Improving Lives One Person at a Time since 1984.
Packard, V. (1957). The Hidden Persuaders. New York: David McKay,
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Packard V. (1981 February). The new (and still hidden) persuaders. Reader's Digest, 118 (4), pp 120-123.
Vance Packard discusses the use of subliminals in advertising.
Packard describes a cinema that flashes ice cream ads onto the screen
during regular showings of film.
The flashes are of a split second duration and as such are too short to
be recognized consciously, but long enough to be absorbed unconsciously.
As a result there was an otherwise unaccountable boost in ice cream sales.
From an interview with Dr. George Horsley Smith (Rutgers psychologist
and author of Motivation Research in Advertising and Marketing published
by Advertising Research Foundation), Packard affirms that, "there is evidence
that people can be affected by subthreshold stimulation; for example,
a person can be conditioned to odors and sounds that are just outside
the range of conscious awareness".
***
Packer, S.B. (1984). The effect of subliminally stimulating fantasies aimed at gratifying symbiotic and sanctioning aggressive strivings on assertiveness difficulties in women. New York University. Dissertation Abstracts International, 45 (1-B), p. 361. ISSN: 0419-4209.
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Pajurkova-Flannery, E.M. (1979). Subliminal perception in the context of functional hemispheric asymmetries. University of Windsor, Canada. Dissertation Abstracts International, 40 (4-B), p. 1870.
Eva Pajurkova-Flannery studied perceptual defence and the effects of
subliminal stimuli upon subsequent verbal behavior in the context of functional
hemispheric asymmetries and hemisphericity of the subjects.
The hypotheses put forward were;
1) that the subjects would demonstrate perceptual defence for words flashed into their left visual field (LVF) by recognizing significantly fewer anxiety words than neutral words.
2) no such effects would be seen for their right visual field (RVF).
3) the magnitude of perceptual defence would vary in relation to the hemisphericity of the subjects, and
4) that the presumably anxiety-arousing verbal stimuli not recognized by the subjects during unilateral tachistopic presentations (perceptual defence) would, under some conditions, influence the subject's subsequent interpretation of repetitive ambiguous auditory verbal stimuli.
The subjects were divided according to those who showed at least 75% of
their lateral eye movements to the right, and those who showed 75% of their
lateral eye movements to the left.
Perceptual defence was demonstrated as predicted.
The results were discussed in context of the current neurophysiological
evidence, which suggests that the right hemisphere and the inhibition of
neuronal transmission across the cerebral commissures may be involved in
the mechanisms underlying perceptual defence, repression and certain unconscious
processes.
A dichotic verbal transformation task (DVT) was employed before and after
the tachistopic procedure in order to explore the effects of subliminal
stimuli upon the subjects' subsequent interpretation of repetitive ambiguous
auditory verbal stimuli.
The results showed that the DVT pre-test reports differed significantly
from the DVT post test reports as a function of the tachistopically presented
anxiety-producing stimuli which were not recognized by the subjects during
the tachistopic experiment.
***
Palmatier, J.R. (1981). The effects of subliminal stimulation of symbiotic
fantasies on the behavior therapy treatment of smoking. University of
Montana. Dissertation Abstracts International, 41 (7-B), pp 2774-2775.
***
Palmatier, J.R. & Bornstein, P.H. (1980). Effects of subliminal
stimulation of symbiotic merging fantasies on behavioral treatment of
smokers. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 168 (12), pp
715-720. ISSN: 0022-3018.
Jay Palmatier and Bornstein performed this study in order to enhance the
efficacy of a behavior therapy approach to smoking cessation through use
of the subliminal psychodynamic activation method.
The subjects in both experimental and control groups received four presentations
of a tachistoscopic subliminal message separated by a three-second presentation
of a blank field.
The experimental group was exposed to the message "mommy and I are one"
while the control group was exposed to the neutral message "people are
walking."
A pilot study had verified that no one could recognize the content of
the messages and fewer than 5 percent could discriminate between the two
stimuli.
The results showed a significant decrease in smoking behavior for the
subjects exposed to subliminal stimuli over a 21-day period.
The results were interpreted as evidence for a transference phenomena
explanation for the effectiveness of the behavioral treatment program.
***
Palmer, J. (1992). "Effect of a threatening subliminal stimulus on the perceptual ESP test: A partial replication." Journal of Parapsychology 56(3): 189-204.
No significance found in clairvoyance test and subliminally presented threat message.
***
Palmer, J. (1994). "Explorations with the Perceptual ESP Test." Journal of Parapsychology 58(2): 115-147
This study found a positive correlation between ESP hits and trait anxiety and a significant increase in scores for the group receiving the symbiotic message who responded dissociatively to their target test.
***
Palumbo, R. & Gillman, I. (1984). Effects of subliminal activation of oedipal fantasies on competitive performance: a replication and extension. Hofstra University. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 172 (12), pp 733-741. ISSN: 0022-3018.
Robert Palumbo and Irene Gillman conducted a subliminal psychodynamic
activation experiment to test the effects of 5 subliminal stimuli on dart-throwing
performance.
