Subliminal stimuli

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A subliminal message is a signal or message embedded in another object, designed to pass below the normal limits of perception. These messages are indiscernible to the conscious mind, but are alleged to be perceptible to the subconscious or deeper mind: for example, an image transmitted so briefly that it is only perceived subconsciously, but not otherwise noticed. Subliminal techniques have occasionally been used in advertising and propaganda; the purpose, effectiveness and frequency of such techniques is debated.

History

In 1898, E.W. Scripture published The New Psychology, which described the basic principles of subliminal messages.[1]

In 1900, Knight Dunlap, an American professor of psychology, flashed an "imperceptible shadow" to subjects while showing them a Mueller-Lyer illusion containing two lines with pointed arrows at both ends which create an illusion of different lengths. Dunlap claimed that the shadow influenced his subjects subliminally in their judgment of the lengths of the lines. Although these results were not verified, American psychologist Harry Levi Hollingworth reported in an advertising textbook that such subliminal messages could be used by advertisers.[2]

During World War II, the tachistoscope, an instrument which projects pictures for an extremely brief period, was used to train soldiers to recognize enemy airplanes.[1] Today the tachistoscope is used to increase reading speed or to test sight.[3]

Market researcher James Vicary claimed in 1957 that quickly flashing messages on a movie screen had influenced people to purchase more food and drink. Vicary coined the term subliminal advertising and formed the Subliminal Projection Company based on a six-week test in which he flashed the slogans "Drink Coca-Cola" and "Eat popcorn" during a movie for 1/3000 of a second at five-second intervals. Vicary claimed that during the test, sales of popcorn and Coke in the New Jersey theater where the test was conducted increased 57.5 percent and 18.1 percent respectively.[1][4]

Vicary's claims were promoted in Vance Packard's book The Hidden Persuaders,[5] and led to a public outcry, and to many conspiracy theories of governments and cults using the technique to their advantage.[citation needed] The practice of subliminal advertising was subsequently banned in the United Kingdom and Australia,[2] and by American networks and the National Association of Broadcasters in 1958.[4]

But in 1958, Vicary conducted a television test in which he flashed the message "telephone now" hundreds of times during a Canadian Broadcasting Company program, and found no increase in telephone calls. In 1962, Vicary admitted that he fabricated his claim.[6] Efforts to replicate the results of Vicary's reports have never resulted in success.[1]

In 1973, commercials in the United States and Canada for the game Hūsker Dū? flashed the message "Get it".[5] During the same year, Wilson Bryan Key's book Subliminal Seduction claimed that subliminal techniques were widely used in advertising.[4] Public concern was sufficient to cause the FCC to hold hearings in 1974. The hearings resulted in an FCC policy statement stating that subliminal advertising was "contrary to the public interest".[4] Subliminal advertising was also banned in Canada following the broadcasting of Hūsker Dū? ads there.[1]

Effectiveness

Certain types of subliminal perception (hypnosis, for example) are known to affect the perceiver without any conscious knowledge of the effect on his part. However, with the exception of a recent report from University College London,[7] there is no strong evidence that the types of messages discussed in this article (ones embedded into normal objects such as posters or movies) are at all effective.[8].

Perception of subliminal messages is a type of subconscious cognition. Unlike unconscious tasks such as attending to one signal in a noisy environment while keeping track of other signals (e.g., listening to one voice out of many in a crowded room) and automatic tasks such as breathing, subliminal message cognition cannot be done consciously.

An important question about subliminal perception is: How much of the message is perceived? That is, is the whole message sensed and fully digested, or are only its main and simpler features? There are at least two schools of thought about this. One of them argues that only the simpler features of unconscious signals could be perceived. The second school of thought argues that unconscious cognition is comprehensive and that much more is perceived than can be verbalized.

Proponents of the power of subliminal messages claim they gain influence or power from the fact that they circumvent the critical functions of the conscious mind, and therefore subliminal suggestions are potentially more powerful than ordinary suggestions. This route to influence or persuasion would be akin to auto-suggestion or hypnosis, wherein the subject is encouraged to be (or somehow induced to be) relaxed so that suggestions are directed to deeper (more gullible) parts of the mind; some observers have suggested that the unconscious mind is incapable of critical refusal of hypnotic or subliminal suggestions.

