In this study, the effect of parental relationships and priming on ratings of a fictional relationship were examined.† Sixty-three Mount Holyoke College students between the ages of 18 and 23, were assigned to four conditions (married parents-positive
In this study, the effect of parental relationships and priming on ratings of a fictional relationship were examined.† Sixty-three Mount Holyoke College students between the ages of 18 and 23, were assigned to four conditions (married parents-positive prime, married parents-negative prime, divorced parents-positive prime, and divorced parents-negative prime). After receiving the positive or negative prime, each participant was asked to read and evaluate a description of a neutral relationship. An independent groups ANOVA was run and it was found that participants who received a negative prime rated the neutral relationship more positively than those who received a positive prime. This suggests that the positive prime was actually perceived as a negative prime and vice versa, as subjects were comparing the priming paragraph to the neutral paragraph.† In future studies, the presentation of the primes and the manner of recruitment of participants shou