Subliminal marketing
- Infiltrating the mobile device
through multiple exposures -
Exposé
Submitted by
Andrea Scarpa
October 21st, 2013
I 1.
ABSTRACT Title: Subliminal Marketing - Infiltrating the Mobile Device through Multiple Exposures Abstract
Studies throughout the last decade have proved that subliminal priming can actually produce
effects provided that particular conditions are met. This thesis aims at assessing whether
subliminal priming can be an effective tool also when it comes to priming subjects through a
mobile phone device screen. In addition, it intends to evaluate whether multiple exposures to
the subliminal message can lead to higher results in terms of priming efficacy. An experiment
is hence conducted and the outcomes discussed, taking into account the implications that might
arise as a consequence of this study.
Keywords:
Subliminal Messages, Subliminal Advertising, Subliminal Marketing, Multiple Exposures to
Subliminal Adverting.
II 2.
TABLE OF CONTENT 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................................................ II TABLE OF CONTENT .......................................................................................................................................... III LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................................................ IV LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................................................... V LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................................................... VI INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................................... 1 PURPOSE STATEMENT ....................................................................................................................................... 2 HYPOTHESES .......................................................................................................................................................... 5 METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................................................................................... 6 9.1 General Methodology ................................................................................................................................... 6 9.2 Experiment Outline ....................................................................................................................................... 6 9.2.1 Experiment Description ..................................................................................................................... 6 9.2.2 Subliminal Message .............................................................................................................................. 7 9.2.3 Potential Issues ...................................................................................................................................... 8 10. REVIEW OF LITERATURE ............................................................................................................................ 10 10.1 Subliminal Priming Studies ................................................................................................................. 10 10.1.1 Subliminal Priming Studies -­‐ Positive Results (before 2002) ...................................... 14 10.1.2 Subliminal Priming Studies -­‐ Negative Results (before 2002) .................................... 15 10.2 Conscious and Subconscious Decision Making ........................................................................... 16 10.3 Multiple Exposures to Advertising ................................................................................................... 16 10.4 Additional Readings ................................................................................................................................ 17 11. OVERVIEW OF CHAPTERS ........................................................................................................................... 19 12. PLAN OF WORK ................................................................................................................................................ 19 13. REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................................................... 21 III 3.
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CO: Control group shown the ads Once CM: Control group shown the ads Multiple times TO: Treatment group shown the ads Once TM: Treatment group shown the ads Multiple times IV 4.
LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Subliminal Message V 5.
LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Visualization of the four groups VI 6.
INTRODUCTION The modern concept of subliminal priming saw the light of day as a result of Vicary’s
experiment. Back in 1957, advertising executive James Vicary asserted that during the
projection of a film in a movie theater, sales of Coke increased by 18% and sales of popcorn
increased by more than 50% as a result of subliminally displaying the words “EAT POPCORN”
and “DRINK COKE” (Weir, 1984). Unfortunately, the scientific community was never able to
replicate the study and after years of pressure Vicary admitted that his was nothing but a hoax
aimed at saving his advertising agency from failure (Loftus & Klinger, 1992). Hoax or not, ever
since Vicary’s so-called experiment, the subliminal-related literature has long debated whether
subliminal messaging and advertising could actually be effective. Numerous studies have been
carried out since 1957, never reaching a consensus. The main reason why all of the studies and
researches conducted until the beginning of the XXI century failed to prove the efficacy of
subliminal priming is due to the fact that they did not consider the impact of certain requisites to
be met. The turning point in the subliminal-related scientific research is represented by the
findings of Strahan, Spencer, and Zanna (2002). They demonstrated that in order for subliminal
priming to be effective the prime must be relevant to one’s current goal (e.g. being thirsty) and
the subject must be motivated to pursue such goal (e.g. drinking). A number of experiments
followed, revealing that when these conditions are met, subliminal marketing can actually be
effective.
1 7.
PURPOSE STATEMENT Recent studies, conducted throughout the last decade, have proved that subliminal priming can
be an effective manipulation tool provided that certain conditions are met (Strahan, Spencer, and
Zanna, 2002; Karremans, Stroebe, Claus, 2006; Bermeitinger, Goelz, Johr, Neumann, Ecker, &
Doerr, 2009). The purpose of this thesis consists in measuring whether subliminal messages can
be effective on mobile phone devices as well. In addition to this, this thesis also aims at
assessing whether multiple exposures to the same subliminal message can possibly have an
impact on the efficacy of the priming. Before proceeding further, it needs to be made clear that
the goal pursued in this thesis is a social one, in that it aims at subliminally influencing primed
subjects so to make them prefer healthy food to unhealthy food. As far as the way to do it is
concerned, it will be discussed later on in the Methodology section.
