I first heard about priming when I was taking a high school psychology class. The basis of the communication theory has a lot to do with the same thing that is discussed within the science community as well. It all comes back to simple association. It's like a complex version of the game our kindergarten teachers would walk us through. For example, if someone says dog you may think cat.
There are three types of in depth priming, violence, political, and stereotype. Research on violence priming that those who expose themselves to different kinds of violent media actually do become more violent over time, even if it's just in small ways. Because you've seen violent reactions to behavior, it slowly becomes a learned reaction in similar situations. The next is political, this is when the media or candidates use "key words" and other slogans, or associate themselves with particular, people to influence your opinion, and in turn influence your vote. The last is stereotype priming. this is what happens to societies or groups within societies. It's typical when items become assigned to a certain gender or person type out of norm rather than anything to do with the actual product. For example, nail polish only being something women are "allowed" to wear occurred because of association.
The media plays into all of these realms of priming, but political priming is the easiest for the media to use. Because of the huge impact the media has on the minds of America, young and old, using shared experiences or phrases that remind viewers of nostalgia can be a way of using emotions to promote a specific candidate. If a candidate was to use similar marketing to, for example, Trump in order to gain support from Trump voters, the voter would be primed and ready to vote on Election Day.
J. F. Kennedy's campaign was one of the first to use political priming theorists believe. His team ran ads that reminded people of what they had gained after the war and used that to describe what Kennedy would give them. It was also one of the first where the candidates could be seen on TV, before all debates and appearances were done on radio. Kennedy looked like a movie star, and people knew they trusted their stars. It's also interesting in the case of events like World Cup and the Olympics. The are advertised so often and talked about within communities that people feel like they have to tune in. Because they're both such long-lived traditions, there's a sense of requirement to be tuned in, even if it's just following the events.
Our perceptions are easily influenced. This is only human, but it's a little scary how the government can bend information to create a certain narrative or distorted reality. This is turn has the power to affect voting patterns unjustly.
There is also evidence that may disprove this throry beyond basic Association. Research shows that priming degrades 15-20 minutes after initial exposure. This means that the news would have to mention something current like ANTIFA, and then a conservative Ad would need to run within 15 minutes if they wanted any anti-ANTIFA language to be effective.
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