However, critics of the theory have suggested that the effect of subliminal messages would at best be no more than that of a glimpse of a billboard in the corner of an eye. Controlled experiments that attempt to demonstrate the influence of subliminal messages generally find little to no effect.[2]

The book Mind Hacks by O'Reilly Press states that subliminal messages are effective in "priming" (putting a half-processed idea in the mind, leading to increased familiarity or a "tip of the tongue" situation where the idea is present but is not articulated until triggered). It also states that for this reason it has limited application in persuasion, and only slightly more use in advertising. The text states that additionally only one word or image is perceived subliminally most of the time, and that the primary way in which it can be used in advertising is by creating a familiarity with a product that has not been seen before, familiarity that could be misinterpreted as preference. The text references an experiment in which faces were flashed subliminally before the test subject rated a group of faces as to which were preferable (this experiment can be duplicated online, through the URL given in the book).

The Datalust.net community created a wiki book (now lost, though a cache is available here) based on informal research, proposing a technique by which subliminal messages could be used in conjunction with other techniques to improve cognitive function, among other things. This has not been tested in a strict experiment, however there is some anecdotal evidence supporting some of these claims, as documented in the book itself. It is useful to note that the original wiki version was lost when an accidental slip-up in an upgrade of the wiki software corrupted the database, and so the cache has not been updated since then, although the techniques have progressed. The initial creator of the technique gives his contact information in the book, and so interested parties can contact him for updated techniques and hypotheses.

In 2006, a study by Dr. Johan Karremans at the University of Nijmegen suggested that subliminal messaging may have an effect when the message is goal-relevant.[9] The study, however, was criticized for its lack of controls.[10][11]

Audio

The manual for the popular sound program SoX pokes fun at subliminal messages. The description of the "reverse" option says "Included for finding satanic subliminals."

Backmasking, an audio technique in which sounds are recorded backwards onto a track that is meant to be played forwards, produces messages that sound like gibberish to the conscious mind. Gary Greenwald, a fundamentalist Christian preacher, claims that these messages can be heard subliminally, and can induce listeners towards, in the case of rock music, sex and drug use.[12] However, this is not generally accepted as fact.[13]

Following the 1950s subliminal message panic, many businesses have sprung up purporting to offer helpful subliminal audio tapes that supposedly improve the health of the listener. However, there is no evidence for the therapeutic effectiveness of such tapes.[14]

Instances

Television and video

In 1978, Wichita, Kansas TV station KAKE-TV received special permission from the police to place a subliminal message in a report on the BTK Killer in an effort to get him to turn himself in. The image, which appeared for a split second, showed a pair of glasses (an image thought to hold significance to him) and text that read "Now call the chief." [1] The attempt was unsuccessful, and police reported no increased volume of calls afterward, though the killer was eventually caught in 2005.

Before the re-election of French president François Mitterrand in 1988, a subliminal picture of him was mixed in the title sequence of French national television daily news show, and it appeared for several consecutive days[citation needed].

The subject was also prominently featured in the 1999 film Fight Club. Pictures of the main character, Tyler Durden, flash onscreen at various points during the earlier parts of the film, before Durden is introduced.[15] Also, Durden is shown at his job as a projectionist, splicing pornographic flash frames into a film he is showing.[16] And a picture of a penis rapidly appears and disappears before the credits begin.[17]

During the 2000 U.S. presidential campaign, a television ad campaigning for Republican candidate George W. Bush showed words (and parts thereof) scaling from the foreground to the background on a television screen. When the word BUREAUCRATS flashed on the screen, one frame showed only the last part, RATS.[18][19] The FCC looked into the matter,[20] but no penalties were ever assessed in the case.[citation needed]

In the British alternative comedy show The Young Ones, a number of subliminal images were present in the original and repeated broadcasts. Images included a gull coming into land, a tree frog jumping through the air, and the end credits of the movie Carry On Cowboy. [citation needed] No explanation for these images was given and their relevance, if any, to the plot of the episodes in which they appear is debatable. Although they may fall foul of the FCC guidelines, these images do appear in the U.S. boxset DVD Every Stoopid Episode. In a December 16, 1973 episode of Columbo entitled "Double Exposure", Robert Culp's character returns to the crime scene and is incriminated by a subliminal cut that he placed in a movie.[21][22]

A McDonald's logo appeared for one frame during the Food Network's Iron Chef America series on 2007-01-27, leading to claims that this was an instance of subliminal advertising. The Food Network replied that it was simply a glitch.[23]

Allegations

An internet-based prank flash called "Subliminal Messages" or "Subliminal Music and Images " features two supposed visual messages and an audio message. The first is the word "SEX" hidden in a gin advertisement (this message was one of those alleged by Wilson Bryan Key). The second is a woman masturbating, hidden in an advertisement for a flooring company. The animation then switches to the text of the Lord's Prayer, and starts playing Cradle of Filth's "Dinner at Deviant Palace" backward, along with faint noises. In the middle of the song, a loud scream is heard, and a series of disturbing images is flashed. The last image is a gray scale image of a harlequin fetus , which fades away, followed by a message, "Never trust flash animations talking about subliminal stuff!"

