In relation to psychology to pair by association is the action of associating a stimulus with an arbitrary idea or object, to elicit a response, usually emotional. This is done by repeatedly pairing the stimulus with the arbitrary object.
For example, repeatedly pairing images of beautiful women in bathing suits, elicits a sexual response in most men. Advertising agencies, for example, repeatedly pair products with attractive women in television commercials. This is with the intention of eliciting an emotional or sexually aroused response in the consumer.
This causes the consumer to be more likely to buy the product than when presented with a similar but competing product without such an association.
Read more about Pair By Association: Verbal Behavior, See Also
Famous quotes containing the words pair and/or association:
“Here comes a pair of very strange beasts, which in all
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—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
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—French National Assembly. Declaration of the Rights of Man (drafted and discussed August 1789, published September 1791)