Subliminal Message Research Project

Subliminal Message Research Project

INTRODUCTION:

Many people believe that subliminal messages exist, and are being actively used to try and control the world population. However, as with any theory, there are people who believe, and people who do not.

Before we layout the goals and such, I would like to first explain exactly what a subliminal message is.

A subliminal message is a signal or message designed to pass below (sub) the normal limits of perception. For example it might be inaudible to the conscious mind (but audible to the unconscious or deeper mind) or might be an image transmitted briefly and unperceived consciously and yet perceived unconsciously. This definition assumes a division between conscious and unconscious which may be misleading; it may be better to say that the subliminal message (sound or image) is perceived by deeper parts of what is a single integrated mind.

Origins of the term:

The term subliminal message was popularized in a 1957 book entitled The Hidden Persuaders by Vance Packard. This book detailed a study of movie theaters that supposedly used subliminal commands to increase the sales of popcorn and Coca-Cola at their concession stands. However, James Vicary (the author of the study) later admitted the study was fabricated.

In 1973 Wilson Bryan Key's book Subliminal Seduction claimed that subliminal techniques were in wide use in advertising. The book contributed to a general climate of fear with regard to Orwellian dangers (of subliminal messaging). Public concern was enough to lead the Federal Communications Commission to hold hearings and to declare subliminal advertising "contrary to the public interest" because it involved "intentional deception" of the public.

GOALS:

The goals of this research project is simply to prove, or disprove the existance of subliminal messages in media such as videos, music, ect. This will be done through familiarizing all members of the team with the background of subliminal messages, previous research that has been done in it, and analyzing sound/video clips for these hidden messages.

PURPOSE:

My reason for wanting to conduct this research is basically because in one place you hear, "this is true," and in another you hear, "this is not true." I want us to be able to say, "yes, this is true." Or to be able to say, "No, it is not." I think it's about time that the truth regarding subliminal messages is revealed, and no better way to do it than by the joint cooperation from a dedicated team of ATS members. I think its time that people know the truth about this.

RESEARCH GUIDELINES:
Make sure that you post results of your findings at LEAST once a day, to make sure that all members of the project are kept up to speed.

MEMBERS:
JBurns - Team Leader
MemoryShock -

Interested in Joining:

If your interested in joining this project please visit the following thread: www.abovetopsecret.com...

Thanks to everyone who has made this possible!

[edit on 5-7-2005 by ADVISOR]

External Websites:
bpsoutdoor.com...
www.snopes.com...
skepdic.com...
64.233.161.104... =cache:Enkl3AaqtWIJ:people.uleth.ca/~vokey/pdf/Submess.pdf+subliminal+messages&hl=en
www.albinoblacksheep.com...
www.albinoblacksheep.com...
www.albinoblacksheep.com...
www.bcx.net... (Claims to be able to produce subliminal messages)

ATS Threads:
Clear Channels Communications using Subliminal Messages
Subliminal Messages
Reverse Speech in Music? (Subliminal Messages?)

Software and Tools:
MP3 -> WAV Converter (Converts MP3 Files to WAV format)
Windows Sound Recorder Tutorial (Can play wav files in reverse)

[edit on 30-6-2005 by JBurns]

Forward playing lyrics:
"If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now, it's just a spring clean for the May Queen. Yes there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run there's still time to change the road your on."

Backwards playing lyrics:
"Oh here's to my sweet Satan. The one whose little path would make me sad, whose power is Satan. He'll give those with him 666, there was a little toolshed where he made us suffer, sad Satan."

Try it yourself: Stairway to Heaven Sound Clip
Remember to convert mp3 files to wav using the above link to the converter. Then open the file in Windows Sound Recorder, and play in "reverse."

I have heard in a few places that the live version, when played backwards, does not contain these messages. If I can get ahold of a copy of the live version, I'll be able to determine if this is true. If you cannot hear it in the live version, but in the digital one, that would add to the speculation that the message was actually planted in there, by a 3rd party, after the song was recorded. I have slowed the file down, and enhanced it, those words are what is said when it is reversed.

UPDATE: I have found a copy of the live version, and tested out the theory of the messages not being in there, and have found that they are not. This leads me to believe that someone added them in, AFTER they recorded the song!

I encourage all ATS members to listen the two different version of the song.

I'm very happy with these findings now, perhaps I'll look into where the digital version was created/recorded, and see if anything turns up.

[edit on 30-6-2005 by JBurns]

Recently I had heard from a few different websites that I frequent that the Exorcist contained subliminal messages. So, I decided to grab a copy of the movie, and see for myself.

I found that there are several possible messages that have been inserted into the movie, they are:

1. When the priest, Father Karras, has a dream, and there is a very quick flash of an image of a demon/devil, afterwards, the screen goes white, and the same image is briefly shown once again.
   
   
2. When Chris MacNeil comes home and she finds that the kitchen lights are flickering, what looks to be the exact same demon/devil picture, however it is alot smaller, is seen on the fan that is just above the stove.
   
   
3. Right before Chris MacNeil goes into her daughter's room, what appears to be a large, rudimentary representation of the demon in paint (it's very puffy looking and almost appears to be a smudge, except for the somewhat noticeable teeth and eyes) shows up on the door just as she opens it; then, when Chris leaves the room, an image of a gargoyle slowly becomes visible directly to the left of the doorway, remains for a short time, then disappears.
   

Each of these images are able to be seen in full speed as just a little flash. You'll have to pay very good attention for any thing that looks like a flash, rewind past it, then slow the tape down some.

If you would like to see these without having to basically watch the movie in slow motion, you can get "The Version You've Never Seen" which has the messages displayed very clearly.

Personally I don't think that the messages that were put in the movie were designed with malice intent, but to create more unease, and fear, in the viewer to make the experience more memorable. However, there were still subliminal messages added into the movie, so this does qualify under the project. I'm going to re-watch this movie, and see if there's anything I could have missed.

Note: These are not in the theatrical version of the movie. You have to get an "uncut" copy.

Before I begin, I would like to thank MemoryShock for providing me with the link to the ATSNN.com article SCI/TECH: Subliminal Responses Recognized in Study.

A group of psychologists conducted a study on 17 university students, to examine their reactions to subliminal messages. The findings concluded that people with different types of anxiety disorders were affected more by subliminal messages, than people without an anxiety disorder.

With this information, I think it's quite possible that the creators of subliminal messages are targeting people with emotional/anxiety disorders, or perhaps even putting the messages in products used more frequently by those type of people.

I definatley have a new lead to check out, thanks again MemoryShock!

Related ATS Threads:

Neuro-Marketing: Straight to the Brain

Almost all your decisions are made by your unconscious mind

Source: ATSNN.com, MindPowerNews.com.