Some groups have made claims that subliminal messages can be found in various forms of popular entertainment, such as the supposed use of "backward messages" in rock and roll songs. Many of these purported messages are Satanic; for example, if the Led Zeppelin song "Stairway to Heaven" is played backwards, lyrics including "Oh here's to my sweet Satan" can supposedly be made out. Queen's "Another One Bites The Dust" is also supposed to contain a pro-marijuana message: "It's fun to smoke marijuana". These two messages have not been confirmed by the artists, and have not been proven to exist. In contrast, some obvious Satanic messages have been backmasked into rock songs, although parody messages and artistic backmasking are more common. See the List of backmasked messages.

Fictional references

While their ultimate efficacy is somewhat controversial, subliminal messages have a long history in television shows, movies, and novels.

Persuasion

Other references deal with the supposed frequent use of subliminal messages to persuade people, in advertising and propaganda.

Governments are often depicted as employing subliminal messages in propaganda. The movie Josie and the Pussycats described a long lasting plot whereby the U.S. government was controlling trends by inserting subliminal messages in popular music. Furthermore, towards the end of the film, a government agent shuts down the operation, saying that subliminal advertising works better in films. The words "Josie and the Pussycats is the best movie ever" are then spoken rapidly in voice-over and displayed quickly onscreen, with the words "Join The Army" in smaller letters below it. And in the 2005 science fiction movie Serenity, the Alliance uses subliminal messages broadly disseminated in commercials and other video to cause River Tam to go berserk. It only works on River because she was subjected to Alliance training and conditioning.

Many references deal specifically with the military. An episode of The Simpsons involved Bart and his friends joining a boy band, the Party Posse. While watching a video for the Party Posse, Lisa notices the phrase "Yvan Eht Nioj" being repeated continuously by belly-dancers. She plays the video in reverse and finds that it means "Join the Navy". Also, an Uncle Sam "I Want You" poster can be seen in the video frame by frame. The joke was that the United States sends subliminal messages in order to recruit people. In addition, the art of "superliminal messages" was demonstrated to Lisa; a Navy representative leans out a window, picks a random passerby, and shouts "Hey you! Join the Navy!" And in an episode of Malcolm in the Middle titled "Reese joins the Army (2)", one of the drill sergeants comments about the other's restored confidence in the Army "...because the subliminal messages are working after all?" his fellow drill sergeant then matter-of-factly states "the army doesn't use subliminal ads" and then the pair slowly turn and look at each other. Not too different from the joke in The Simpsons episode mentioned above, this episode was a joking reference to the low military recruiting numbers in 2004 suggesting that the U.S. military uses such things in a tactic of desperation. And in an episode of Babylon 5, during a scene which represents a public service announcement for Psi Corps, the words "TRUST THE CORPS" and "THE CORPS IS YOUR FRIEND" appear on screen for four frames, double the length of what the FCC designates as subliminal.

