Priming

Priming in psychology refers to activating particular representations or associations in memory just before carrying out an action or task. These associations are often regarded as unconscious. For example, after studying a list of 20 words containing the word "garbage", a subject can be asked to recall the word by priming with a reminder stimulus "gar_____".

Priming  in media is related to the agenda-setting theory. Priming is the process by which certain portions of media content are 'brought to the forefront' and certain other portions are relegated to the background. This process allows the media to exercise control over public opinion.

Priming is most important when issues are new and information is scarce. Often priming is related to partisan attachment in so much as it determines the importance and the framing of a particular news event.

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