetta Snell and Miron Zuckerman and Bonnie M. Le, Does Religious Priming Induce Greater…, 24; Publication bias is unlikely to fully explain the religious priming effect. — Annetta Snell and Miron Zuckerman and Bonnie M. Le, Does Religious Priming Induce Greater…, 88; Nonconscious religious primes reliably affect believers but only inconsistently affect atheists. — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 179 (+2 more)

Related

• Type of religious prime may not moderate prejudice outcomes (similarity 0.91)
• Publication bias is unlikely to fully explain the religious priming effect. (similarity 0.89)
• Religious priming method does not meaningfully alter prejudice outcomes (similarity 0.88)
• Religious primes influence even nonreligious people through mere cultural knowledge (similarity 0.88)
• Religious primes vary in depth of awareness and mechanism of effect (similarity 0.88)
• Religious priming effects appear only in published, not unpublished, studies (similarity 0.87)
• A small religious-priming prejudice effect can still matter cumulatively when widespread. (similarity 0.87)
• Religious priming boosts prosocial behavior only for believers, not non-believers. (similarity 0.86)
• A small priming effect can still matter if widely applied over time (similarity 0.86)
• Religious primes fail to affect atheists, disproving a purely ideomotor account (similarity 0.86)
• Religious priming causally increases prejudice toward LGBT people and atheists (similarity 0.85)
• Buddhist primes may reduce prejudice rather than increase it (similarity 0.85)
• Nonconscious religious primes reliably affect believers but only inconsistently affect atheists. (similarity 0.84)
• Religious priming’s apparent prejudice effect exists only in published studies. (similarity 0.84)
• Priming reminders activate religious moral behavior; beliefs alone do not (similarity 0.84)

Broader Connections

• Nonconscious religious primes reliably affect believers but only inconsistently affect atheists. #expands (0.85) — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 179
• Priming reminders activate religious moral behavior; beliefs alone do not #complicates (0.75) — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 148