Two pre-registered priming studies to unpackage value and behavior correlations
We tested whether various established priming methods affected personal values and behavioral choices in two experiments. We also aimed to test whether an activation of values through priming might shed some light on value-behavior linkages. Using a large online sample (pre-registration: https://osf.io/nz8ak/?view_only=b9110537370444d98d2b22dcf5f0774e) and a general population sample (pre-registration: https://osf.io/4juxx/?view_only=a4f0b53183824c56a90310497195d2d7), we did not find strong and consistent priming effects on either values or behavior/behavioral intentions. Nevertheless, in line with previous research, we found that values correlated with behavioral choices. Therefore, our study casts further doubt on the effectiveness of priming for activating social psychological constructs (e.g., values). Our correlational results show that values and behavior are correlated, but in the absence of experimental evidence, the causal direction of any value-behavior correlations need to be interpreted cautiously because causality (values predicting behavior) cannot be assumed.