The main purposes stated above make this thesis potentially interesting and, in a way, innovative
(1) because in the literature of subliminal priming the great potential of having multiple
exposures to the subliminal message, as suggested by traditional advertising literature (Tellis,
1997) has essentially been ignored so far. In addition to that, another feature that makes this
thesis worth being consists in the fact that (2) subliminal messages have never been shown on a
mobile phone device screen. In fact, it could be argued that if subliminal priming through a video
works on a mobile phone, it should as well work through a phone application. Clearly, one needs
to expect a difference between priming an active user, such as in the case of an app, rather than a
passive one, such as in the case of a video. Yet, it is thought that being active would result in
having even a larger degree of influence, as suggested by the results of the experiment conducted
by Bermeitinger, Goelz, Johr, Neumann, Ecker, & Doerr (2009). Concerning this last point, it
could be wrongfully argued that subliminal messages in phone applications are already a reality.
As a matter of fact, these kinds of applications do exist. One example is “Weight Loss
Subliminal1”, which aims at helping its users lose weight by subconsciously inspiring them
through embedded messages in the ocean’s sound. However, it can be easily deduced that it goes
against the principle of being subliminal as argued by (Verwijmeren, Karremans, Bernritter,
Stroebe, & Wigboldus, 2013; Loersch & Payne, 2012). When receiving a subliminal message, in
fact, only one’s subconscious should perceive it. If not, the message would affect the conscious
mind, consequently not being able to produce subliminal stimuli of any kind and resulting in
acting just like non-subliminal messages do in everyday life. And as literature suggests,
1 (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.t3apps.weightlossfree&hl=en) 2 conscious and subconscious mind operate differently (Cronley, Kardes, & Hawkins, 2006). It is
therefore clear that if the very application reveals that it contains subliminal messages, which in
the case of the abovementioned app needs however to be verified, the mere fact of making its
purpose known renders it no longer effective. In addition, this needs to be placed on a complete
different level in terms of subliminal messages, from the moment that the one discussed in this
thesis concerns visual ones, which makes audio subliminal messages simply out of scope.
Another example of subliminal phone applications currently available on mobile phone devices
is “Subliminal Learning2”, which is directed to users who wish to improve their vocabulary.
Needless to say, the major pitfall remains the one described above, even though the application
area is this time more similar to the one that is treated in this thesis, i.e. visual subliminal
messages.
Now that the current situation has been made clear, one can easily see how come that the
aforementioned innovations that this thesis encompasses might potentially raise great interest. In
addition to that, the exponential growth that the smartphone industry has known during the last
decade is also worthy being considered. As a matter of fact, in the beginning of 2013, the sales
of smartphones exceeded those of feature ones on a global scale.3 In fact smartphone sales in the
second quarter of the year grew by 46.5%.4 Moreover, it is estimated that as of July 2013, 90%
of worldwide mobile phone sales derive from the purchase of Android and iPhone smartphones.5
In developed countries the ratio is nearly one smartphone-one person. Furthermore, as of 2013,
80% of the world’s population owns a mobile phone. There are over 5 billion mobile phones in
the world, out which more than 1 billion are smartphones6 and hence fitting for visual subliminal
marketing purposes. It is estimated that 89% of these users use their smartphones extensively
throughout the day.7 As a consequence, the latent efficacy of subliminal messages even on
smaller screens combined with the potential of having the subliminal message exposed multiple
times might greatly affect the future of subliminal marketing campaigns, although it remains an
illegal practice in a number of countries. Clearly, the implications are numerous, as well as are
the ways in which subliminal priming on smaller screens might be used. As already mentioned,
it must be understood that the aim of the present thesis consists in subliminally influencing
2 (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lwi.android.subliminallearning&hl=it) 3 (http://www.3news.co.nz/Smartphones-­‐now-­‐outsell-­‐dumb-­‐phones/tabid/412/articleID/295878/Default.aspx#.UnkspxbSFUQ) 4 (http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2573415) 5 (http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/jul/18/nokia-­‐revenues-­‐fall-­‐lumia-­‐sales?CMP=EMCNEWEML6619I2) 6 http://www.go-­‐gulf.com/blog/smartphone/ 7 http://www.go-­‐gulf.com/blog/smartphone/ 3 subjects towards conducting a healthier life. Namely, subjects will be manipulated in order to
make them prefer healthy food to other less healthy types of food. In this case, it could be argued
that the goal is social and it substantially aims at letting people benefit from such manipulation.
