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Subliminal marketing
- Infiltrating the mobile device through multiple exposures -
Exposé
Submitted by
Andrea Scarpa
October 21st, 2013
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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.
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2. TABLE OF CONTENT 1. ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................................................ II 2. TABLE OF CONTENT .......................................................................................................................................... III 3. LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................................................ IV 4. LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................................................... V 5. LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................................................... VI 6. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................................... 1 7. PURPOSE STATEMENT ....................................................................................................................................... 2 8. HYPOTHESES .......................................................................................................................................................... 5 9. 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
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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
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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.
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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)
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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/
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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.
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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.
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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).
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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
(Jakštiene, Susniene, 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
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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.
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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.
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10. REVIEW OF LITERATURE
10.1 Subliminal Priming Studies
Author, Date Description Title, Publication
Strahan,
Spencer, and
Zanna, 2002
Their findings represent a turning point in the
subliminal priming field. They proved that if
the prime is relevant to one’s current goal (e.g.
being thirsty) and the subject is motivated to
pursue such goal (e.g. drinking) it could
actually affect behavior.
Subliminal priming and
persuasion: Striking while
the iron is hot. Journal of
Experimental Social
Psychology, 38
Karremans,
Stroebe,
Claus, 2006
Their study demonstrated that subliminal
priming of a brand name positively affects
subjects’ feeling towards the primed brand, but
only when Strahan, Spencer, and Zanna’s
conditions are met
Beyond Vicary’s fantasies:
The impact of sublimina
l priming and brand choice.
Journal of Experimental
Social Psychology, 42(6)
Légal,
Chappé,
Coiffard, &
Villard-Forest,
2011
Their study examines the effect of goal priming
in terms of elaboration of a persuasive
message, revealing that subconscious activation
of the goal “to trust” directs primed subjects
towards a better judgment of the message,
making them agree with the displayed message.
Don't you know that you
want to trust me?
Subliminal goal priming
and persuasion. Journal of
Experimental Social
Psychology, 48
Bermeitinger,
Goelz, Johr,
Neumann,
Ecker, &
Doerr, 2009
Their study proves that under Strahan, Spencer,
and Zanna’s conditions, subconscious priming
might be effective. They embedded a brand
logo of dextrose pills into a computer game,
revealing that tired participants consumed more
of the subliminally primed brand.
The hidden persuaders
break into the tired brain.
Journal of Experimental
Social Psychology, 45(2)
Verwijmeren,
Karremans,
Bernritter,
Stroebe, &
Wigboldus,
They demonstrated that it is possible to be
protected from subliminal priming by being
aware of it. Hence, one needs to be warned
either before or after the subliminal priming
takes place.
Warning: You are Being
Primed! The Effect of a
Warning on the Impact of
Subliminal Ads, Journal of
Experimental Social
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2013 Psychology
Veltkamp,
Custers, &
Aarts, 2010
Their study investigates whether subliminal
priming can be effective even in the absence of
deprivation, meaning the individual presents no
current need, revealing an interaction effect.
Finally, they proved that subliminal priming
may motivate subjects as if they were deprived.
Motivating consumer
behavior by subliminal
conditioning in the absence
of basic needs: Striking
even while the iron is cold.
Journal of Consumer
Psychology, 21
Verwijmeren,
Karremans,
Stroebe, &
Wigboldus,
2011
Their study investigates the role of habit related
to subliminal priming, revealing that in absence
of habitual brand, the primed one was more
consumed. When the primed brand competed
with the habitual one priming increased
preference for the one advertised.
The workings and limits of
subliminal advertising: The
role of habits. Journal of
Consumer Psychology,
21(2)
Veltkamp,
Aarts, &
Custers, 2007
CITATION: Their research examines the effect
of subliminal priming in absence of
deprivation, proving that “specific motivational
goal states and corresponding behaviors do not
arise directly from deprivation per se, but that
accessible goal-related cognitions play a role in
this process”.