[edit on 3-7-2005 by JBurns]

Whew! This turned out much more than I expected. Spent quite a while looking through stuff, trying to find out what was rumour, propaganda and which was fact.

Disney has a long history of subliminal messaging, and "inside jokes" dating back to the earliest days when Walt Disney himself was involved in the creation of the animated shorts.

Right now going to look at just two of the more modern movies. Rescuers Down Under, and The Lion King.

The movie Rescuers Down Under, the Original theatrical release, and the second printing of the video (not included in the first release on video) there is two frames of a topless model as Bernard and Bianca take off on the albatross. During the original run, everyone at Disney knew it was there, but didn't mind because it was pre- video "freezing". During the second release to video either someone "forgot" or they didn't feel it would be a big deal. Intentional? They later recalled these tapes.
View the clips:
www.snopes.com...


The movie The Lion King has a scene in which Simba flops down on a pile of leaves. The leaves blow into the air and form the word S-E-X. Or so the rumour goes. Disney has of course denied this (would they do anything else?) and the debate began. The most popular theory (and one since confirmed by Disney) is that the letters are S-F-X referring to the special effects department. S-E-X, S-F-X, either one is a "subliminal message" just which message are we supposed to be getting? The more popular S-F-X theory also fits in with the history Disney has of the animators slipping in a little credit within the film.

Picture: www.snopes.com...

additional credits:
www.straightdope.com...


www.absoluteastronomy.com...

The Little Mermaid is rather a hot topic for the subliminal messaging stuff.

Let's start with the front cover. Does it or does it not show a penis in the central spiral. The official report says "no, it was an accident" but how many have seen the spiral? if not, here is the picture www.snopes.com.... Personal opinion, that looks way too much like the real deal to be a coincidence. The story that it was intentional by a upset employee does appear confirmed false. So, the third story is, yes it was intentional, but never meant to look THAT much like it. It was 4 am, deadline was coming way too fast to redo it, so they sent it on believing it would be caught and corrected in editing. OOPS, it didn't. www.straightdope.com.... This third possiblity was given by co-workers. The "completely accidental" story is the story that the artist himself gives whenever interviewed, and what Disney says. Regardless, Disney modified the artwork, not redrawing it, but shrinking it, using the same artwork, just making it slightly smaller and less noticable. So, having been shown the resemblence, they didn't change it, just made it smaller? (Btw, I also own the original video, have seen the first cover up close and personal)

The second issue is the er, "extreme interest" the priest displays in Ariel's wedding. This one is false. An enlarged frame by frame shows that the erection that was believed to be there was in fact his knee.

Also, non-subliminal?, a clear shot of Mickey, Donald and Goofy can be seen in the crowd that Triton passes over in the beginning of the movie. A ploy to get people to want to buy other videos? Or just a fun joke?

Disney loves to plant characters from one movie in another. In the movie the Hunchback of Notre Dame Belle (from Beauty and the Beast) is seen briefly walking through the street. In Aladin, there is a shot of Sabastian the crab (Little Mermaid) when Genie is pulling out tricks to "remodel" Aladin. Does one look at that as just a "Fun with animation" or is it a subliminal attempt to sell the other movies?

The Judas Priest Subliminal Suicide Trial


The families of two boys who committed suicide in 1985 sued Judas Priest, the bad boys of British heavy metal, for allegedly placing in a song a subliminal message -- "Do it" -- that the plaintiffs believed pushed their sons into suicide. The two-word trigger was purportedly buried in the song "Better By You, Better Than Me," from the band's 1978 album Stained Class. The plaintiffs sought $6.2 million dollars for the band's "product liability."

Absurd as the lawsuit may sound, the case, which was tried in 1989 and 1990, resulted in some landmark decisions about the legal standing of subliminal communication. Among the unusual matters that Justice Jerry Carr Whitehead was forced to rule on was this perplexing question: are subliminal messages afforded the First Amendment protection of free speech? In a pre-trial motion, Judge Whitehead declared that subliminals are not protected speech, due to the fact that hidden messages do not impart information as do statements that are actually heard. Whitehead further said that subliminal messages are an invasion of privacy. With this issue decided, the trial began.

A number of experts on subliminal stimuli spoke at the trial, on behalf of both the parents and Judas Priest. The man who sounded the subliminal alert in the 1970s, Wilson Bryan Key, supported the plaintiffs' view in pre-trial testimony, as did the more academic-minded researcher Howard Shevrin. Timothy E. Moore, a scientific skeptic of subliminals, weighed in on the other side. In an fascinating review of the case in Skeptical Inquirer magazine, Moore later summarized the views he shared with the court: "It was my opinion that there was no scientific support for the proposition that subliminal directives could influence behaviors of any kind, let along suicide."

Judas Priest's lawyers argued that in the first place, the band had placed no subliminal content on their album. (An examination of the original 24-track recording turned up no subliminals on any one track -- so if a subliminal sound resembling "Do it" was indeed present, it was likely an unintended blend of sounds from separate tracks.) Secondly, the defense argued, even if a subliminal were present, the power of such messages to move people to action has never been proven.

After an exhaustive review of the subliminal issue and many close listenings to the song in question, Judge Whitehead reached the same conclusion. In his final ruling, in favor of Judas Priest, Whitehead stated his conclusions on the subliminal threat: "The scientific research presented does not establish that subliminal stimuli, even if perceived, may precipitate conduct of this magnitude.... The strongest evidence presented at the trial showed no behavioral effects other than anxiety, distress or tension."

Judge Whitehead also pointed out "other factors which explain the conduct of the deceased independent of subliminal stimuli." Judas Priest lead singer Rob Halford, who like the rest of the band attended every session of the two-week trial, said later that those who blame the suicides on a rock song overlook the genuine causes of the tragedy: "These two young men lost their lives because of their tragic involvement in drugs and alcohol and dysfunctional family units in which they weren't given proper care, attention or guidance. I'm not making light of a tragic situation, but this trial was just an attempt to shift the burden of guilt to someone else's shoulders." Though the victims led anguished lives, said Halford, "we gave them a great deal of pleasure with our music."


The Trial

The Plaintiffs' Experts

The pursuit of isolated, distant, and mysterious causes for various mishaps sometimes results in a search for distant and mysterious experts. Experts are invited to provide support for the contentious claim. When courts are tolerant of a subverted sense of the meaning of causality, they may also be tolerant of fringe experts. There were several at this trial. One of them was Wilson Key. He is the man who pretty much single-handedly popularized the myth of subliminal advertising. He sees subliminal conspiracies everywhere (Key 1973, 1976, 1980, 1989), so it was not surprising that he was present to support the plaintiffs' claims. While Key provided extensive pre-trial testimony, his contribution to the actual trial was negligible. It is possible that he undermined his own credibility with the court by opining that subliminal messages could be found on Ritz crackers, the Sistine Chapel, Sears catalogues, and the NBC evening news. He also asserted that "science is pretty much what you can get away with at any point in time."

