Can priming a concept affect how intensely people feel? Exploring the connection between sense of control and fear

Evidence suggests that perceived control (the extent to which one believes they can exert influence over their environment) can predict fear levels, and studies reveal a causal relationship exists between low control and increased fear. These studies test effects by manipulating participant control, assuming this to shift perception of a stimulus. Kaufmann and Neumann (2019) claim that a priming paradigm can activate low control to cause fear, however, their results were not statistically significant. The current study tested Kaufmann and Neumann’s hypothesis to see if a low control prime could significantly increase fear responding. Adults (N = 96) completed a fragmented word task which either primed high or low control or featured no prime, followed by exposure to a short clip from a horror movie. Fear scores were obtained at pre-test and post-test using an adapted Differential Emotions Scale (DES). Results revealed no effect of priming, so do not support the claims of Kaufmann and Neumann (2019). The researcher concludes that there is no clear evidence that a low control prime can cause fear arousal effects and suggest that priming is not the best method for cross-context learning. Future research should be cautious about the application of priming paradigms when investigating cross-context effects.