On the emergence of
deprivation-reducing
behaviors: Subliminal
priming of behaviour
representations turns
deprivation into motivation.
Journal of Experimental
Social Psychology, 44(3)
Mayer &
Merckelbach,
1999;
Bengesser &
Walli, 1994;
Shevrin, 1986;
Johnson &
Eriksen, 1961
These four articles will be used in the
introductory section, when the concept of
subliminal will be presented. They provide an
excellent overview of its history and the
meaning of the term itself.
For these Journals please
see Bibliography
Custers &
Aarts, 2010
Norretranders,
1998
These two articles will be cited when saying
that in daily life individuals elaborate most of
the information they receive outside of their
conscious awareness.
The unconscious will: How
the pursuit of goals operates
outside of conscious
12
awareness. Science, 329 +
The user illusion: Cutting
consciousness down to size.
New York: Penguin Books.
Brasel and
Gips, 2011
In their study they proved that priming the logo
“Red Bull”, a brand associated with speed and
risk taking, motivated participants to go as fast
as possible and take greater risks in a racing
game compared to those who were not
associated with the brand.
Red Bull "Gives You
Wings" for better and
worse: a double-edged
impact of brand exposure
on consumer performance.
Journal of Consumer
Psychology, 21
Loersch &
Payne, 2011
In their study they argue that the primed
construct eventually turns out to be more easily
accessible from memory.
The Situated Inference
Model: An Integrative
Account of the Effects of
Primes on Perception,
Behavior, and Motivation.
Perspectives on
Psychological Science, 6(3)
Loersch &
Payne, 2012
Their study proved that when participants were
informed about the fact that their behavior had
been subliminally manipulated, priming effects
were no longer observed, consequently
rendering subliminal priming ineffective.
On Mental Contamination:
The Role of
(Mis)Attribution in
Behavior Priming. Social
Cognition, 30(2)
Hart &
Albarracin,
2009
In their study they found that priming people
with achievement goals results in better
performance and greater persistence of
behavior even when primes are subliminal. In
addition, they proved the interaction between
personal dispositions and subliminal
environmental stimuli, resulting in affecting
subjects’ behaviors.
The effects of chronic
achievement motivation and
achievement primes on the
activation of achievement
and fun goals. Journal of
Personality and Social
Psychology, 97
Custers &
Aarts, 2010
The reason standing behind the fact that primed
goals affect motivation outside of awareness is
The unconscious will: How
the pursuit of goals operates
13
that goals are pictured in the mind of
individuals as desirable. It derives that the
process of priming these goals results in a
positive affective tag that operates as a reward
signal.
outside of conscious
awareness. Science, 329
DeMarree,
Loersch,
Briñol, Petty,
Payne, &
Rucker, 2012
In their study they argue that by introducing a
feeling of doubt in the priming stage, the result
will be a decline in the relationship that exists
between priming and the observed behavior.
From Primed Construct to
Motivated Behavior:
Validation Processes in
Goal Pursuit. Personality
and Social Psychology
Bulletin
Bos,
Dijksterhuis,
& van Baaren,
2011
In their study they argue that as a consequence
of the fact that the majority of information are
processed subconsciously, there might be no
need to present them subliminally for resulting
in them having non-conscious effects.
The benefits of “sleeping on
things”: Unconscious
thought leads to automatic
weighting. Journal of
Consumer Psychology,
21(1)
Loftus &
Klinger, 1992
This study will be cited to prove that Vicary’s
experiment is a hoax.
Is the unconscious smart or
dumb? American
Psychologist, 47
Erdelyi, 1985
(p. 59)
CITATION: In his study he says that
unconscious operations are an “obvious and
fundamental feature of human information
processing”
Psychoanalysis: Freud's
cognitive psychology.