The stimuli consisted of the following messages, each accompanied by a
congruent picture;
The first 2 stimuli were intended to activate competitive motives within the context of the Oedipus complex; the next 2, competitive motives outside that context; and the last message was intended as a control stimulus.a) "beating dad is ok",
b) "beating dad is wrong",
c) "beating him is wrong",
d) "beating him is wrong", and
e) "people are walking".
***
Parker, K.A. (1978). The effects of subliminal merging stimuli on the academic performance of college students. Doctoral Dissertation, New York University. Dissertation Abstracts International, 38 (12-B), p. 6168.
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Parker, K.A. (1982). Effects of subliminal symbiotic stimulation on academic performance: Further evidence on the adaptation-enhancing effects of oneness fantasies. University of California Los Angeles Medical Center, Harbor Campus, Torrance. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 29 (1), pp 19-28. ISSN: 0022-0167.
In this study, Kenneth Parker demonstrated that subliminal messages
improved academic performance using Silverman's psychodynamic activation
technique.
The subjects were college students, and in addition to normal instruction,
they received subliminal stimulation before three out of five lectures
each week, as well as before and after a 10 minute counseling session
with the experimenter.
The subjects were divided into three groups, each group receiving one
of the following messages;
The main dependent variable was the final examination grade received by each student.1) "mommy and I are one",
2) "my prof and I are one", and
3) "people are walking".
***
Patton, C.J. (1988). Bulimia and depression: a subliminal psychodynamic activation investigation. Dissertation Abstracts International, 48 (10-B), p. 3118.
***
Patton, C. J. (1992). "Fear of abandonment and binge eating: A subliminal psychodynamic activation investigation." Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease 180(8): 484-490.
Supraliminal exposure to an abandonment stimulus led to increased consumption of crackers in a bogus craker rating test for women ranked with a high eating disorder. No such effect was observed for the same stimulus when presented subliminally.
***
Paul, I.H. & Fisher, C. (1959). Subliminal visual stimulation: A study of its influence on subsequent images and dreams. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 129, pp 315-340.
***
Pfanner, D.A. (1983). Sensitivity to subliminal stimulation: An investigation of subject variables and conditions affecting psychodynamic and derivative recovery response. New York University. Dissertation Abstracts International, 43 (11-B), p. 3739. ISSN: 0419-4209.
Previous studies have found that;
Darryle Pfanner designed this study in order to;a) ceratin conditions and subjects characteristics are significant in facilitating stimulus "recovery", and
b) more affect-laden stimulation produces idiosyncratic, less direct effects.
1) to compare two types of response to subliminal stimulation, :recovery" and "psychodynamic",
2) to compare two types of subliminal induction methods, tachistopic and low illumination, and
3) to investigate three subject variables that were hypothesized to have bearing on psychodynamic or recovery responses: ego permissiveness, right hemispheres activation preference, and depressive manifestations.
The subjects were divided into two groups for induction method, and were
exposed to either control, aggressive or "symbiotic" messages.
The results showed differences between the two induction methods.
Whilst the low-illumination group showed the expected responses, apparent
experiment artifact effects were found for the tachistopic group.
Response to the symbiotic stimulus on psychodynamic measure bore no relationship
to response on the recovery measure, and psychodynamic response to the aggressive
stimulus was directly related to recovery response to the aggressive stimulus.
***
Philpott, A. & Wilding, J. (1979). Semantic inference from subliminal stimuli in a dichoptic viewing situation. University of London, University College Ergonomics Unit, England. British Journal of Psychology, 70 (4), pp 559-563. ISSN: 0007-1269.
Adrian Philpott and John Wilding conducted these two experiments in order
to test the effects of subliminal stimuli.
In experiment 1, the subjects were asked to name words shapes or colors
presented to one eye while subliminal words or shapes were presented to
the other eye.
The results showed that the subliminal presentation slowed the responses
when they had the same name as the stimulus to be named or a closely related
name, as compared with nonsense words (random letter strings) or blank
cards.
This result was replicated in the second experiment.
In this second experiment, unrelated words were included with the subliminal
stimuli.
For the trials with unrelated words, the response speeds were midway between
those for trials with blank cards or nonsense words as the subliminal
stimuli and trials with same name or a closely related name as the subliminal
stimuli.
The results imply that subliminal stimuli related in meaning compete for
common analyzing mechanisms.
***
Pittman, T. S. (1992). Perception without awareness in the stream of behavior: Processes that produce and limit nonconscious biasing effects. Perception without awareness: Cognitive, clinical, and social perspectives. T. S. P. Robert F. Bornstein, Guilford Press, New York, NY, US: 277-296. (from the chapter) processes underlying social psychological effects of perception without awareness / misattribution of perceptual fluency and perception without awareness / affect and perception without awareness / cognition and perception without awareness / control processes: when perception without awareness enters the stream of behavior / commitment and the maintenance of decisional freedom.
***
Poloway, M.D. (1984). Experimental investigation of the psychoanalytic theory of heroin addiction using the subliminal psychodynamic activation method. California School of Professional Psychology, San Diego. Dissertation Abstracts International, 45 (4-B), p. 1295. ISSN: 0419 4209.