References in Popular Culture

  • The plot of the movie They Live revolves around a man accidentally acquiring a pair of sunglasses which allow the wearer to see subliminal messages in billboards, magazines, and even money.
  • In the episode "Are You Right There, Father Ted?" of the 1990s TV sitcom Father Ted, the lead character is accused of being a racist and attempts to clear his name by inviting representatives of the local ethnic minorities to a presentation, during which slides saying FATHER TED CRILLY, NOT A RACIST can be seen quite deliberately flashing up.
  • In May-June 2006, Sprite used a type of obvious subliminal message, involving yellow (lemon) and green (lime) objects such as cars. The objects would then be shown inconspicuously in the same setting, while showing the word "lymon" (misspellng of "limon", combining the words lime and lemon) on screen for a second at a time. They called this "Sublymonal Advertising."
  • In William Gibson's 1984 novel Neuromancer, a gang called the Panther Moderns uses subliminal images to fool police departments and public security agencies into thinking that an extremely dangerous psychoactive agent had been released into the ventilation of a Sense/Net building.
  • In Dean Koontz's 1976 novel Night Chills, the protagonist and his two children vacation in the small town of Black Rock. The town has been secretly selected by ex-military and corporate fanatics for an experiment in mind control through the use of subliminal messaging. The townspeople are unaware that their minds are being controlled by a sadistic scientist; the only outward clue is that the residents all experience night chills. In writing the book, Koontz researched the topic of subliminal messaging with assistance from scientists.
  • In Brainiac: Science Abuse, there is an experiment carried out to see if viewers would react to subliminal messages. One was shown during an experiment to discover which substance provides the best skid; the message appeared when a brainiac hit a bale of hay. The second message appeared across a T-Shirt of a brainiac, and the third said 'scratch your nose' when a sound wave hit the Braniac logo. At the end of the show, people were shown in a theater watching that episode. The test showed that the messages barely impacted the audience. The subliminal content in this episode was legal, as its presence was announced at the beginning and end of the episode.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "The Straight Dope: Does subliminal advertising work?". The Straight Dope. Retrieved 2006-08-11.
  2. ^ a b c Pratkanis, Anthony R. (Spring 1992). "The Cargo-Cult Science of Subliminal Persuasion". Skeptical Inquirer. Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal. pp. 260–272. Retrieved 2006-08-11.
  3. ^ http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=tachistoscope
  4. ^ a b c d "Urban Legends Reference Pages: Business (Subliminal Advertising)". The Urban Legends Reference Pages. Retrieved 2006-08-11.
  5. ^ a b Lantos, Geoffrey P. "The Absolute Threshold Level and Subliminal Messages" (PDF). Stonehill College. Retrieved 2007-03-01.
  6. ^ Boese, Alex (2002). The Museum of Hoaxes: A Collection of Pranks, Stunts, Deceptions, and Other Wonderful Stories Contrived for the Public from the Middle Ages to the New Millennium, E. P. Dutton, ISBN 0-525-94678-0. pps. 137-38.
  7. ^ "Subliminal advertising leaves its mark on the brain" (Press release). University College London. 9 March2007. Retrieved 2007-03-11. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ Moore, Timothy E. (Spring 1992). "Subliminal Perception: Facts and Fallacies". Skeptical Inquirer. Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal. pp. 273–81. Retrieved 2006-08-11.
  9. ^ Motluk, Alison. "Subliminal advertising may work after all". New Scientist. Retrieved 2006-08-12.
  10. ^ Swanson, Gunnar. "Re: NewScientist Subliminal Advertising". Retrieved 2006-08-12.
  11. ^ Hattikudur, Mangesh. "Subliminal advertising might actually work?". mental floss. Retrieved 2006-08-12 Smoke Now.. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  12. ^ Vokey, John R. (2002). "Subliminal Messages". [people.uleth.ca/~vokey/pdf/Submess.pdf Psychological Sketches] (PDF) (6th edition ed.). Lethbridge, Alberta: Psyence Ink. pp. 223–246. Retrieved 2006-07-05. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help); Check |url= value (help); Unknown parameter |editors= ignored (|editor= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ Robinson, B.A. "Backmasking on records: Real, or hoax?". Retrieved 2006-07-04.
  14. ^ Moore, Timothy E. (Spring 1992). "Subliminal Perception: Facts and Fallacies". Skeptical Inquirer. Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal. pp. 273–81. Retrieved 2006-08-11.
  15. ^ http://www.eeggs.com/items/15885.html
  16. ^ http://www.screenit.com/movies/1999/fight_club.html
  17. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0137523/crazycredits
  18. ^ Crowley, Candy. "Bush says 'RATS' ad not meant as subliminal message" CNN.com, 2000-9-12. Retrieved on December 16, 2006
  19. ^ Smoking Pistols: George "Rat Ad" Bush and the Subliminal Kid
  20. ^ http://www.fcc.gov/Speeches/Furchtgott_Roth/2000/sphfr011.html
  21. ^ http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/movie.html?v_id=130155
  22. ^ http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/byform/mailing-lists/amia-l/2005/12/msg00182.html
  23. ^ "It was a glitch, not a subliminal ad, for McDonald's on Food Network". Canadian Press. 2007-01-25. Retrieved 2007-03-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  • Subliminal Perception: The nature of a controversy, N.F.Dixon, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1971.
  • Psychological Investigations of Unconscious Perception, Journal of Consciousness Studies, P.M Merikle and M. Daneman, 1998.
  • New Look 3: Unconscious Cognition Reclaimed, American Psychologist, 47, Anthony W. Greenwald, 1992.
  • Holender, D. (1986). Semantic activation without conscious identification in dichotic listening, parafoveal vision, and visual masking: A survey and appraisal. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 9, 1-23.
  • Seitz and Watanabe. (2003). Is subliminal learning really passive. Nature, 422, 36.

Further reading

  • Alex Boese, (2006). Hippo Eats Dwarf: A Field Guide to Hoaxes and Other B.S.'', Harcourt, Inc., ISBN 0-15-603083-7, 193-95

See also

External links

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