Whether justifiable or not is a moral debate, and will be, as such, treated in the discussion
section.
An additional source of innovation offered by this thesis derives from the fact that the
experiment is performed in a real life situation, whereas the large majority of the experiments
conducted so far have been in a laboratory. It derives that the “real life situation” factor has not
been taken into account. The way this will be considered in the experiment is later described in
the section methodology.
4 8.
HYPOTHESES It needs to be clear that the starting point of this thesis is represented by the status quo of the
literature on subliminal priming belonging to the last decade. As already discussed, before 2002,
year in which Strahan, Spencer, and Zanna found that particular conditions are required for
subliminal stimuli to actually affect behavior, the scientific community was not able to prove
the efficacy or inefficacy of subliminal priming. Yet, after their findings, multiple studies have
proved that taking into account the identified conditions, subliminal priming could, as a matter
of fact, be effective. It derives that the present study is deeply related to not only their findings,
but also to all of the studies pointed out in the Review of Literature section.
It is henceforth based on such studies that the following hypotheses are formulated:
(1) H1: subjects exposed once to subliminal priming through the screen of a mobile phone
device will present greater willingness to consume healthy food than subjects who were not
exposed to manipulation.
(2) H2a: subjects exposed multiple times to subliminal priming through the screen of a mobile
phone device will present greater willingness to consume healthy food than subjects who
were not exposed to subliminal priming.
(3) H2b: subjects exposed multiple times to subliminal priming through the screen of a mobile
phone device will present greater willingness to consume healthy food than subjects who
were only once exposed to manipulation.
5 9.
METHODOLOGY 9.1 General Methodology The overall methodology consists in reviewing the literature, in order to gain precious insights
of previous studies so to have a literature-based starting point on which to base the experiment.
It derives that (1) the first step of the study will consist in identifying, reading, and extrapolating
all relevant and potentially useful information out of the existing literature. The latest and
updated studies will be mostly considered, as they empirically take into consideration Strahan,
Spencer, and Zanna (2002) ‘s requirements to be met. (2) The second step consists in the
experiment, which clearly represents the core of this Master’s thesis. Due to its importance, the
main idea of the experiment is presented in the following section. (3) The third step concerns
the analysis of the experiment outcomes. Hence, statistical tools will be applied in order to
understand whether the hypotheses presented above should be accepted or rejected. (4) The
fourth step consists in discussing either the reasons and possible flaws that led to a rejection of
the null hypotheses or about the implications that might arise as a consequence of an acceptance
of the null hypotheses.
9.2 Experiment Outline 9.2.1 Experiment Description The main idea standing behind the experiment resides in placing a subliminal message in three
commercials. Then, two different groups of subjects will be shown the commercials. The two
groups will be distinguished between a control group and a treatment one. It follows that for the
two control group, the commercials shown will contain no subliminal priming at all, whereas
for the treatment one, the commercials will actually contain the subliminal manipulation. Now,
each of the two group will be sub-divided into two additional groups. One will be shown the
three commercials only once and then monitored, while the other will be shown the
commercials multiple times before being monitored. This way it should be possible to assess the
efficacy of multiple exposures to subliminal priming as opposed to a single one. It follows that
there will be a total of four groups: one Control group with One exposure (CO), one Control
group with Multiple exposures (CM), one Treatment group with One exposure (TO), and finally
one Treatment group with Multiple exposures (TM). The differentiation of the four groups can
be better visualized on the table presented below (Table 1).
