priming (n.)

In PSYCHOLINGUISTICS, an effect which alters the time needed to recognize a target word. The target word is presented, preceded by another word (the prime). If the prime word is semantically or formally similar to the target (e.g. decide preceding decision, doctor preceding patient), response times are faster. If the same word is used as a prime, response times are faster still (the identity priming effect). Primes can be presented using different modalities (e.g. spoken or written), statuses (e.g. words or non-words), and time frames (e.g. masked or unmasked). A masked prime is a prime presented for a very short period of time, such as 50 ms.