Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Is There A Secret To How Subliminal Messages Work?

By Trevor Johnson

Before we can answer the question how do subliminal messages work we must learn a little about subliminal messages. What are subliminal messages, and do they work at all?

Flashing a simple word or image in front of an audience very quickly can have some effect on them, although you can't always predict what effect that will be. Other types of subliminal messaging don't appear to work at all. Playing recorded speech backwards doesn't have any effect, nor does trying to convey more complicated messages.

Subliminal messages are messages that are conveyed to the subconscious mind instead of the conscious. Usually this takes the form of showing a picture to people for no more than several milliseconds. This is faster than the conscious brain can perceive, but the subconscious perceives it, and it can effect a person's behavior.

Researchers have done experiments about subliminal messaging in an attempt to learn how it works. In one experiment there was a very quick name of a softdrink written in the midst of a short movie. After watching the movie, those who had been subliminally messaged were more likely to choose that softdrink than those who had watched a different movie. In another experiment the word "beef" was the subliminal message. After this experiment, the subjects did not prefer beef over other foods, but they were hungrier than the control group was.

There are now some companies that market subliminal messages. They record audio backwards, and sell these tapes to consumers, in order to help the with problems such as low self esteem. Regrettably, studies have not found any evidence that this works.

Even though some types of subliminal messaging does have an effect, there is no need to worry about what it might make you do. For one thing, companies do not use subliminal advertising on TV or in movies. Even if they did, they could never convince you to do something against your will. They might be able to influence your choice of one brand over another, but they could never make you do something you might not do anyway. - 29161

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