6 Once
Multiple times
Control Group
CO
CM
Treatment Group
TO
TM
Table 1: Visualization of the four groups
The methodology intended to be pursued as far as the experiment is concerned fundamentally
consists in (1) showing the commercials on a mobile phone screen, consequently priming the
two treatment groups, in order to subsequently (2) measure the contingent effect of priming on
the subjects exposed to the subliminal message. As already pointed out, the measuring of the
efficacy of priming will occur for the CO and TO groups immediately after the first exposure,
while for the CM and TM ones after the series of exposures. As there is no literature consensus
in terms of effective frequency, that is the number of an advertisement exposures needed for it
to receive a response (Tellis, 1997), an estimation of five exposures is estimated to be required
for this particular experiment (Dahlen, 2001; Cronley, Kardes, & Hawkins, 2006). Finally, it is
estimated that 30 people per each of the four groups will be needed in order to gain an
accurately reliable statistical sample (Pukelsheim, 2006). Therefore, 120 people will be overall
required for the completion of the experiment.
9.2.2 Subliminal Message The aim of the subliminal message will consist in leading people towards conducting a healthier
diet. It derives that the very message should be clear, concise, easily understood, and easily
subconsciously elaborated by anyway who will watch the commercials containing the
subliminal priming of healthy food. The subliminal message will appear for approximately 10
milliseconds, as suggested in the study conducted by Bermeitinger, Goelz, Johr, Neumann,
Ecker, & Doerr (2009).
When it comes to the form of the message to be displayed, it needs in the first place to
communicate and consequently evoke positive feelings. No negative ones should arise as a
consequence of elaborating the message; otherwise it is likely to result in losing its efficacy
(Jakštienė, Susnienė, Narbutas, 2008). It follows that positive advertisement incorporates higher
probabilities to succeed than does negative one.
Additionally, it is believed that a picture will turn out more effective. First, the place where the
experiment will take place needs to be taken into account. Being the place the canteen of the
University of Kassel, Germany, lots of international students for whom neither German nor
7 English are mother tongues, are expected to become possible subjects for the experiment. It
derives that showing a subliminal message composed of either German or English words might
reveal as totally ineffective due to the fact that it was not properly understood. Hence, a picture
is way more likely to produce the desired effect than words are possibly expected to. Secondly,
it can be argued that “a picture is worth ten thousand words”, as suggested by a famous ancient
Chinese proverb. Figure 1 illustrates the picture that is meant to be subliminally displayed on
the mobile phone screen.
Figure 1: Subliminal Message 9.2.3 Potential Issues In order not to make the same mistake as all studies conducted until 2002, the conditions
identified by Strahan, Spencer, and Zanna (2002) need to be taken into account. In fact, they
proved that in order for subliminal priming to produce the desired effect, the prime needs to be
relevant to one’s current goal (e.g. being thirsty) and the subject needs to be motivated to pursue
such goal (e.g. drinking). Applying these conditions to our case, we need to find subjects who
meet the requirements for the priming to be effective. Hence, the two issues to consider are:
a) The relevancy of the goal
b) The intention of pursuing the goal
These two issues can be easily overcome by selecting the proper individuals, which in our case
are represented by hungry subjects. Hence, the solution resides in selecting students that are
lining up in the canteen and subsequently manipulate them. This means that (a) they are hungry
and (b) intend to satisfy their hunger through the action of eating.
8 Yet, there are additional potential issues that might arise, as it needs to be identified whether the
goal “to eat” presents further implications. This means determining how the subjects intend to
satisfy this goal. It may be the case that the subjects have already made their final decision about
the food they will be selecting, in which case, if the choice consisted in unhealthy food, then the
priming will possibly reveal as ineffective. In addition, we consider that the relevant goal is “to
eat healthy”. In the case the relevant goal was to become “to conduct a healthy life”, the
implications arising from it might affect the whole experiment.
Finally, a last potential issue arising from the experiment might be due to the “real life situation”
setting. Whilst most of the experiments conducted so far missed to consider the fact that if
subliminal priming works in a laboratory it does not necessarily imply that it might work in a
real life situation as well, the present study aims at taking this factor into account. Clearly, this
results in causing the arousal of an additional potential ground for rejection of the
aforementioned hypotheses.
9 10. REVIEW OF LITERATURE 10.1 Subliminal Priming Studies Author, Date
Description
Title, Publication
Strahan,
Their findings represent a turning point in the
Subliminal priming and
Spencer, and
subliminal priming field. They proved that if
persuasion: Striking while
Zanna, 2002
the prime is relevant to one’s current goal (e.g.
the iron is hot. Journal of
being thirsty) and the subject is motivated to
Experimental Social
pursue such goal (e.g. drinking) it could
Psychology, 38
actually affect behavior.