The most influential expert to testify for the plaintiffs was Howard Shevrin, whose credentials were unassailable. He has conducted research on subliminal influences for over twenty years and has a respectable track record of publications in peer-reviewed books and journals (e.g., Shevrin 1988). Shevrin's argument was that subliminal commands are especially potent because the recipient is unaware of their source and attributes the directive or the imperative to himself-to his own inner motivational state. While there is a certain logic to this, Shevrin was hard-pressed to describe any research that supported his opinion. The argument also presupposes that a command or directive is inherently compelling-that because it is an imperative in a linguistic or syntactic sense, it compels compliance in a psychological sense. According to Shevrin, when we consciously experience a command, we can ignore or comply with commands as we see fit, but if the command is subliminal, it may become part of our ongoing stream of motives, feelings, and inner promptings. It can therefore add an increment to any current predisposition that may be present, such as suicide. The fallacy lies in assuming that an imperative message has some inherently motivating effect. His position also required the assumption that a suicidal disposition requires a trigger or precipitant in order to be acted on. This assumption does not square with the research literature on adolescent suicide (Maris 1981). Shevrin was nevertheless persuasive. He provided an apparently respectable conceptual framework for explaining how such a mysterious and almost magical force could operate.

The Defendants' Experts

Three experts were called by the defense: myself, Anthony Pratkanis (a professor of social psychology from the University of California at Santa Cruz), and Don Read (a cognitive psychologist from the University of Lethbridge). I testified about methodological and interpretational flaws in some specific investigations of subliminal auditory stimuli (e.g., Borgeat and Chaloult 1985; Borgeat, Elie, Chaloult, and Chabot 1985; Henley 1975) and about the dubious empirical foundation underlying psychodynamic constructs. It was my opinion that there was no scientific support for the proposition that subliminal directives could induce behaviors of any kind, let alone suicide. Pratkanis reiterated some of the main points of my testimony regarding the history of research on subliminal influence, and described a recently conducted experiment (since published) showing that subliminal self-help tapes were ineffective (Pratkanis, Eskenazi, and Greenwald 1994). He also expressed additional misgivings about the validity of the Borgeat studies-studies Shevrin had cited as supportive of his position. Pratkanis resisted the intimation by the plaintiffs' lawyers that scientific findings were not of an enduring nature-that what is known today may be abandoned and replaced by a new opinion tomorrow. Finally, Don Read provided an eloquent description of research on the comprehension and retention of reversed speech (see Vokey and Read 1985).

Here is a magazine article scan about the incident. (Large .JPG)

www.subliminalworld.org...

Sources:

www.csicop.org...
www.subliminalworld.org...
Subliminal Suicide

Related Links:

15 Years Later
Judas Priest Reverse Speech
Biography

I've been reading around the Internet looking for various types of subliminal message myths, for the simple purpose of testing them out.

I recently read up on an application that is run on your computer, that claims to display subliminal messages. Here is the introduction for it:

Self-help Subliminals is a special computer program that enables you to display your own subliminal messages and use them to change your life. Use it while at work or while playing games.

You use the subliminal program to display your own positive affirmations subliminally in word or picture form. You are in total control of the messages which are displayed and how the messages are displayed.

I've selected that application as the one to test, and this will be especially easy, as they provide a direct link for a free download. [link]

I'm going to try this program out, while having a friend program in a set of "messages" to display. And he will begin watching me, to see if I exhibit any odd behaviors, behavorial differences, ect.

My initial belief on the matter, is that these programs may or may not work. As of right now, I'm impartial. I'm not expecting anything huge out of it though, but possibly a few minor results (hopefully).

[edit on 17-7-2005 by JBurns]

Sorry about the missing persons act. I had a vacation to go on,and then work has been insane (and that is the BEST I can say for work

Anyhow, new findings.

GI Joe. 1980's during the height of the subliminal message has an episode "Sins of Our Fathers" in which Destro's speech, played backwards does have a hidden message. Really kind of interesting.
Link here: www.yojoe.com...


More to come.

Neat bit of GI Joe info, I am under the impression that the normal version "chant" was reversed and the backwards download will be the forward of that chant.

Not so much sub-liminal as it is perhaps creative thinking on the animation and sound crew of the day. However this is still useful to the project, and fits the bill for the times.

A list of backwards lyrics, similar to those heard in the stairway to heaven example can be found here complete with .mp3 audio to listen to.

www.reversespeech.com...

The Beatle's song "Help" contains an interesting backward message. This song was recorded at around the time the Beatles began to experiment with drugs. The reversal says. "Now he uses marijuana." There is no superimposed soundtrack and the chorus also sings marijuana in the background

John Lennon - How do you sleep - Hey, poor Lindy. So mean, gets him nowhere

Here is a reversal on Credence Clearwater revival found by RS hobbyist, Tony Feo. It says, "I believe in my cool woman."

Ringo Starr - Honey Dont - My God is so stubborn

Santana: And I'll remind you to say yes
George Harrison: While my guitar gently weeps - Pass the gun now. It kills the love, the love is cold

Paul McCartney: Band On The Run - Marijuana, marijuana. The law, law will banish us (Ironically Paul McCartney was banished from entering Japan again after an ounce of marijuana was found in his luggage in the late 70s - several years after this song was recorded)

Roy Orbison - Get out, get out, get out people

Eric Clapton - Cocaine - I'm so wicked

Sting - He scared me hidden. Hear me please

Santana - I Love Satan within

Cheap Trick - "Gonna Raise Hell" - Satan holds the keys to the lock

Deep Purple - Black Knight - Oh demon thats leading from hell, we believe
This is an interesting little jingle put out by the BBC in the early 20s when radio was first introduced. Some people thought back then that radio was satanic and you could get possessed by listening to it. Sound familiar? The speech reversal says, "This is not a noose. No, its really not." Or, radio won't hurt you."

The Carpenters: "That's not the way and video sends the message"

Frank Zappa: Nanook Rubs It. The reversal says: There's no-one except the sheik that remembered we had the mumps

George Harrison - Here comes the sun - He needs this mystery gal

The following example comes from the rock opera, Jesus Christ Superstar. The reversal says, "He's the saviour, loves me, he's the one."

Melissa Etheridge - Its the end for me. Can't leave me

Several years ago, the rock group, Judas Priest, were sued because their records supposedly contained backward messages. Here is one of the reversals. The forward, played first, says "Beyond the Realms Of Death". The speech reversal is clearer than the forwards and it says: I took my life.

