Identity Priming

What is identity priming?

Identity priming refers to making an aspect of a person’s identity temporarily salient and examining whether this changes later judgments or behavior. The cue might bring a professional role, religion, nationality, or another group membership to mind. Making an identity salient is one step; changing behavior is a separate question.

Evidence and replication

Shih, Pittinsky, and Ambady (1999) reported different mathematics-test performance among Asian American women after cues to ethnic or gender identity. The proposed explanation concerned culturally associated stereotypes, not inherent differences in ability.

In a larger replication by Gibson, Losee, and Vitiello (2014), the original pattern reached statistical significance after excluding participants who were unaware of the relevant stereotypes, but not when those participants were retained. The sample definition therefore matters to the interpretation.

Practical limits

Asking an engineer to write about their profession would be an identity cue. Assuming that this will improve analytical thinking is a much larger claim, and these studies do not establish it. They also do not establish lasting identity change. A subtle identity cue is too weak an evidentiary basis for a behavior-change program. The person’s skills, stable traits, and circumstances deserve at least as much attention as the cue.