Karremans,
Their study demonstrated that subliminal
Beyond Vicary’s fantasies:
Stroebe,
priming of a brand name positively affects
The impact of sublimina
Claus, 2006
subjects’ feeling towards the primed brand, but
l priming and brand choice.
only when Strahan, Spencer, and Zanna’s
Journal of Experimental
conditions are met
Social Psychology, 42(6)
Légal,
Their study examines the effect of goal priming
Don't you know that you
Chappé,
in terms of elaboration of a persuasive
want to trust me?
Coiffard, &
message, revealing that subconscious activation Subliminal goal priming
Villard-Forest,
of the goal “to trust” directs primed subjects
and persuasion. Journal of
2011
towards a better judgment of the message,
Experimental Social
making them agree with the displayed message. Psychology, 48
Bermeitinger,
Their study proves that under Strahan, Spencer,
The hidden persuaders
Goelz, Johr,
and Zanna’s conditions, subconscious priming
break into the tired brain.
Neumann,
might be effective. They embedded a brand
Journal of Experimental
Ecker, &
logo of dextrose pills into a computer game,
Social Psychology, 45(2)
Doerr, 2009
revealing that tired participants consumed more
of the subliminally primed brand.
Verwijmeren,
They demonstrated that it is possible to be
Warning: You are Being
Karremans,
protected from subliminal priming by being
Primed! The Effect of a
Bernritter,
aware of it. Hence, one needs to be warned
Warning on the Impact of
Stroebe, &
either before or after the subliminal priming
Subliminal Ads, Journal of
Wigboldus,
takes place.
Experimental Social
10 2013
Psychology
Veltkamp,
Their study investigates whether subliminal
Motivating consumer
Custers, &
priming can be effective even in the absence of
behavior by subliminal
Aarts, 2010
deprivation, meaning the individual presents no
conditioning in the absence
current need, revealing an interaction effect.
of basic needs: Striking
Finally, they proved that subliminal priming
even while the iron is cold.
may motivate subjects as if they were deprived.
Journal of Consumer
Psychology, 21
Verwijmeren,
Their study investigates the role of habit related The workings and limits of
Karremans,
to subliminal priming, revealing that in absence
subliminal advertising: The
Stroebe, &
of habitual brand, the primed one was more
role of habits. Journal of
Wigboldus,
consumed. When the primed brand competed
Consumer Psychology,
2011
with the habitual one priming increased
21(2)
preference for the one advertised.
Veltkamp,
CITATION: Their research examines the effect
On the emergence of
Aarts, &
of subliminal priming in absence of
deprivation-reducing
Custers, 2007
deprivation, proving that “specific motivational
behaviors: Subliminal
goal states and corresponding behaviors do not
priming of behaviour
arise directly from deprivation per se, but that
representations turns
accessible goal-related cognitions play a role in
deprivation into motivation.
this process”.
Journal of Experimental
Social Psychology, 44(3)
Mayer &
These four articles will be used in the
For these Journals please
Merckelbach,
introductory section, when the concept of
see Bibliography
1999;
subliminal will be presented. They provide an
Bengesser &
excellent overview of its history and the
Walli, 1994;
meaning of the term itself.
Shevrin, 1986;
Johnson &
Eriksen, 1961
Custers &
These two articles will be cited when saying
Aarts, 2010
that in daily life individuals elaborate most of
Norretranders,
the information they receive outside of their
1998
conscious awareness.
The unconscious will: How
the pursuit of goals operates
outside of conscious
11 awareness. Science, 329 +
The user illusion: Cutting
consciousness down to size.
New York: Penguin Books.
Brasel and
In their study they proved that priming the logo
Red Bull "Gives You
Gips, 2011
“Red Bull”, a brand associated with speed and
Wings" for better and
risk taking, motivated participants to go as fast
worse: a double-edged
as possible and take greater risks in a racing
impact of brand exposure
game compared to those who were not
on consumer performance.
associated with the brand.
Journal of Consumer
Psychology, 21
Loersch &
In their study they argue that the primed
The Situated Inference
Payne, 2011
construct eventually turns out to be more easily
Model: An Integrative
accessible from memory.
Account of the Effects of
Primes on Perception,
Behavior, and Motivation.