Another One Bites The Dust by Queen. This song is well known is Backmasking circles. It contains two naturally occurring speech reversals that say, "Decide to smoke marijuana," and "Give some acid." However, some people say the reversal says, "Its fun to smoke marijuana." What do you think?

Britney Spears - From her first song, "One more time" - Ah, see me. I'm not too young - some people hear this reversal as "Sleep with me, I'm not too young" (A recent analysis of this song by the 2004 Adelaide RS training class concluded that the phrase actually says "Slee me" with no "p" and as such should not be documented, only "I'm not too young")

Rolling Stones - I love you, said the devil

AC/DC - Night Prowler - Oo, Listen to me, I'm from hell (gibberish) I'm the Lord Lucifer. White Owl yesterday

Iron Maiden - "Still life" - The man of evil is there

Captain and Tenile - Oh, I need some man to f#ck back

Mary Poppins soundtrack - Drinking all night long

Popeye Theme Song - Give me a #. Give me a f#ck nowfile

The Eagles - Hotel California - A well known example - Yeah Satan (gibb) organised his own religion

Larry Norman - Wolf in white van

Found by RS Student Tim Cham "You're a rock star": "Now worship it because I'm a (gibb) pioneer"

Found by RS Student Tim Cham Music "Only a shooting star" Woman give party

Here is one from Styx that was allegedly said to say backwards, "Satan, move in our voice." This piece was used extensively by the fundamentalist Christians in their argument that back masking was the work of the devil

Alanis Morisset - High in LA

Jeff Buckley - "Witches Rave" - Oh hear me well, this I fear

Toni Braxton, Man Enough - Your man's a genius

From RS Student, Joan Allen - Abba: Bring me one. Give me one
Found by RS student, Jeff Taft on the song "Thinking of you" by Lenny Kravitz - Still missing mom. We'll be missing you -

Sent in by Brian Jones From "We will rock you" by Queen - Bring us here to put on ash

Cool Reversal! Found by RS hobbyist Matt Miller. From the song Chevy Van by Sammy Johns - "High school was more than I really....needed"

In my opinion, and as a comment to add to the stairway to heaven clip, the audio will sound different depending on the pronunciation and how the vocals are sung.

The reason why the stairway to heaven clip does not sound the same live is because of the way the vocals are used. You can try this yourself by recording yourself saying the lyrics forward and then reversing it.

It is my opinion that without knowing what the reverse lyrics are, you may not interpret them the same. I believe you tend to hear what you want to hear, in this case, what people say they think the backwards lyrics say.

For an archive of hidden content in music that is too large to post here, visit this link.

www.eeggs.com...

The main page is a collection of hidden content ranging in other categories such as television, movies etc.

www.eeggs.com...

I would like to express gratitude to the contributors of this research project and express gratitude towards JBurns for admitting me to the team. I would also like to apologize to the team for not contributing sooner and wish to correct my neglect of the scholar title I have yet to earn.

From the goals categorization in the initial post..

This will be done through familiarizing all members of the team with the background of subliminal messages[snip]

I know that there is still a lot of speculation on whether or not subliminals can even work, much less the relevance of their inclusion within our popular media…..as such, I have decided to bring a bit of background to the table…

Originally posted by JBurns
(Study) Subliminal Message Responses

A group of psychologists conducted a study on 17 university students, to examine their reactions to subliminal messages. The findings concluded that people with different types of anxiety disorders were affected more by subliminal messages, than people without an anxiety disorder.

With this information, I think it's quite possible that the creators of subliminal messages are targeting people with emotional/anxiety disorders, or perhaps even putting the messages in products used more frequently by those type of people.

I would like to begin by offering comment on the study presented by JBurns. The subliminal study actually demonstrates how and why subliminals are effective. They are persuasive because they appeal to a base instinct, such as fear or the sex drive. Remember the? To associate a certain product with a base drive is the key. And to understand this we need to take a closer look at how the brain works. I will return to this reference later on in my post, for I believe that the implication of it has yet to be addressed fully…..

The initiation of a subliminal is obviously made through one of five avenues,
‘seeing’ as the body interprets physical stimuli through one of the five senses. Sight and Sound are the most often used because of their primary usage in the hierarchy of the senses. An interesting online test can help give you an indication of the response time for each, in conscious time. This will also help set up our later discussion on subliminals and their effectiveness by showing you just how fast our conscious perception and subsequent reaction is……the difference isn’t much.
www.explorelearning.com...

Now to address why subliminals work on a physical level…. It has already been established that the likelihood of a subliminal being effective is based on the emotional reaction evoked, or the base instinct appealed towards. The two polar opposite reactions are Fear and Sex, or more specifically, Lust. These are two base instincts, instincts that drive the survival of any given organism…..including humans. Fear allows the body to know of danger so that action can commence, Lust is the emotional trigger that necessitates procreation. Without either of these , our species would be extinct. As such, they are the easiest and most common themes used for immediate reactions……..because the brain has evolved to respond immediately to these types of stimuli

The Amygdala’s Purpose

If you remember only one word about the amygdala, the word is FEAR. The amygdala is the nucleus responsible for the lurch you feel in your stomach when you turn around in a dark alley and notice someone following you. It couples a learned sensory stimulus (man in ski mask in alley = danger) to an adaptive response (fight or flight). On the basis of this information, you should be able to guess the primary inputs to and outputs from the amygdala.
Inputs: the amygdala must get sensory input, and it must be fairly highly processed input to recognize the elements of a scene that signal danger. The association areas of visual, auditory, and somatosensory cortices are the main inputs to the amygdala.[my emphasis]

thalamus.wustl.edu...

Definition of Somatosense

Noun 1. somatosense - any of the sensory systems that mediate sensations of pressure and tickle and warmth and cold and vibration and limb position and limb movement and pain

www.thefreedictionary.com...

The inclusion of somatosense in this particular post is obligatory only, since it isn’t necessarily feasible for a literary or broadcast media to stimulate on this level, however, if we were to broaden this topic to include every type of subliminal and it’s use towards human interaction, then we would be able to lay a foundation for aspects of NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming)
The amygdala is the middleman between perception and action. It is a part of the brain where perceived sensory stimuli go to be interpreted. Based on the interpretation is how the body lends itself towards action……I don’t want to get completely stuck in explaining the physiological mechanics of how our brain works with our body, but suffice to say that most people don’t get a euphoric reaction to a situation that is threatening……btw, thrill seekers do not receive a rush of euphoria until after the experience. So with that realization that the brain does indeed distinguish the type of situation (noting that information being conveyed is apart if not the whole situation), we can say that the brain is able to make this distinction immediately…a look at the speed of synaptic communication…

Keep in mind that the brain is capable of receiving and processing data instantaneously. The brain is doing this all the time, not just in situations where fear and sex are involved. The key to understanding why we as a species don’t readily identify this in our daily lives is arguably a result of how structured and routine our lives have become. If I say a time of day and a day of the week, chances are you could tell me with a high degree of accuracy what you’ll be doing the next time that combination rolls around……this level of organized routine allows you the ability to focus more on details. Think about it. How many times are you going to concentrate on the physical movement to work, around work, and back home again before the scenery and environment become old hat? You aren’t going to need to expel any higher cognitive function towards these factors because you have already stored them in your brain as memory. The details and ever changing subtleties are where your concentration is going to focus….especially social cues. And there are literally millions of details that are ever-changing……the devil is in the details.

