Semantic Priming, Lexical Framing, and Attitude Formation: A Psycholinguistic Study of Word Associations in Undergraduate Learners

Abstract

This study explores how undergraduate students in Pakistan relate to semantic priming, lexically framed influence, and the formation of attitudes from a psycholinguistic perspective. Utilizing the Spreading Activation Theory and Framing Theory, the research analyzes how lexical stimuli impact students’ word associations and evaluative attitudes towards conceptual understanding (academic vs social). A mixed methods research design was used to carry out this investigation through both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The target participants were undergraduate students enrolled in an English medium institution in Bachelor of Science (BS) programs, specifically BS English, BS Psychology, and BS Education. Data collection methods consisted of a demographic questionnaire, a Primed Word Association Task, and Lexical Framing Task with positive and negative frames measured using Likert scale responses. The quantitative analysis included frequency counts and descriptive statistics, while the qualitative analysis involved thematic coding of participant responses. The results showed that participants made strong positive semantic associations between English and both "communication," "opportunity," "achievement," and "success." Participants were also more positively influenced by lexical framing for learning English and developing their academic abilities than negatively. The negative response to the framing task was primarily due to the words chosen to communicate stress, barriers, and struggle. Additionally, the study found that semantic priming activates automatic cognitive associations, whereas lexical framing influences evaluative judgments made consciously. Overall, the study provides evidence demonstrating how significantly language influences cognition and perception.