A participant is unconsciously primed with a smiling face. The experiment comes back into the room and exclaims, "Hey!" with an ambiguous tone. The participant evaluates it as a friendly exclamation. This is best described as an example of which of the following?
A) Assimilation effect
B) Contrast effect
C) Stimulus ambiguity
D) Self-protective motivations

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

CThe assimilation effect occurs when an individual's perception or interpretation of new information is influenced by prior knowledge or expectations, in this case, the smiling face leading the participant to perceive the ambiguous exclamation as friendly. Stimulus ambiguity refers to the unclear or uncertain nature of the stimulus, in this case, the ambiguous tone of "Hey!" which allows for the influence of prior priming to shape its interpretation.

A Participant Is Unconsciously Primed with a Smiling Face