The amygdala is also involved with mood and the conscious emotional response to an event, whether positive or negative.

Scientists traditionally think of the amygdala as the part of the brain that processes reactions to fear. But some researchers think it may help us to focus our attention on any emotional cues - be they fearful or provocative. Hence, a larger amygdala might boost the likelihood of a sexual trigger leading to arousal, Reutens suggests.

The amygdala is unlikely to account for sex drive on its own, Pfaus adds. It is intimately linked to other brain regions, including the hypothalamus, which sets off physical responses to arousal,[snip]

www.nature.com...

Outputs: the amygdala must be able to control the autonomic system, to provoke such an instant sympathetic response. The main outputs of the amygdala are to the hypothalamus and brainstem autonomic centers [snip]

thalamus.wustl.edu...

The amygdala has been shown to be responsible for the recognition of stimulus that provoke a fear response…as well as the recognition of other emotive situations that influence the mood of an individual. The above quote highlights what the amygdale does with the information…it’s information is shared with the parts of the brain that control autonomic response ( the activity of an individual that is performed without conscious influence) and the hypothalamus, which is a huge sub center for the regulation of neuro-chemicals that determine the mood of an individual, as well as having a hand in the sexual desire.

The point here is that the amygdala is inherently attenuated to the sensory perceptions and is designed to provoke an instantaneous response……sensory perceptions include peripheral stimuli….peripheral being on the bridge of conscious recognition. Which is really a short step from subliminal….

On the hypothalamus:

In the anatomy of mammals, the hypothalamus is a region of the brain located below the thalamus, forming the major portion of the ventral region of the diencephalon and functioning to regulate certain metabolic processes and other autonomic activities. The hypothalamus links the nervous system to the endocrine system by synthesizing and secreting neurohormones often called releasing hormones because they function by stimulating the secretion of hormones from the anterior pituitary gland — among them, gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). The neurons that secrete GnRH are linked to the limbic system, which is very involved in the control of emotions and sexual activity. The hypothalamus is also the area of the brain that controls body temperature, hunger and thirst, and circadian cycles.[my emphasis]

en.wikipedia.org...

Note the statement within the above quote that is typecast in bold and italics…..the hypothalamus helps to bridge, in terms of communication, the part of the body that feels and the part of the body that is concerned with the physical manifestation of these feelings….movement, which in turn can be connected with physical action for whatever reason, though the chemical reactions of the limbic system provide much of the motivation for these actions. These motivations and actions do vary with every individual, but it is pertinent to realize that every individual contains the same basic drives……an important concept when referencing the effectiveness of subliminals.

What I have done thus far is show on a physical level how the brain segments certain stimuli and how some of the processed data is reacted to by way of neuro-chemical response. All of this is done on an ‘unconscious’ level. How you feel about a situation or a particular concept is influenced by your past experience. That is the unconscious aspect. The conscious aspect is what you decide to do with it once you have identified the process in your behaviour. A large majority of our population is unaware of the how’s and whys of their physical body. As such, they confuse conscious and unconscious reactions…..but that is a different thread.

How does all of this relate to subliminal messaging? Our brain has evolved to instantly recognize and determine the composition of any given situation to identify the need for action. When someone is in imminent danger, they will react accordingly. The interesting world of subliminals isn’t to specifically get you to perform a task or directly order you to buy a certain product. The intent is to arouse in you a basic reaction that then gets associated with the specific content of the ad, or message, or fill in the blank media carrier. Every time you have been provoked into a specific hormonal release, your brain has attached that specific combination to the mechanical stimuli that were in proximity. This is the principle of association coming into play and it is a major reason why our brains work so efficiently…..

Now, the fact that subliminals are usually working to provoke a simple physiological reaction is what makes them so inconsistent. People throughout society have developed varying levels of tolerance and self-control, either intentionally or unwittingly. Certain environmental factors may also lend themselves to the undermining of a subliminal. For example, if someone has just recently gone through a major break-up with a significant other, then a subliminal based on the provocation of lust may have less of an impact. Likewise to fear, if an individual has encountered any type of physical discipline, or personal awareness. Subliminals work better when an individual is more attuned to the specific theme of the subliminal. To re-visit the study presented by JBurns, it was found that people prone to anxiety were more likely to respond to fear inducing images. What this suggests isn’t necessarily that the marketing powers that be are directly concentrating their material on anxious individuals, rather it suggests strongly the level of correlation needed between individual and message.

To address a concern that I encountered in another ATS thread,

Originally posted Byrd
If it worked, there wouldn't be a need for the thousands of (expensive) marketing research studies done each year. Advertisers wouldn't care. They'd just throw out the subliminals, knowing you would buy.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

This thought took a bit for me to work out…..but it actually makes perfect sense. If the market is saturated with advertisements, then the mind will gradually become used to them. There is usually no need precipitated in the average mind to affront the advertising stimulus on any logical point. Thus, it is only a one way interaction. Which means the same principles apply, just on a lesser scale because the consciousness will be more likely to recall it. Which is where the big budgets come in…..and the concept of semi-subliminal. Semi-subliminal is more or less directing the attention towards an aspect of the ad while having a less discernable point. In print ads, it can the inclusion of a popular figure (direct attenuation) and the intentional compare and contrast of Fonts and background color (less discernable).

Also….consider the fact that if the market is saturated with advertisements, the likelihood of directly and consciously assimilating all of them is not very plausible…because people are usually engrossed in various other activities as well…..thusly, a case could be made in my opinion that direct and obvious advertisements can actually become subliminal…..think background T.V. while doing the dishes, etc……

In conclusion of this post…..I lament the lack of time I have to be a more productive member. But I intend to add a bit more information by way of brain responses as well as some analysis of some subliminal situations. The human consciousness is a very fluid entity and as such the concept of subliminal manipulation should not be discounted immediately…indeed…it is highly probable that the, “wham bam thank you ma’am,” pace of our society allows for many obvious encounters to actually register under the conscious cloak…..


[edit on 13-9-2005 by MemoryShock]

[edit on 13-9-2005 by MemoryShock]

This is an addon post to the one about the Self-help Subliminal software.

First of all, I would like to appologize for my extended leave of absense (from both ATS and this project), I had some urgent family matters to deal with (that are delt with now), and look forward to giving this the dedication and time it demands.