Perspectives on
Psychological Science, 6(3)
Loersch &
Their study proved that when participants were
On Mental Contamination:
Payne, 2012
informed about the fact that their behavior had
The Role of
been subliminally manipulated, priming effects
(Mis)Attribution in
were no longer observed, consequently
Behavior Priming. Social
rendering subliminal priming ineffective.
Cognition, 30(2)
Hart &
In their study they found that priming people
The effects of chronic
Albarracin,
with achievement goals results in better
achievement motivation and
2009
performance and greater persistence of
achievement primes on the
behavior even when primes are subliminal. In
activation of achievement
addition, they proved the interaction between
and fun goals. Journal of
personal dispositions and subliminal
Personality and Social
environmental stimuli, resulting in affecting
Psychology, 97
subjects’ behaviors.
Custers &
The reason standing behind the fact that primed
The unconscious will: How
Aarts, 2010
goals affect motivation outside of awareness is
the pursuit of goals operates
12 that goals are pictured in the mind of
outside of conscious
individuals as desirable. It derives that the
awareness. Science, 329
process of priming these goals results in a
positive affective tag that operates as a reward
signal.
DeMarree,
In their study they argue that by introducing a
From Primed Construct to
Loersch,
feeling of doubt in the priming stage, the result
Motivated Behavior:
Briñol, Petty,
will be a decline in the relationship that exists
Validation Processes in
Payne, &
between priming and the observed behavior.
Goal Pursuit. Personality
Rucker, 2012
and Social Psychology
Bulletin
Bos,
In their study they argue that as a consequence
The benefits of “sleeping on
Dijksterhuis,
of the fact that the majority of information are
things”: Unconscious
& van Baaren,
processed subconsciously, there might be no
thought leads to automatic
2011
need to present them subliminally for resulting
weighting. Journal of
in them having non-conscious effects.
Consumer Psychology,
21(1)
Loftus &
This study will be cited to prove that Vicary’s
Is the unconscious smart or
Klinger, 1992
experiment is a hoax.
dumb? American
Psychologist, 47
Erdelyi, 1985
CITATION: In his study he says that
Psychoanalysis: Freud's
(p. 59)
unconscious operations are an “obvious and
cognitive psychology.
fundamental feature of human information
NewYork: Freeman
processing”
Lewicki, Hill,
CITATION: In their study they argue that there
Hidden covariation
& Czyzewska,
is “no doubt that unconscious processes are a
detection: A fundamental
1997
crucial element of normal, ordinary
and ubiquitous
functioning. Problem solving, writing,
phenomenon. Journal of
listening, learning, and so on often do not
Experimental Psychology:
require consciousness”
Learning, Memory, and
Cognition, 23
Weir, 1984
This study will be cited when introducing
Another look at subliminal
Vicary’s experiment.
"facts". Advertising Age 55
13 10.1.1 Subliminal Priming Studies -­‐ Positive Results (before 2002) Author, Date
Description
Title, Publication
Silverman,
In their experiment on obese women they
Effect of subliminal
Martin, Ungaro,
assumed that overeating was caused by the
stimulation of symbiotic
& Mendelsohn,
need to be nourished by mother. After
fantasies on behavior
1978
subliminally priming, the treatment group,
modification treatment of
exposed to the message “mommy and I are
obesity. Journal of
one”, lost more weight than the control
Consulting and Clinical
group, exposed to “people are walking”.
Psychology, 46
Silverman, Ross,
In their experiment, college males were
Simple research paradigm
Adler, & Lustig,
subliminally primed with “Beating dad is
for demonstrating
1978
ok” or “Beating dad is wrong”. After the
subliminal psychodynamic
subliminal priming took place, they played
activation: Effects of
darts. Those who received the “ok” stimulus
oedipal stimuli on dart-
obtained higher dart scores than those who
throwing accuracy in
received the “wrong” one.
college males. Journal of
Abnormal Psychology, 87
Murphy and
In their study they argue that, under
Affect, cognition, and
Zajonc, 1993
particular conditions, emotions are
awareness: Affecting
precognitive. In their experiment subjects
priming with optimal and
were shown subliminal images (either a
suboptimal exposures
smile or a scowling face) and then asked to
Journal of Personality and
rate Chinese characters.
Social Psychology, 64
Murphy,
In their study they came to the conclusion
Monahan, &
that, under certain circumstances, emotions
Zajonc, 1995
are precognitive.
