You can easily gain an advantage at your weekly pub quiz event by simply priming your brain for the quiz.
Here is how it works: In 1998 two Dutch researchers, A Dijksterhuis and A van Knippenberg, measured the performance of groups of students in games of Trivial Pursuit. Before each game half of the teams were asked to spend 5 minutes thinking that they were professors. The other half were asked to spend 5 minutes thinking that they were football hooligans. These first group of students scored 55.6% in the subsequent games, and the second groups scored 42.6%.
It’s about perception and behaviour – the human brain can induce behaviours in line with priming for a stereotype or trait. And in this simple way, we can improve our general knowledge performance.
The first groups weren’t smarter. They had simply primed their brain, and were in a smart frame of mind. The difference in the results implies that they would score 11 extra marks in our standard Qwizard event. This could easily be the difference between winning that top prize voucher, or getting nowhere.
But, beware, according to the researchers the priming effects begin to deteriorate after 15 minutes. So your team may have to continue to meditate between each round!