I have stumbled accross several websites & emails claiming that this program has messed with the users' heads a little bit. Some examples would be:

www.angelfire.com...

Looks like a 2 year old wrote it, or someone with a screwed up head.

from: [email protected]
i have information on this program im me back. it is known in the uk as an illegal application

I have checked, and there is no such code, however, I am puzzled as to why someone would write me an email containing this, when they know it can easily be proven/disproven.

from: [email protected]
I used this title before, and it has caused a psychotic disorder known as "dimensia". I believe this is from prolonged use of this.

This message is a little more convincing, however, when I try to contact either person, I get no reply.

I'm trying to figure out a safe way to test this. Would anyone here happen to be able to find anything out on these email addresses/website? If so, it would be greatly helpful/appreciated.

Sure this could be someone faking it, and there are several reasons why one would do such a thing, but in any case, it's worth looking into at the very least.

EDIT: I've looked into this farther, and I can't even verify that these email's are from actual senders. The program is said to be safe from the makers, but I am going to address these concerns in an email to them.

I'm pretty sure that we can determine this program to be a dud.

[edit on 10/26/2005 by JBurns]

NOTE: I am posting this on behalf of: TheShroudOfMemphis, who was not able to post it themself.

The most famous example is by Richard D. James, AKA The Aphex Twin.
He's dubbed "the most inventive and influential figure in contemporary electronic music".

If your familiar with this artist then you'll know that his creepy smiling face is a constant representation in all his work, most famously would be the 'Come To Daddy' filmclip.



So on his ep for Windowlicker the face theme continues. (check out the film clip if you ever get the chance, here's a good article about it: Face the music)

The Ep features a song, titled "Equation" or "Formula" but more acurately and as it's written on the EP:


Within this song is the Aphex Twin face:
(The vertical axis is log frequency, and the horizontal axis is time.)
CLICK HERE to listen to the 9 second sample in which the face is hidden


The program used is a Mac program called MetaSynth and the face was found by a guy playing around with Winamp. At first it was believed to be a devils face but after some tweaking, another person discovered the classic Aphex Twin face, of course, Richard D. James is a very recluse person (he lives in a bank in central London, made a studio out of one of the vaults for security when he goes out!) and he didn't tell anyone about the face.

Aparently there are other images within the 3 songs on the Ep also but I can't find more than a passing reference to those.

Edward Spiegel, the product director of U&I Software, the San Francisco Bay Area company that publishes MetaSynth, said most of Aphex Twin's Windowlicker was created in MetaSynth.

"It's definitely MetaSynth," he said. "I know (James) uses the software. He's mentioned it in a number of interviews, and he wrote Eric a fan letter a number of years ago."

It seems James is one of the first mainstream musicians to embed images in his music. Spiegel was unaware of any other examples in popular music.

www.wired.com... ory_page_next1

For info on how to re-create this image from the song or to make your own, check this site out: Retrieving the Face.

Anyway, I'm not sure if images turned to sound could be used for subliminal reasons but who knows really? The brain is an amazing thing.

It could definetly be used to hide coded messages in which unless you knew it was there, you wouldn't have reason to go looking.

[edit on 10/29/2005 by JBurns]

Subliminal perception occurs whenever stimuli presented below the level of awareness are found to influence thoughts, feelings, or actions. The term subliminal perception was originally used to describe situations in which weak stimuli were perceived without awareness. In recent years, the term has been applied more generally to describe any situation in which unnoticed stimuli are perceived.

The concept of subliminal perception is of considerable interest because it suggests that peoples' thoughts, feelings and actions are influenced by stimuli that are perceived without any awareness of perceiving. This interest was reflected in some of the earliest psychological studies conducted during the late 1800s and early 1900s. In these early studies, people were simply asked whether or not they were aware of perceiving. For example, visual stimuli such as letters, digits, or geometric figures were presented at such a distance from observers that they claimed either not to see anything at all or to see nothing more than blurred dots. Likewise, auditory stimuli such as the names of letters were whispered so faintly that observers claimed that they were unable to hear any sound whatsoever. To test whether these visual or auditory stimuli may have been perceived despite the statements to the contrary, the observers were asked to make guesses regarding the stimuli. For example, if half the stimuli were letters and half the stimuli were digits, the observers may have been asked to guess whether a letter or a digit had been presented. The consistent result found in these early studies was that the observers' guesses regarding the stimuli were more correct than would be expected on the basis of chance guessing. In other words, despite the observers' statements indicating that they were unaware of perceiving the stimuli, their guesses indicated that they did in fact perceive sufficient information to make accurate guesses regarding the stimuli. Over the years, there have been literally hundreds of studies following a similar format. Taken together, these studies show that considerable information capable of informing decisions and guiding actions is perceived even when observers do not experience any awareness of perceiving.

Another way in which subliminal perception has been demonstrated in controlled laboratory studies is by showing that stimuli can be perceived even when they are presented under conditions that make it difficult if not impossible to distinguish one stimulus from another stimulus. The classic studies were conducted in the 1970s by the British psychologist Anthony Marcel. These experiments were based on previous findings indicating that a decision regarding a stimulus is facilitated or primed when the stimulus follows a related stimulus. For example, if an observer is asked to classify a letter string as either a word (e.g., doctor, bread) or a nonword (e.g., tocdor, dreab), a letter string such as the word doctor will be classified as a word faster when it follows a semantically related word (e.g., nurse) than when it follows a semantically non-related word (e.g., butter). Marcel found that words facilitated or primed subsequent word/nonword decisions to letter strings even when the words were presented under conditions that made it difficult if not impossible for the observers to distinguish when the words were present from when the words were absent. Since the time of Marcel's original experiments, there have been many other studies that have used similar methods. Not only have these studies confirmed Marcel's original findings, but they have shown that other stimuli such as pictures, faces, and spoken words can also facilitate subsequent decisions when they are presented under conditions that make it difficult to discriminate one stimulus from another stimulus. Although questions have been raised regarding whether the observers in these studies were completely unable to discriminate one stimulus from another stimulus, the one firm conclusion that can be made on the basis of these studies is that considerable information is perceived even when observers experience little or no awareness of perceiving as indicated by their difficulty in discriminating one stimulus from another stimulus.