NewYork: Freeman
Lewicki, Hill,
& Czyzewska,
1997
CITATION: In their study they argue that there
is “no doubt that unconscious processes are a
crucial element of normal, ordinary
functioning. Problem solving, writing,
listening, learning, and so on often do not
require consciousness”
Hidden covariation
detection: A fundamental
and ubiquitous
phenomenon. Journal of
Experimental Psychology:
Learning, Memory, and
Cognition, 23
Weir, 1984 This study will be cited when introducing
Vicary’s experiment.
Another look at subliminal
"facts". Advertising Age 55
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10.1.1 Subliminal Priming Studies -‐ Positive Results (before 2002)
Author, Date Description Title, Publication
Silverman,
Martin, Ungaro,
& Mendelsohn,
1978
In their experiment on obese women they
assumed that overeating was caused by the
need to be nourished by mother. After
subliminally priming, the treatment group,
exposed to the message “mommy and I are
one”, lost more weight than the control
group, exposed to “people are walking”.
Effect of subliminal
stimulation of symbiotic
fantasies on behavior
modification treatment of
obesity. Journal of
Consulting and Clinical
Psychology, 46
Silverman, Ross,
Adler, & Lustig,
1978
In their experiment, college males were
subliminally primed with “Beating dad is
ok” or “Beating dad is wrong”. After the
subliminal priming took place, they played
darts. Those who received the “ok” stimulus
obtained higher dart scores than those who
received the “wrong” one.
Simple research paradigm
for demonstrating
subliminal psychodynamic
activation: Effects of
oedipal stimuli on dart-
throwing accuracy in
college males. Journal of
Abnormal Psychology, 87
Murphy and
Zajonc, 1993
In their study they argue that, under
particular conditions, emotions are
precognitive. In their experiment subjects
were shown subliminal images (either a
smile or a scowling face) and then asked to
rate Chinese characters.
Affect, cognition, and
awareness: Affecting
priming with optimal and
suboptimal exposures
Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology, 64
Murphy,
Monahan, &
Zajonc, 1995
In their study they came to the conclusion
that, under certain circumstances, emotions
are precognitive.
Additivity of nonconscious
affect: Combined effects of
priming and exposure.
Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology, 69
Robles, Smith,
Carver, and
Wellens, 1987
In their study they inserted subliminal
pictures in a video (negative, neutral,
positive) and then performed an anxiety test.
Those presented with positive subliminal
Influence of subliminal
visual images on
theexperience of anxiety.
Personality and Social
15
pictures were less anxious than those with
negative ones.
Psychology Bulletin, 13
Tyrer, Lewis,
and Lee, 1978
In their study they came to conclusions
similar to the ones reached by Robles,
Smith, Carver, and Wellens, 1987.
Effects of subliminal and
supraliminal stress on
symptoms of anxiety. The
Journal of Nervous and
Mental Disease, 166
Kemp-Wheeler
and Hill, 1987
and 1992
In their study they came to conclusions
similar to the ones reached by Robles,
Smith, Carver, and Wellens, 1987.
Anxiety responses to
subliminal experience of
mild stress. British Journal
of Psychology, 78 +
Semantic and emotional
priming below objective
detection threshold.
Cognition and Emotion, 6
Cooper and
Cooper, 2002
This study will be cited to prove the fact that
subconscious elaboration is found to be able
to affect motivations, judgments, and
behaviors.
Subliminal motivation: A
story revisited. Journal of
Applied Social Psychology,
32(11)
10.1.2 Subliminal Priming Studies -‐ Negative Results (before 2002)
Author, Date Description Title, Publication
Greenwald,
Spangenberg,
Pratkanis, and
Eskenazi, 1991
In their experiment with self-help tapes they
found a mere placebo effect, arguing that
subliminal priming is not effective.
Doubleblind tests of
subliminal self-help
audiotapes. Psychological
Science, 2
Russell, Rowe,
and Smouse,
1991
In their experiment with self-help tapes they
found that no better grades were obtained,
arguing that subliminal priming is not
effective.
