2009-09-30

The Power of Negative Subliminal Messages

clipped from news.bbc.co.uk
British Broadcasting Corporation


Negative subliminal messages work

People can perceive subliminal messages, particularly if the message is negative, according to a UK study.

Eye

In three experiments at University College London, participants were briefly shown masked words and asked to classify them as emotional or neutral.

The Independent

Power of the hidden message revealed


Volunteers were shown a series of positive, negative and neutral words, such as "cheerful", "despair" or "box", for as little as 17 milliseconds – far too quick for the mind to perceive conventionally – and asked to decide whether or not each word had an emotional value.


Where the volunteers correctly identified a word as emotional – for example "flower", "peace", "agony" or "murder" – they were more efficient at picking out those with a negative meaning. In one test, where participants were shown each word for just 33 milliseconds, negative words were correctly spotted 77 per cent of the time, as opposed to 59 per cent for positive terms.


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Coca Cola

Coca Cola

In the 1950s, market researcher James Vicary claimed he could get more cinemagoers to drink Coca-Cola by flashing messages on the screen for a fraction of a second. He claimed sales of the soft drink jumped 58 per cent, but later admitted that the stunt was a fabrication.

Macdonald's

Macdonald's

In 2007, the appearance of a McDonald's logo in one frame of the Iron Chef America TV series led to accusations of subliminal advertising. The Food Network said it was an accidental glitch.

clipped from en.wikipedia.org
Subliminal message
A subliminal message is a signal or message embedded in another medium, designed to pass below the normal limits of the human mind's perception. These messages are unrecognizable by the conscious mind, but in certain situations can affect the subconscious mind and can negatively or positively influence subsequent later thoughts, behaviors, actions, attitudes, belief systems and value systems.
clipped from www.youtube.com
A collection of subliminal messages in advertising...

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Sources:
  1. BBC NEWS | Health | Negative subliminal messages work
  2. Power of the hidden message revealed - News, TV & Radio - The Independent
  3. Coca Cola In the 1950s, market researcher James Vicary claimed he could get m...
  4. Macdonald's In 2007, the appearance of a McDonald's logo in one frame of the ...
  5. Subliminal message - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  6. YouTube - Subliminal Messages
Related:
  1. Subliminal advertising really does work, claim scientists - Telegraph
  2. Subliminal Messaging Works Best When the Message is Negative - subliminal messages - io9
  3. Key to subliminal messaging is to keep it negative, study shows (9/28/2009)
  4. Negative Subliminal Messages More Effective - Econwatch - CBS News
  5. TG Daily - Be afraid... the message of subliminal advertising
  6. subliminal message - Google Search