Examples of subliminal perception are found in studies of patients with neurological damage. A striking characteristic of a number of neurological syndromes is that patients claim not to see particular stimuli but nevertheless respond on the basis of information conveyed by these stimuli. One example is a syndrome called blindsight. Patients with blindsight have damage to the primary visual cortex. As a result of this damage, they are often unaware of perceiving stimuli within a restricted area of their visual field. For example, if the visual field is thought of as consisting of four quadrants, a blindsight patient may have normal vision for stimuli presented in three of the quadrants but be completely unaware of stimuli presented in the fourth quadrant. However, even though these patients may claim not to see stimuli located within the "blind" quadrant, they are still able to guess the size, shape or orientation of the stimuli that they claim not to see. Another neurological syndrome in which subliminal perception occurs is prosopagnosia or face agnosia. Patients with prosopagnosia are unable to recognize familiar faces. Although they may be aware that they are looking at a person's face, they are unable to say who the person may be. Thus, prosapagnosics have no awareness of perceiving any information regarding whose face they may be viewing. However, despite this absence of awareness, some patients with prosapagnosia are able to choose which of two names goes with each familiar face that they claim not to be able to recognize.

Perception without an awareness of perceiving can also occur in surgical patients undergoing general anesthesia. One goal of general anesthesia is to ensure that surgical patients are completely unaware of all events that occur during anesthesia. This goal is satisfied in the vast majority of cases because when patients are asked following surgery to report anything they remember that happened during surgery, just about every patient claims not to remember anything. However, when memory is assessed by more indirect methods, there appears to be some memory for events during anesthesia. For example, during surgery, patients may wear earphones and a tape recording of a number of repetitions of a series of words may be played to the patients. If following surgery, these patients are presented word stems such as gui _ _ or pro _ _ and asked to complete these stems to produce a common English word, there are numerous possible completions (e.g., guilt, guild, guile; prove, prowl, probe). However, if the words guide and proud had been presented during anesthesia, then the patients may be more likely to complete the stems gui _ _ and pro _ _ with letters that reproduce guide and proud than with letters that produce other possible words. Given that patients undergoing general anesthesia are unaware of events in the external environment, memory for specific stimuli presented during anesthesia shows that information is at times perceived without any awareness of perceiving during general anesthesia.

Over the years, some extraordinary claims have been made concerning the power of subliminal perception. Perhaps the most widely known claim was made in 1957 by James Vicary, a market researcher. He claimed that over a six-week period, 45,699 patrons at a movie theater in Fort Lee, New Jersey were shown two advertising messages, Eat Popcorn and Drink Coca-Cola, while they watched the film Picnic. According to Vicary, a message was flashed for 3/1000 of a second once every five seconds. The duration of the messages was so short that they were never consciously perceived. Despite the fact that the customers were not aware of perceiving the messages, Vicary claimed that over the six-week period the sales of popcorn rose 57.7% and the sales of Coca-Cola rose 18.1%. Vicary's claims are often accepted as established facts. However, Vicary never released a detailed description of his study and there has never been any independent evidence to support his claims. Also, in an interview with Advertising Age in 1962, Vicary stated that the original study was a fabrication. The weight of the evidence suggests that it was indeed a fabrication.

Other claims regarding the extraordinary efficacy of subliminal perception also lack substance. In the 1970s, Wilson Bryan Key wrote such books as Subliminal Seduction and Media Sexploitation in which he claimed subliminal sexual symbols or objects are often used to entice consumers to buy and use various products and services. One of Key's most famous claims is that the word sex was often embedded in products and advertisements. For example, he claimed that the word sex was printed on Ritz crackers and was embedded in the ice cubes of the drink shown in a well-known ad for Gilbey's Gin. According to Key, despite the fact the embedded words are not consciously perceived, they are unconsciously perceived and can elicit sexual arousal which in turn makes the products more attractive to consumers. Although Key's claims are widely known, there is no independent evidence indicating that embedded subliminal words, symbols, or objects are used to sell products. Furthermore, even if such embedded subliminal stimuli were used, there is no evidence to suggest this would be an effective method for influencing the choices that consumers make.

Belief in the power of subliminal perception to induce changes in the way people feel and act is so widespread that a number of companies have been able to exploit this belief by marketing subliminal self-help audio and video tapes. The companies that market these tapes claim that regular use of the tapes can cure a variety of problems and aid in the development of many skills. Each company markets a number of different tapes. Presumably, what distinguishes the different tapes marketed by each company are the embedded subliminal messages that can be neither consciously seen or heard. Some of the more popular tapes are claimed to help individuals stop smoking, lose weight, or reduce stress; other tapes are claimed to help people increase their reading speed, improve their memory, or develop their skills at tennis (or golf or baseball, etc.). Given the extraordinary nature of these claims, there have been a number of controlled studies designed specifically to test of the efficacy of the tapes. All of these studies have failed to find any evidence consistent with the claims of the companies that market these tapes. There is simply no evidence that regular listening to subliminal audio self-help tapes or regular viewing of subliminal video self-help tapes is an effective method for overcoming problems or improving skills. In fact, there is even evidence to suggest that many subliminal self-help tapes do not even contain subliminal messages that could possibly be perceived under any circumstances by a human observer.

A common theme that links all extraordinary claims regarding subliminal perception is that perception in the absence of an awareness of perceiving is somehow more powerful or influential than perception that is accompanied by an awareness of perceiving. This idea is not supported by the results of controlled laboratory investigations of subliminal perception. Rather, the findings from controlled studies indicate that subliminal perception, when it occurs, reflects a person's usual interpretations of stimuli. Furthermore, there is no evidence to suggest that people initiate actions on the basis of subliminal perception. The weight of the evidence indicates that people must be aware of perceiving stimuli before they initiate actions or change their habitual reactions to these stimuli. Thus, although subliminal perception may allow us to make accurate guesses regarding the characteristics of stimuli, subliminal perception cannot lead a person to drink Coca-Cola or to eat Ritz Crackers, and it cannot be used effectively to improve a person's tennis skills or to cure a person's bad habits.

References:
www.parascope.com...

Article submited: via e-mail from [email protected]
Thank you, Li Cui, for the information and the nice comments.

Originally posted by JBurns
Before I begin, I would like to thank MemoryShock for providing me with the link to the ATSNN.com article SCI/TECH: Subliminal Responses Recognized in Study.

A group of psychologists conducted a study on 17 university students, to examine their reactions to subliminal messages. The findings concluded that people with different types of anxiety disorders were affected more by subliminal messages, than people without an anxiety disorder.

With this information, I think it's quite possible that the creators of subliminal messages are targeting people with emotional/anxiety disorders, or perhaps even putting the messages in products used more frequently by those type of people.

I definatley have a new lead to check out, thanks again MemoryShock!

Related ATS Threads:

Neuro-Marketing: Straight to the Brain

Almost all your decisions are made by your unconscious mind

Source: ATSNN.com, MindPowerNews.com.

[edit on 3-7-2005 by JBurns]

Sorry for the short post, but Jburns you may be interested in my thread on mind control and subliminal messages.

OP/ED: The mystery of mind control

Please take the time to review the thread I posted and if I can be of any help to you on this project, please let me know.

Liquid Out...