Additivity of nonconscious
affect: Combined effects of
priming and exposure.
Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology, 69
Robles, Smith,
In their study they inserted subliminal
Influence of subliminal
Carver, and
pictures in a video (negative, neutral,
visual images on
Wellens, 1987
positive) and then performed an anxiety test.
theexperience of anxiety.
Those presented with positive subliminal
Personality and Social
14 pictures were less anxious than those with
Psychology Bulletin, 13
negative ones.
Tyrer, Lewis,
In their study they came to conclusions
Effects of subliminal and
and Lee, 1978
similar to the ones reached by Robles,
supraliminal stress on
Smith, Carver, and Wellens, 1987.
symptoms of anxiety. The
Journal of Nervous and
Mental Disease, 166
Kemp-Wheeler
In their study they came to conclusions
Anxiety responses to
and Hill, 1987
similar to the ones reached by Robles,
subliminal experience of
and 1992
Smith, Carver, and Wellens, 1987.
mild stress. British Journal
of Psychology, 78 +
Semantic and emotional
priming below objective
detection threshold.
Cognition and Emotion, 6
Cooper and
This study will be cited to prove the fact that
Subliminal motivation: A
Cooper, 2002
subconscious elaboration is found to be able
story revisited. Journal of
to affect motivations, judgments, and
Applied Social Psychology,
behaviors.
32(11)
10.1.2 Subliminal Priming Studies -­‐ Negative Results (before 2002) Author, Date
Description
Title, Publication
Greenwald,
In their experiment with self-help tapes they
Doubleblind tests of
Spangenberg,
found a mere placebo effect, arguing that
subliminal self-help
Pratkanis, and
subliminal priming is not effective.
audiotapes. Psychological
Eskenazi, 1991
Science, 2
Russell, Rowe,
In their experiment with self-help tapes they
Subliminal self-help tapes
and Smouse,
found that no better grades were obtained,
and academic achievement:
1991
arguing that subliminal priming is not
An evaluation. Journal of
effective.
Counselling and
Development
Key, 1973
In his study he found no evidence
Subliminal seduction.
15 concerning the efficacy of subliminal
Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
advertising.
Signet
K. H. Smith and
In their study they found no evidence
Effectiveness of subliminal
Rogers, 1994
supporting the efficacy of subliminal
messages in television
advertising.
commercials: Two
experiments. Journal of
Applied Psychology, 79
In addition to the articles presented above, the following ones provide further evidence that before 2002, studies were unable to replicate Vicary’s experiment Pratkanis & Aronson, 1992
Hawkins, 1970
Moore, 1988
Pratkanis & Greenwald, 1988
Trappey, 1996
George & Jennings, 1975
10.2 Conscious and Subconscious Decision Making Author, Date
Description
Title, Publication
Dijksterhuis,
2004
His study researches the role of conscious
Think Different: The
and subconscious thought when it comes to
Merits of Unconscious
make decisions, revealing that in all of the
Thought in Preference
five experiments, subconscious decision
Development and Decision
making led to better decisions than conscious
Making. Journal of
one.
Personality and Social
Psychology, 87 (5)
Cronley, Kardes,
As repetition of marketing claims increases,
& Hawkins, 2006 so does the perceived validity of the
Influences on the Illusory
Truth Effect in Consumer
message. They finally suggest that conscious
Judgment. Advances in
and subconscious mind operate differently.
Consumer Research, Vol.
33
10.3 Multiple Exposures to Advertising 16 Author, Date
Description
Title, Publication
Dahlen, 2001
Until four exposures to an advertisement of an
Banner Advertisements
unknown brand there is no statistical difference through a New Lens.
in terms of its efficacy. From five exposures it
Journal of Advertising
starts to be effective. Moreover, advertisements Research (July-August,
for familiar brands usually wear out quickly,
2001)
while those for unfamiliar ones need multiple
exposures to wear in.
Tellis, 1988
CITATION: “Loyalty is a significant
Advertising exposure,
moderator of the effects of ad exposure, with
loyalty and brand purchase:
buyers responding more strongly to brands to
A two-stage model of
which they are more loyal. […] Because of
choice. Journal of
consumer inertia and selective information
Marketing Research, Vol.
processing, untried brands probably require
25, No. 2 (May, 1988)
very high levels of exposure before they begin
to get their message across and induce trial”.
