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Subliminal suggestion occurs when messages or ideas that are perceived below (sub) the threshold or limen of conscious awareness influence thoughts, feelings, or actions. 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. When environmental stimuli (words, symbols, sounds) are subliminally perceived and encoded, mental representations of these stimuli and associated mental constructs are activated. The internal activation of mental representations makes schematically related constructs, goals, and behavioral tendencies more accessible in memory. 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.
Auditory or visual stimuli may be processed nonconsciously under a variety of conditions. 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. 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.
In the late 1950s, subliminal suggestion was claimed to be a commonly used method of influencing consumer purchase behavior at a nonconscious level. This notion was largely popularized by Vance Packard’s 1957 book, The Hidden Persuaders. This topic detailed a study conducted by James Vicary in which theatergoers were subliminally 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. Vicary claimed that subliminal exposure to these advertisements caused a rise in Coca-Cola and popcorn sales of 18 percent and 58 percent respectively.
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. 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. 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. 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.
Beyond these ethical considerations, the effectiveness of advertising with subliminal suggestions is scientifically questionable. 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.
The meaning of a perceived cue cannot be processed at a subliminal level unless there is a preexisting mental representation of this cue. Consequently, it is unlikely that novel images, words, or concepts will influence thoughts and behaviors when they are subliminally processed. Thus unfamiliar product brands will not reliably influence consumption or purchase behavior if they are not consciously perceived.
The meaning or behavioral message associated with subliminally perceived cues is general, not specific. Mental representations of the meaning of such perceptual cues are categorical; that is, the meaning of subliminally perceived cues is construed abstractly. Consequently, subliminally perceived messages may only succeed in influencing one to engage in a related activity, if at all. 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. Therefore, subliminal messages are at best suggestive, but never persuasive.
Implicit cognition research has consistently demonstrated that the meaning of complex messages cannot be processed at a subliminal level (Greenwald 1992). The meaning of the words eat and drink may be processed sub-liminally, thereby increasing the likelihood that the per-ceiver will engage in these behaviors. However, more complex messages that include brand names, punctuation, or sentences are not likely to have such a suggestive effect.
Bibliography:
- Greenwald, Anthony G. 1992. New Look 3. UnconsciousCognition Reclaimed. American Psychologist 47 (6): 766–779.
- Key, Wilson Bryan. 1973. Subliminal Seduction: Ad Media’s Manipulation of a Not So Innocent America. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
- Moore, Timothy E. 1982. Subliminal Advertising: What You See Is What You Get. Journal of Marketing 46 (2): 38–47.
- Underwood, G. 1994. Subliminal Perception on TV. Nature 370: 103.
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