First, I'd like to begin by thanking JBurns and the ATS staff for allowing me this opportunity to share my research in this field. With my work I hope to show you the effects of subliminal messaging that can be found in common household advertisements and on TV; And in turn, how that effects us as a society and individuals. I hope you find my research informational and helpful in your ultimate quest for the truth!

Corporate Branding: The Tyranny of Normality

Most will say it all began with the well known and friendly mascots such as Aunt Jemima, Betty Crocker and Mr. Peanut. Keeping in mind that there are a plethora more waiting to be named and analyzed, there are certain things these three have in common. They all portray the idealistic view of people according to their time period. They projected the image that if you owned this specific product, you yourself could be what popular society had chosen as the standard of the time. Take Betty Crocker for example, making her debut in 1936. She was the perfect house wife, and coincidentally this symbol of servitude is what many people needed during the hard times of the Depression, as if telling them that if they worked as hard as Betty things would be alright.

Unfortunately these corporate mascots have been making the decisions of what we wear, what we buy, and in extreme cases who we talk to; but how do they do it? Manipulation. For decades, we have been bombarded with advertisements, no matter where you are. It is said that the average adult encounters three thousand advertisements a day (Wolkomir 2). We see them everyday, but don't take note of it because it has no direct impact on our day to day life. However when you're out shopping, you suddenly seem to remember that attractive young woman on the side of the bus and what she was wearing. Everyday, when you see these ads, you may not come to realize it, but the seed is planted. They manipulate the images, the words, so that you think nothing of it on a quick glance, but come shopping time, you remember them.

How do they do this? Again, by manipulation of the human body and mind. Corporations have gone out of their way to do research on what will catch the eye of a consumer, and how to best implant their ad into the mind of that consumer. Have you ever questioned why certain celebrities endorse different products in many categories? Solely because it has been found that if you see one person across a spectrum of products, you're more likely to remember that product (Kumar 3). There have been even stranger attempts to help consumers remember a product. In the 1950s, when subliminal messaging was being tested on the masses, it was discovered that the average reader of a magazine reads fast enough to usually not notice most of the ads. It was common place for many advertisers to add extra limbs, or many other oddities, which you don't notice consciously but you do know something is wrong with the picture subconsciously thus making you remember the ad – and the brand name.

What does all of this manipulation and advertisement finally amount to? Social branding. We buy things we believe will help us become part of the norm. America shuns those that it does not understand, especially those who don't look like them. When you buy those pair of Abercrombie jeans, you are branding yourself as a socially capable and wealthy person, even if you did buy it with a credit card. We are willing to sell ourselves to the credit companies solely so we can believe we are a part of the American society, that we are a part of the mesh, of the norm. Unfortunately most of the upcoming generations of America will tell you that freedom means to have all the money they need to buy whatever they want (Wolkomir 2), but this is not freedom, this is a disgrace. We are letting this social branding begin to change our concept of what the United States truly is, and are letting it become a nation whose standards are defined by corporate greed.

One of the best ways this can be achieved is using simple images to implant thoughts in your sub-concious. Often, advertisement companies will implant images in their ads that will invoke the most primal of emotions in the human mind - but the trick is - they are so insignificant in the scale of the whole image, that you at first dont pick it up. But your subconcious does! and when you're at the store wondering what brand to buy, and you suddenly feel compelled to choose one brand over the other, the subliminal messaging will have done it's work. The following will be illustrations of what I speak of.

When asked at random which bottle of bacardi they would pick, it was found that they more often than not picked the bottle on the far right.

The reason? Implanted at the bottom of the cocktail glass in front of the bottle are the very small and un-noticble letters 'U BUY" scribed into it. As ridiculous and unnoticeable as this may seem, your subconcious does indeed pick up on it. Here is the "U BUY" highlighted:

An example of an ad evoking the primal emotions in our subconcious is an ad for Windsor, an alchoholic drink. The primal emotions most often used by the advertisement companies are Death and Sex. In this example, there is a clearly hidden skull in the ice located in the cup next to the drink itself:

Why a skull? because it is often associated with Death, and death, albeit morbid, is one of the easiest ways of holding and implanting an image in someones subconcious. It is the fear of death and the unknown which makes it such an effective tool for the advertisement companies:

Again, I'm very grateful to Jburns and the whole subliminal research team for giving me this opportunity. I really hope you find my research useful!

Sources:
Rocca, Francis X. “America's Multicultural Imperialism.” American Spectator 33, 7 (2000) 34-38. Academic Search Premier. EBSCOhost. Buffalo State College Library.

Wolkomir, Richard and Wolkomir, Joyce. “You are what YOU BUY” Smithsonian 31 (2000) 102-109. Academic Search Premier. EBSCOhost. Buffalo State College Library.

Kumar, Anand. “Interference Effects of Contextual Cues in Advertisements on Memory for Ad Content.” Journal of Consumer Psychology 9 (2000) 155-166. Academic Search Premier. EBSCOhost. Buffalo State College Library.

Images: Public Access Domain - Academic Search Premier/EBSCO Host.



[edit on 27/12/05 by Conquistadork]

ScienceDaily (Aug. 28, 2008) — Although the idea that instrumental learning can occur subconsciously has been around for nearly a century, it had not been unequivocally demonstrated. Now, a new study published by Cell Press in the August 28 issue of the journal Neuron used sophisticated perceptual masking, computational modeling, and neuroimaging to show that instrumental learning can occur in the human brain without conscious processing of contextual cues. My Emphasis

Subliminal Learning Demonstrated In Human Brain

Proof of Subliminals?

This article suggests strongly that indeed Subliminal Learning is possible.

Now, let's make a distinction between learning and reaction.

Learning is a long term assimilation of subconscious cues to the generation of behaviour (in response to past consequence) to support a conscious goal.

Subliminal reaction, which this research project is more concerned with, is a bit different but could still work if the "advertised" subliminals have followed a consistent pattern of presentation (brand name and jingles work here).

ScienceDaily (Mar. 9, 2007) — University College London researchers have found the first physiological evidence that invisible subliminal images do attract the brain's attention on a subconscious level. The wider implication for the study, published in Current Biology, is that techniques such as subliminal advertising, now banned in the UK but still legal in the USA, certainly do leave their mark on the brain.

Subliminal Advertising Leaves Its Mark On The Brain

And the above indicates that we can almost wrap this one up with a bow and place it underneath the tree. I can't believe that I missed this article (03-09-07).

Physiological proof. I suppose the Coke subliminal Ad in the theater may not be such a myth after all. I submit that the only reason that it isn't noted by many people is due to the inadequate education of the populace and the flooding of mainstream media with many different types of advertisments...overt, semi-subliminal and in some cases subliminal.

Subliminals work, ATS, they can work.

-Bump-