subject: Subliminal Perception In A Nutshell [print this page] The idea of subliminal perception was once mentioned in the novel 1984, by George Orwell. This idea seemed to catch on after James Vicary reported an increase in soda and popcorn sales during movies, when "Drink Coke" and "Eat Popcorn" were flashed on the screen. Subliminal messages have been used in advertising for the past 30 years, as well as in self-help tapes. There has always been a desire to tap the unconscious processes of the human mind.
People end up enjoying music heard frequently, marrying people working or living nearby, and even wearing clothes advertised on television. Why? The repetitious exposure to objects increases a person's positive attitude towards them. Whilst this isn't normally regarded as being subliminal influence, you could certainly argue that this was actually likely to be the case.
Why is this? Endless studies have been performed on the correlation between the amount of stimuli about an object and how much a person favors that particular object. The results showed that being repeatedly exposed to the same object increased the desire to have or be around that object.
One experiment that has taken place involves ten pairs of polygons (mutli sided shapes). There are twenty individual polygons and the person taking part in the experiment will view each pair; one polygon is viewed directly and the other subliminally.
After the person is exposed to 7 separate subliminal flashes of one polygon, the person is asked which polygon out of the pair she prefers. Most people tend to choose the polygon that was flashed in front of them subliminally.
Subliminal perception is an idea that repetition increases the desire for something. This influential stimuli can be auditory or visually encountered. There are even some department stores that use subliminal messages in their music being played. These messages discourage shoplifting. Psychologists in the social and cognitive settings have found that stimuli presented subliminally is not only perceived by humans, but greatly influences cognitive processes. These stimuli may also even influence behavior. Subliminal stimuli is encountered everywhere, from cartoons to politics.
