Abstract
Although research exists on the impact of security priming, the vast majority of studies have been conducted in the laboratory and used repeated prime/priming sessions. The studies described in this paper test whether attachment security priming impacts people's sense of security and related behaviors in the real world following a single exposure to a security prime. In the first two studies, participants were indirectly exposed to either security or control cues. In Study 1 (n = 53), exposure to security cues via posters near the entrance to the building where the study took place led to a higher sense of state security. In Study 2 (n~21,000), the same security primes (posters) led to a greater tendency to engage in helping behavior. In Study 3 (n = 200), exposure to similar security primes, embedded in a self-help guide, increased people's positive evaluations of the health guide, which is known to be related to higher adherence to treatment. The implications for day-to-day security, well-being, and health are discussed.