<p>I've noticed the following phenomenon and am trying to find out if it is indeed true and if there is a scientific term for it:</p>

<p>When I <strong>think about ideas</strong>, I notice that I can rarely jump straight into "heavy" stuff, like thinking about a cognitive neuroscience article I read. Instead, doing another <strong>activity that "primes" my brain</strong> first tends to make me more conductive to heavy thinking. This can be watching a talk on TED.com or reading some lighter article.  </p>

<p>In <strong>conversation</strong>, I find that it's fairly hard to have a "heart to heart" talk with a person right off the bat, but a casual conversation can evolve in that direction.</p>

<p>When thinking about the phenomenon, the following supporting evidence comes to mind:</p>

<p>I've read that in some asian cultures, it is <strong>traditional to start a business deal with small talk</strong>, or over a friendly dinner. The motivation for this tradition was weird to me, until I thought about it light of the phenomenon described above.</p>

<p>Most of my successful job interviews started with small talk, unrelated to skills or position at hand. </p>

<p>When thinking about other human <strong>"priming" behaviors</strong>, the one I can think of most clearly is  <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreplay" rel="nofollow">foreplay before sexual encounters</a>, which serves the following role</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Foreplay is important from at least two considerations, one of which
  is purely physiological.[6] On the other hand, foreplay implies a
  certain level of confidence and trust between the partners and creates
  intimacy. Psychologically, foreplay <strong>lowers inhibitions and increases
  emotional intimacy</strong> between partners. Physically, it stimulates the
  process that produces sexual arousal.</p>
</blockquote>

<p><strong>I'm interested if there is indeed some "priming" activity that can put the human brain in a state of mind, where thinking or conversation is easier?</strong>  If so, what is the term for such activity? Has any neurotransmitter been implicated in the phenomenon described above?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-12-19T21:30:57.507Z
Often groups will use [Icebreakers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icebreaker_(facilitation)) to ease conversation.
BenCole
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-12-20T14:26:32.287Z
This begs the question of what is the cognitive equivalent of ice that is being broken. What is this inhibition that prevents easy social interaction in a group
Alex Stone
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-12-20T14:56:28.270Z
That's a different question: "what priming activities exist" vs "why is priming needed in the first place".  Anyone could have any reason for social discomfort around strangers.  Hell, with "stranger danger", kids are taught to be afraid of strangers.  At the core, it's fear/anxiety, regardless of the cognitive reason behind it.  But that's just for social discomfort.  Turning the question around and using your foreplay example, what is "the ice being broken" there?
BenCole
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-12-20T15:00:37.790Z
Also, I'll add that we're analog (signal) creatures, not discrete (aka digital) ones.  When we do things, we are not on/off.  We have to build up energy to overcome an activation barrier (this isn't just on the neuronal level, this paradigm exists all over).  So for many people, a digital (or near-digital) shift to a different state can be very uncomfortable.
BenCole
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-12-21T04:56:52.527Z
I guess this question is about this analog nature of flowing in and out of different states of mind. Not discrete ones, but different. In the foreplay, it's fairly easy to measure arousal, especially if male :) . Baseline is replaced by arousal. I don't really know what is the baseline change for thinking or conversation. What is this disinhibition?
Alex Stone
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-12-21T22:22:04.897Z
I see two classes of situations here: 1) where there's an actual inhibition on one person's part, and 2) where people are in different states of mind (one is happy, the other sad).  For the first, an icebreaker is needed to relax/ease their anxieties.  For the second, 'conversation foreplay' is necessary to align the cognitive states of the participants.  Without such an alignment activity, it would be very difficult to feel/process sympathy, empathy, or other socio-emotional connections.  But this is just a theory on my part.
BenCole
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-12-22T03:42:48.870Z
Cognitive state alignment is a really good term for what's being discussed! I'm more interested in the second scenario - what activities can help one person change the cognitive state of another(or one's own).
Alex Stone
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-12-26T04:08:25.513Z
Hmm...So I found a [couple](http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2012/05/22/1206095109.full.pdf) [papers](http://www.academia.edu/342927/If_They_Move_in_Sync_They_Must_Feel_in_Sync_Movement_Synchrony_Leads_to_Attributions_of_Rapport_and_Entitativity) on the subject.  At this point I'm not sure what your question has become.  However, it seems that such activities are so wide-spread that they touch literally every human interaction (also, consider that such activities are likely unconsciously performed in many cases).  This subject could potentially be a goldmine of research, if you pursued it.
BenCole
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-01-18T04:03:49.090Z
Why does this question have the behaviorism tag?
Artem Kaznatcheev
<terminology><social-psychology><behaviorism>
Is there a "foreplay" equivalent, priming activity for thinking or conversation?
Alex Stone
# Is there a "foreplay" equivalent, priming activity for thinking or conversation?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2012-12-19)