Mark Poloway performed this study in order to investigate experimentally;
It was predicted that a subliminal stimulus triggering unconscious oral rage towards mother would increase the addict's defenses against these unconscious affects, causing the reduction of hostile attitudes overtly expressed to mother.1) the validity of the psychoanalytic theory of heroin addict personality, and
2) subliminal psychodynamic activation as a technique for testing psychoanalytic theory.
Treatment 2, 3 and 4 were all control conditions.1) "hate mommy",
2) "love mommy"
3) "hate daddy", or
4) "love daddy".
***
Plante, T. G., Marcotte, D., Manuel, G. M. & Willemsen, E.
(1993). The Influence of Aerobic Exercise and Relaxation Training on Coping
with Test-Taking Anxiety. International Jouranl of Stress Management,
3, pp 155-166.
This study compared aerobic exercise, a demonstrated treatment effective in lowering examination anxiety, with an audio subliminal tape recording created by Eldon Taylor using the so called "Taylor Method." Results comfi9rmed the effectiveness of aerobic exercise and demonstrated a slight numerical advantage to relaxation training administered by this particular form of subliminal stimuli.
***
Porterfield, A.L. (1984). The effects of subliminal aggressive and "merging" stimuli on the cognitive function of schizophrenics. A failure of Silverman's subliminal activation. University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Dissertation Abstracts International, 45 (1-B), pp 362-363. ISSN: 0419-4209.
***
Porterfield, A.L. (1985). Comments on three recent subliminal psychodynamic activation investigations: Reply to Silverman. Oberlin College. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 94 (4), pp 645-646. ISSN: 0021-843X.
Albert Porterfield argues that, in defending his nonverbal pathology measure
against the claim that it lacks demonstrated validity, L.H. Silverman
painted a misleading picture of its face validity.
Porterfield presents a correction to that picture.
In addition, the author defends the impact of the findings by himself
and S.L. Golding on subliminal psychodynamic activation explanations of
schizophrenic thought disorder, despite the absence of a nonverbal pathology
measure.
***
Porterfield, A. & Golding, S.L. (1985). Failure to find an effect of subliminal psychodynamic activation upon cognitive measures of pathology in schizophrenia. Oberlin College. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 94 (4), pp 630-639. ISSN: 0021-843X.
Albert Porterfield and Stephen Golding replicated the work of L.H. Silverman
et al., in order to find an effect of subliminal psychodynamic activation
upon cognitive measures of pathology in schizophrenia.
The subjects were exposed to an aggressive, a merging and a meaningless
lexical stimulus in a within-S design.
The dependent variables were inkblot thought pathology and form quality,
as measured on Rorschach and Holtzman Inkblot Technique Cards, and performance
on the interference task of the Stroop Color-Word Test.
The analyses of variance, which was conducted on simple post-stimulation
scores, rather than on unreliable change scores, showed no effect of the
stimulus content.
The predicted interactions between stimulus content, subjects' self-object
differentiation and temporal position of the assessment tasks did not
emerge.
The findings do not support Silverman's hypothesis that subliminal tachistoscopic
presentations of stimuli with aggressive content temporarily increase
thinking disorder in schizophrenics.
***
Powell, R.C. (1979). The "subliminal" versus the "subconscious"
in the American acceptance of psychoanalysis, 1906-1910. Journal of
Historical Behavioral Science, 15 (2), pp 155-165. ISSN: 0022-5061.
Powell states that, as far as Frederic W.H. Myers' conceptions of subliminal were spread by the Boston-based Emmanuel movement for medically supervised religious psychotherapy, the movement probably did more to help than to hinder American acceptance of Freudian ideas.
***
Pratkanis, A. R., J. Eskenazi, et al. (1994). "What you expect is what you believe (but not necessarily what you get): A test of the effectiveness of subliminal self-help audiotapes." Basic & Applied Social Psychology 15(3): 251-276.
The experimenters obtained commercially produced tapes in two domains, memory and esteem. The labels on the two tape titles were switched so that subjects beleived they has a tape on memory when it was self esteem and vice versa. After five weeks of listening in a home environment, subjects reported gains in the areas of expectation, based on labeling.
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Pribble, W. E. (1988). Effects of subliminal activation of object loss fantasies in borderline personalities: A controlled comparative study, Ohio U, US.
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Pushkash, M. (1981). Effect of the content of visually presented subliminal stimulation on semantic and figural learning task performances. Marquette University. Dissertation Abstracts International, 41( 12-A, part 1), p. 5036. ISSN: 0419-4209.
Mark Pushkash conducted this study in order to;
a) test the effects of subliminal stimulation on performance scores,
b) test for any interaction between subliminal and supraliminal task, and
c) test the effects of practice on performance.
The subjects were presented with subliminal stimuli of varied content and supraliminal paired associate lists.
From the results it was seen that performance improved with practice.
The results but did not support the hypotheses that subliminal stimuli
can affect performance.
The subliminal stimuli was, however, seen to effect learning when the learning task required non-dominant hemisphere processing of semantic information.
This finding suggests that subliminal messages are processed in the non-dominant hemisphere.