Priming

While Agenda-setting pertains to the topics mass media brings up for discussion, priming refers to the way the media accentuates different performance characteristics and creates pre-conceptions. There are several types of priming, but the common goal is to introduce a notion or a concept earlier and use the “accessibility” of that information in one’s mind at a later time. For example, if we discuss metals and at a later part of the text you encounter the word “lead” in an unclear context, you are likely to not even consider its meaning as a verb but directly think of the noun. It acts similar to a pump, which has to be primed first in order to work. In the same way, to have the audience associate a particular object with a particular property, the audience needs to be primed with that association.

Recommended Reading

Scheufele, D. A., & Tewksbury, D. (2007). Framing, Agenda Setting, and Priming: The Evolution of Three Media Effects Models. Journal of Communication, 57(1), 9–20. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0021-9916.2007.00326.x