Therefore, subliminal messages are at best suggestive, but never persuasive. For instance, the subliminal perception of a Coca-Cola brand name may bring the idea of “drink ” or “thirst ” to consciousness and activate a desire to purchase a drink, but the drink purchased will not necessarily be Coca-Cola. Consequently, subliminally perceived messages may only succeed in influencing one to engage in a related activity, if at all. Mental representations of the meaning of such perceptual cues are categorical that is, the meaning of subliminally perceived cues is construed abstractly. The meaning or behavioral message associated with subliminally perceived cues is general, not specific. Thus unfamiliar product brands will not reliably influence consumption or purchase behavior if they are not consciously perceived. Consequently, it is unlikely that novel images, words, or concepts will influence thoughts and behaviors when they are subliminally processed. The meaning of a perceived cue cannot be processed at a subliminal level unless there is a preexisting mental representation of this cue. Extensive research into implicit (noncon-scious) cognition and behavior in the psychological sciences demonstrates that the “suggestive ” influence of subliminally perceived messages is limited to words, images, or sounds that are highly familiar, abstract, and simple. Hence, marketing professionals concur that the use of subliminal messages in advertising is unethical and could have potentially disastrous consequences for public relations if uncovered.īeyond these ethical considerations, the effectiveness of advertising with subliminal suggestions is scientifically questionable. Consequently, the Federal Communications Commission declared that the insertion of subliminal messages in advertising was a form of intentional deception that was contrary to the public interest.
In 1973, however, Wilson Bryan Key ’s book Subliminal Seduction generated great public concern that subliminal suggestion was practiced widely among advertisers in the United States. Vicary later admitted that his study was fabricated and hence there was no substance to the claim that subliminal messages were an effective means of persuasion. Vicary claimed that subliminal exposure to these advertisements caused a rise in Coca-Cola and popcorn sales of 18 percent and 58 percent respectively.
This book detailed a study conducted by James Vicary in which theatergoers were sub-liminally exposed to the messages “buy popcorn ” and “drink Coca-Cola ” as they were flashed, for a third of a millisecond, onto the picture screen during the movie. This notion was largely popularized by Vance Packard ’s 1957 book, The Hidden Persuaders.
In the late 1950s, subliminal suggestion was claimed to be a commonly used method of influencing consumer purchase behavior at a nonconscious level. Laboratory studies investigating the limits of subliminal influence most commonly prime behavioral tendencies by flashing words or images on a computer screen for 100 to 300 milliseconds -too quickly to be consciously perceived. Images embedded within complex patterns and vocal messages that are masked by surrounding noise may not be consciously recognized, but implicit tests of familiarity demonstrate that these messages or signals were subliminally perceived and processed.
Consequently, subliminally perceived messages may be “suggestive ” of those behaviors that are mentally activated, as their heightened accessibility increases the likelihood that they will be enacted.Īuditory or visual stimuli may be processed noncon-sciously under a variety of conditions. The internal activation of mental representations makes schematically related constructs, goals, and behavioral tendencies more accessible in memory. When environmental stimuli (words, symbols, sounds) are subliminally perceived and encoded, mental representations of these stimuli and associated mental constructs are activated. A message, object, concept, idea, or other stimulus is perceived subliminally when it is processed at a sensory level (visual or auditory) without an accompanying conscious sensory experience. Subliminal suggestion occurs when messages or ideas that are perceived below (sub) the threshold or limen of conscious awareness influence thoughts, feelings, or actions.
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