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Thus, it is believed that one can influence behavior by surreptitiously appealing to the subconscious mind with words and images. If this were true, then advertisers could manipulate consumer behavior by hiding subliminal messages in their ads.
The government, or Aunt Hilda for that matter, could control our minds and bodies by secretly communicating to us subliminally. Learners could learn while listening to music embedded with subliminal messages. Unfortunately, "...years of research has resulted in the demonstration of some very limited effects of subliminal stimulation" and no support for its efficaciousness in behavior modification (Hines, 312).
Despite the fact that there is no body of empirical support for the notion that subliminal advertising is effective, in 1974 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued an order saying that broadcast outlets that knowingly carry subliminal ads are operating "contrary to the public interest."
In September 2000, Senators Ron Wyden of Oregon and John Breaux of Louisiana complained to the FCC about a Republican ad that flashed the word ''RATS'' (or "BUREAUCRATS") across the screen for 1/30 of a second. ''We have reason to believe that broadcasters are airing television advertisements that contain subliminal messages in violation of the public interest,'' they said, apparently oblivious to the fact that something which can't be registered by the brain is unlikely to have any effect on viewers and is unlikely to violate anything except the reasonable bounds of credulity.
skepdic.com...
Originally posted by frankky
That's why I think is important to exercise our own minds and control it so that we don't fall into this trap because when we control our own minds it's very difficult for outside forces to influence us.