Chapter I: Subliminal Persuasion……………………………………………….…...……p

Chapter I: Subliminal Persuasion

What is subliminal perception?

In order to define the term subliminal perception, let’s explore the concept behind it. Firstly, the word ‘subliminal’ originates from Latin, sub meaning ‘below’ and limen meaning ‘threshold’ (of conscious awareness)(Dijksterhuis,et al., 2005, p. 81; Perloff, 2003, p. 276).Therefore, ‘subliminal’ refers toastimulus that is only perceived by the unconscious.The concepts of objective andsubjective thresholds are key to understand the subliminal perception. For a stimulus to be perceived, itneeds to pass the objective threshold. If the subjective threshold is passed, it becomes conscious perception. If it goes above the objective but notthe subjective threshold, it creates subliminal perception(Dijksterhuis,et al., 2005, p. 80).Accordingly, subliminal stimuliare in which we perceive under the objective threshold andcan only be recognised by the unconsciouswithout us being aware of it(Canals & Herrerias, 2014, p. 4).It is important to note the fact that the levels or the limits of objective and subjective threshold are not invariable. They candifferhighly between individuals, as well as for an individualaccording todifferent factors such astime and place(Moore, 1982). Therefore, it would be premature to claim that onesubliminal stimulus would work on two differentpeople, let alone on a mass scale.

Stated by Dijksterhuis, et al., (2005)someof the consequences of subliminal stimulation, are ‘neurological correlates’ , ‘evaluative and affective effects’ , ‘social judgements’and ‘behaviour’ .Neurological correlates referto neurological effects of subliminal stimulationevidenced by studies done by Libet, Alberts, Wright, and Feinstein (1967),Dehaeneet al. (1998)and Whalen et al. (1998)(Dijksterhuis, et al., 2005). Evaluative and affective effectsare about increased amount of exposure causing increased effect.

Moore (1982)establishesthat there areat least three ways that subliminal stimuli can influence strong behavioural change. The first one is ‘visual stimuli’ , where the viewer’ s unconsciousnessperceivesthemthroughpresented imagery. These are usually flashing of imagesor words in which the exposure duration is carefully controlled.The application cannot be perceived by the consciousmind.An example ofthis techniques

used previously on a commercial is KFC’ s ‘Snacker sandwich’ad(Fig4) that was sightedin 2008.Was this a successful attempt to effectively use subliminal visual stimulus?

Considering it was sighted by a viewer, perhaps not(Player, 2016).

The second way that subliminal stimuli can influence behaviouras

mentioned by Moore (1982), is ‘auditorystimuli’ .It is again done by presenting the message in such a way that it can only be perceived below the thresholdand not noticeable

within the consciousness.

The third technique of using subliminal stimuliis

‘embedding sexual imagery orwords’, specifically occurringin print advertising. These graphics are hidden in a way that they cannot reach the subjective threshold of consciousness, supposedly influencing our unconsciousness(Moore, 1982). Sexual embeddingis perhaps the most popular or most used type of technique, with a massive numberof

existing examples. If we look at thisBurger King poster

Figure 4 KFC advertisement that uses visual stimuli. (Shewan, 2017) https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2017/10/24/subliminaladvertising Figure 5 Burger King subliminal poster advertisement, 2009. (sexual embed) (Lincoln, 2020) https://ignitevisibility.com/7-examples-effective-subliminaladvertising/

advertisement(Fig5)that was launched in 2009 to promote their new ‘BK Super Seven Incher’burger, we can see how sexual suggestion was used through the placement of objects(Lincoln, 2020). Another example would be the advertising campaign(Fig6) launchedin the 1970sbythe tobacco company Benson & Hedges. (Shewan, 2017).Itwas created to introduce the new

type of cigarette packagingthat used hard cases.The illusion we

are presented in this advertisement resemblesthe

male phallus and is suggesting ‘sexual excitement’ on a

conscious level. Howeverit also

presents‘sexual anxiety’to the unconscious mind through the subliminal message, as smokers tend to smoke more when they are anxious or nervous(Bullock, 2004).

In every aspectsof our life, we experience the unconsciousmindfunctioning. Itsrole in our everyday lifeis as important asour conscious mind, if not more. Besidesour obvious needs and skillssuch as breathing and using our senses, our unconscious mind can also affect ourbehaviourlikesomeof our habits, decisionsand fantasies(Bargh & Morsella, 2008).It is therefore understandable that the idea of our behaviour being controlled by the unconscious perception makes some ofusfeeldisquieted (Dijksterhuis, et al., 2005, p. 78).

In 1957,James Vicaryclaimed that he conducted an experiment by repeatedly flashing brief messages that said, “Drink Coke” and “Eat Popcorn”, stating that he increased the sales of popcorn and cola.He declared this as “subliminal advertising”.Peoplefrom both

Figure 6 Benson & Hedges subliminal poster advertisement, 1970s. (sexual embed) (Bullock, 2004) https://www.subliminalsex.com/subliminal%20advertising%20example.htm

general publicand the science communityheard about the news andreactedmassively, even resulting in CIA to start an investigation and write the report “The Operational Potential of Subliminal Perception” with theaim of studying this concept within their own researchteam(BBC News, 2015).Later Vicary confessed that his results were never reliable enough and that there was no evidence for subliminal persuasionto go public(Dijksterhuis, et al., 2005).After this case, the amount of research studies and the experiments increased in order to find out the possibilities of the effectiveness of this enigmatic concept.

Subliminal persuasion is a technique ofsubliminal stimuli, appliedby people who intentionally try to influence our behaviour(Dijksterhuis, et al., 2005, p. 78).Even today, it is such a controversial area. Despite lots of successful experiments with positive results, the overall influence on the behaviour tends to be not so reliable as there are many factors thatcanaffect the outcome of these tests(Moore, 1982).