Priming refers to the activation of a node in this network, which may serve as a filter, an interpretive frame, or a premise for further information processing or judgment formation.
[6] Priming happens when news media suggests to audiences ways and specific issues that should be used to evaluate the performance of leaders and governments.
In short, both theories point to ease of accessibility of information in one's mind but priming is something that can occur over a period of time after exposure to a given media segment.
[10] Priming isn't always unintentional, as Jacobs and Shapiro demonstrate in a quantitative and historical analysis of John F. Kennedy’s 1960 presidential campaign.
Their research extends the application of priming theory from its original focus of how individuals form attitudes and make decisions to the study of candidate behavior.
In this study, the authors focus on the 1960 election because innovative public opinion surveys were incorporated into Kennedy's campaign strategy that enabled him to use position taking to shape his image.
Their research was based on primary evidence drawn from archival records and interviews, as well as a combination of interpretative and quantitative analysis.
They found that a relationship exists between Kennedy's positions on policy matters and results from his private public opinion surveys.
First, Iyengar et al. found evidence of agenda-setting in the positive correlation between exposure to a given political topic and its importance when evaluating the president.
This lead Iyengar's team to the conclusion that priming has varied implications depending on an individual's given knowledge prior to political news media exposure.
Thus these priming models relate back to attitude formation based on the salience of characteristics and factors during decision making.