I've noticed the following phenomenon and am trying to find out if it is indeed true and if there is a scientific term for it:

When I **think about ideas**, I notice that I can rarely jump straight into "heavy" stuff, like thinking about a cognitive neuroscience article I read. Instead, doing another **activity that "primes" my brain** first tends to make me more conductive to heavy thinking. This can be watching a talk on TED.com or reading some lighter article.

In **conversation**, I find that it's fairly hard to have a "heart to heart" talk with a person right off the bat, but a casual conversation can evolve in that direction.

When thinking about the phenomenon, the following supporting evidence comes to mind:

I've read that in some asian cultures, it is **traditional to start a business deal with small talk**, or over a friendly dinner. The motivation for this tradition was weird to me, until I thought about it light of the phenomenon described above.

Most of my successful job interviews started with small talk, unrelated to skills or position at hand.

When thinking about other human **"priming" behaviors**, the one I can think of most clearly is [foreplay before sexual encounters](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreplay), which serves the following role

> Foreplay is important from at least two considerations, one of which
> is purely physiological.[6] On the other hand, foreplay implies a
> certain level of confidence and trust between the partners and creates
> intimacy. Psychologically, foreplay **lowers inhibitions and increases
> emotional intimacy** between partners. Physically, it stimulates the
> process that produces sexual arousal.

**I'm interested if there is indeed some "priming" activity that can put the human brain in a state of mind, where thinking or conversation is easier?** If so, what is the term for such activity? Has any neurotransmitter been implicated in the phenomenon described above?

**Tags:** terminology, social-psychology, behaviorism

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Often groups will use [Icebreakers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icebreaker_(facilitation)) to ease conversation.  
> **username_0**: This begs the question of what is the cognitive equivalent of ice that is being broken. What is this inhibition that prevents easy social interaction in a group  
> **username_1**: That's a different question: "what priming activities exist" vs "why is priming needed in the first place".  Anyone could have any reason for social discomfort around strangers.  Hell, with "stranger danger", kids are taught to be afraid of strangers.  At the core, it's fear/anxiety, regardless of the cognitive reason behind it.  But that's just for social discomfort.  Turning the question around and using your foreplay example, what is "the ice being broken" there?  
> **username_1**: Also, I'll add that we're analog (signal) creatures, not discrete (aka digital) ones.  When we do things, we are not on/off.  We have to build up energy to overcome an activation barrier (this isn't just on the neuronal level, this paradigm exists all over).  So for many people, a digital (or near-digital) shift to a different state can be very uncomfortable.  
> **username_0**: I guess this question is about this analog nature of flowing in and out of different states of mind. Not discrete ones, but different. In the foreplay, it's fairly easy to measure arousal, especially if male :) . Baseline is replaced by arousal. I don't really know what is the baseline change for thinking or conversation. What is this disinhibition?  
> **username_1**: I see two classes of situations here: 1) where there's an actual inhibition on one person's part, and 2) where people are in different states of mind (one is happy, the other sad).  For the first, an icebreaker is needed to relax/ease their anxieties.  For the second, 'conversation foreplay' is necessary to align the cognitive states of the participants.  Without such an alignment activity, it would be very difficult to feel/process sympathy, empathy, or other socio-emotional connections.  But this is just a theory on my part.  
> **username_0**: Cognitive state alignment is a really good term for what's being discussed! I'm more interested in the second scenario - what activities can help one person change the cognitive state of another(or one's own).  
> **username_1**: Hmm...So I found a [couple](http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2012/05/22/1206095109.full.pdf) [papers](http://www.academia.edu/342927/If_They_Move_in_Sync_They_Must_Feel_in_Sync_Movement_Synchrony_Leads_to_Attributions_of_Rapport_and_Entitativity) on the subject.  At this point I'm not sure what your question has become.  However, it seems that such activities are so wide-spread that they touch literally every human interaction (also, consider that such activities are likely unconsciously performed in many cases).  This subject could potentially be a goldmine of research, if you pursued it.  
> **username_2**: Why does this question have the behaviorism tag?  

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## 0 answers

