Subliminal Communication Damn lies from people who ought to know better!

The Judas Priest Subliminals case z1990 Federal court case in Reno, NV zRaymond Belknap (killed immediately) and James Vance (horribly disfigured) z$6.2 million claim against CBS & J. Priest zConclusion: Judge rules against the plaintiffs, but….

Definitions zWhat subliminals are not: using sex to sell, women in beer ads, half-naked men in perfume ads, etc. zClasses of subliminals: yaudio embeds ybackward masking yvisual embeds zNature of the claims made: subliminals will lead you to unconsciously do things you wouldn’t consciously do

Some Terminology zThe limnus point zSupra-liminal messages zSubliminal messages

The Early Evidence zJames Vickery and the New Jersey theatre experiment zA ripple across America z1958 Canadian experiment zCongressional hearings zNational Association of Broadcasting revises its code zAustralia and UK ban subliminals

Wilson Bryan Key and the pursuit of Subliminals zSubliminal Seduction (1972) zMedia Sexploitation (1976) zThe Clam Plate Orgy (1980) zThe Age of Manipulation (1989) zHis thesis zPlaces he has found subliminals: Ritz crackers, 18th century paintings, gin ads, placemats in a restaurant, all kinds of music, and cigarette ads

Key Quotes z“Every person reading this book has been victimized and manipulated by the use of subliminal stimuli directed into his unconscious mind by the mass merchandisers of media. The techniques are in widespread use by media, advertising and public relations agencies, industrial and commercial corporations, and by the Federal government itself.” Wilson Bryan Key Subliminal Seduction

Key Quotes, Part II z“The books are intended as exposes, critiques, revelations about the most dangerous affront to sanity, freedom, and survival that now threatens the earth’s population. Subliminal indoctrination may prove more dangerous than nuclear weapons. The substitution of cultural fantasies for realities on a massive, worldwide scale threatens everyone in this precarious period of human evolution. Present odds appear to favor total devastation” W. B. Key, 1989

Why Key (and all the others) are JUST PLAIN WRONG!! zNo supporting theory of perception zSelf-sealing arguments zIf true, no product would ever fail! zNo explanation of agency, that is, why would writing “SEX” on a Ritz cracker make you want to buy it? zNo empirical support for claims of subliminal effectiveness

Why Key is wrong, cont. z“There is no empirical documentation for stronger subliminal effects, such as inducing particular behaviors or changing motivation. Moreover, such a notion is contradicted by a substantial amount of research and is incompatible with experimentally based conceptions of information processing, learning and motivation.” Dr. Timothy Moore Cognitive Psychologist

Why Key is wrong, cont. z“During the last few years, we have been collecting published articles on subliminal processes, gathering more than 150 articles from the mass media and more than 200 academic papers on the topic. In none of these papers is there clear evidence in support of the proposition that subliminal messages influence behavior.” Pratkanis and Aronson, The Age of Propaganda

Empirical Evidence to the Contrary zStudy by Pratkanis and Aronson zAnalyzed subliminal self help tapes zTapes for improved memory and improving self-esteem zTapes divides into four groups: 2 with accurate labels, two with labels switched zStudy participants did pre-tests on memory and self-esteem, then listened every day for five weeks

The Results!!! zRetested after five weeks--no evidence of improvement HOWEVER zParticipants who got tapes labeled “Self- esteem enhancement” believed they self- esteem was higher, WHETHER THEY GOT THE CORRECTLY LABELED TAPE OR NOT! zSame was true for memory zNational Research Council--No effect on human performance or perception

Why all this matters… zForeward to Key’s 1989 book written by a professor of communication in Alabama zFew published, academic responses to Key zPeople already feel powerless vis a vis the media--no need to feed that with the myth of subliminals zRecent Republican ad--’RATS, superimposed for 1/30th of a second over Gore’s name