Tellis, 1997
Effective Frequency is the number of an
Effective frequency: One
advertisement exposures needed for it to
exposure or three factors?.
receive a response. It depends on three factors:
Journal of Advertising
brand familiarity, message complexity, and
Research (July, 1997)
message novelty.
10.4 Additional Readings Author, Date
Description
Title, Publication
Jakštienė,
This study will be used to argue that
The Psychological Impact
Susnienė,
advertising must evoke positive feelings in
of Advertising on the
Narbutas, 2008 order to influence the emotional sphere of
consumers.
Customer Behavior.
Communications of the
IBIMA
Pukelsheim,
This book will be used to argue about the
Optimal Design of
2006
selected number of participants to the
Experiments. New York:
experiment.
SIAM
17 On the one hand, several experiments claimed to prove the efficacy of subliminal priming, such
as the ones conducted by Silverman, Martin, Ungaro, & Mendelsohn (1978) on obese women,
in which starting from the assumption that overeating was caused by the need to be nourished
by their mothers, they subliminally primed the subjects with the message “mommy and I are
one”. The treatment group lost significantly more weight than the control group, exposed to
“people are walking”. Similarly, Silverman, Ross, Adler, & Lustig (1978) subliminally primed
college males with “Beating dad is ok” or “Beating dad is wrong”. After the subliminal priming
took place, they played darts and those who received the “ok” stimulus obtained higher dart
scores than those who received the “wrong” one. Years later, Robles, Smith, Carver, and
Wellens (1987) found that by inserting subliminal pictures in a video (negative, neutral,
positive) and then performing an anxiety test, the subjects presented with positive subliminal
pictures were less anxious than those with negative ones. Similar studies were performed by
Tyrer, Lewis, and Lee in 1978 and Kemp-Wheeler and Hill, both in 1987 and in 1992. In 1993,
Murphy and Zajonc subliminally primed subjects with images, either a smile or a scowling face,
and then asked them to rate Chinese characters, finding that those primed with a smile were
better inclined towards the unfamiliar characters. Hence they argued that under particular
conditions emotions are precognitive. Murphy, Monahan, & Zajonc drew the same conclusion
in 1995.
On the other hand, several studies conducted during the same period have claimed to prove the
inefficacy of subliminal priming, such as Key (1973) or Smith and Rogers (1994), who in their
work found no evidence supporting the effect of subliminal priming. Similarly, Greenwald,
Spangenberg, Pratkanis, and Eskenazi (1991) found a mere placebo effect as a result of their
experiment with self-help tapes. Not differently, Russell, Rowe, and Smouse (1991) also
asserted there is no evidence to support the efficacy of subliminal priming. They conducted an
experiment with self-help tapes as well, finding that no better grades were obtained as a result of
subliminal priming.
18 11. OVERVIEW OF CHAPTERS 1.
2.
3.
Introduction
1.1.
Background on the topic
1.2.
Purpose of the study
1.3.
Methodology of the Thesis
Theoretical framework
2.1.
The concept of subliminal priming
2.2.
Literature before 2002
2.3.
Literature after 2002
Experiment
3.1.
Methodology of the Experiment
3.2.
Outcomes of the experiment
4.
Discussion (implications and limitations)
5.
Conclusions
6.
References
19 1.
PLAN OF WORK Dates
Phase
01.10 – 31.10
Introductory Phase
01.11 – 31.11
01.12 – 31.12
Description
Collect the topic-related literature and begin
Theory Phase
writing the theoretical framework
Theory Phase
Conclude the theoretical framework and start the
First Set of Experiments
experiment (30 people per set of experiment)
Second Set of Experiments
Conduct two sets of experiment (60 people)
Third Set of Experiments
01.01 – 31.01
01.02 – 28.02
01.03 – 31.03
01.04 – 31.04
01.05 – 31.05
Fourth Set of Experiments
Conduct the last set of experiment (30 people)
Intermediate Presentation
and prepare for the Intermediate Presentation
Analysis Phase
Execute the statistical evaluations from the
Writing Phase
results of the experiment and keep writing
Analysis Phase
Execute the statistical evaluations and
Writing Phase
subsequently draw implications and conclusions
Writing Phase
Finish writing the thesis and start the reviewing
Finalization Phase
process considering it as a whole
Finalization Phase
Review the whole work, make the necessary
adaptations and corrections, and prepare the
final report and presentation
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