Subliminal self-help tapes
and academic achievement:
An evaluation. Journal of
Counselling and
Development
Key, 1973 In his study he found no evidence Subliminal seduction.
16
concerning the efficacy of subliminal
advertising.
Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Signet
K. H. Smith and
Rogers, 1994
In their study they found no evidence
supporting the efficacy of subliminal
advertising.
Effectiveness of subliminal
messages in television
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
and subconscious thought when it comes to
make decisions, revealing that in all of the
five experiments, subconscious decision
making led to better decisions than conscious
one.
Think Different: The
Merits of Unconscious
Thought in Preference
Development and Decision
Making. Journal of
Personality and Social
Psychology, 87 (5)
Cronley, Kardes,
& Hawkins, 2006
As repetition of marketing claims increases,
so does the perceived validity of the
message. They finally suggest that conscious
and subconscious mind operate differently.
Influences on the Illusory
Truth Effect in Consumer
Judgment. Advances in
Consumer Research, Vol.
33
10.3 Multiple Exposures to Advertising
17
Author, Date Description Title, Publication
Dahlen, 2001 Until four exposures to an advertisement of an
unknown brand there is no statistical difference
in terms of its efficacy. From five exposures it
starts to be effective. Moreover, advertisements
for familiar brands usually wear out quickly,
while those for unfamiliar ones need multiple
exposures to wear in.
Banner Advertisements
through a New Lens.
Journal of Advertising
Research (July-August,
2001)
Tellis, 1988 CITATION: “Loyalty is a significant
moderator of the effects of ad exposure, with
buyers responding more strongly to brands to
which they are more loyal. […] Because of
consumer inertia and selective information
processing, untried brands probably require
very high levels of exposure before they begin
to get their message across and induce trial”.
Advertising exposure,
loyalty and brand purchase:
A two-stage model of
choice. Journal of
Marketing Research, Vol.
25, No. 2 (May, 1988)
Tellis, 1997 Effective Frequency is the number of an
advertisement exposures needed for it to
receive a response. It depends on three factors:
brand familiarity, message complexity, and
message novelty.
Effective frequency: One
exposure or three factors?.
Journal of Advertising
Research (July, 1997)
10.4 Additional Readings
Author, Date Description Title, Publication
Jakštiene,
Susniene,
Narbutas, 2008
This study will be used to argue that
advertising must evoke positive feelings in
order to influence the emotional sphere of
consumers.
The Psychological Impact
of Advertising on the
Customer Behavior.
Communications of the
IBIMA
Pukelsheim,
2006
This book will be used to argue about the
selected number of participants to the
experiment.
Optimal Design of
Experiments. New York:
SIAM
18
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.
19
11. OVERVIEW OF CHAPTERS 1. Introduction
1.1. Background on the topic
1.2. Purpose of the study
1.3. Methodology of the Thesis
2. Theoretical framework
2.1. The concept of subliminal priming
2.2. Literature before 2002
2.3. Literature after 2002
3. Experiment
3.1. Methodology of the Experiment
3.2. Outcomes of the experiment
4. Discussion (implications and limitations)
5. Conclusions
6. References
20
1. PLAN OF WORK
Dates Phase Description
01.10 – 31.10 Introductory Phase
Theory Phase
Collect the topic-related literature and begin
writing the theoretical framework
01.11 – 31.11 Theory Phase
First Set of Experiments
Conclude the theoretical framework and start the
experiment (30 people per set of experiment)
01.12 – 31.12 Second Set of Experiments
Third Set of Experiments
Conduct two sets of experiment (60 people)
01.01 – 31.01 Fourth Set of Experiments
Intermediate Presentation
Conduct the last set of experiment (30 people)
and prepare for the Intermediate Presentation
01.02 – 28.02 Analysis Phase
Writing Phase
Execute the statistical evaluations from the
results of the experiment and keep writing
01.03 – 31.03 Analysis Phase
Writing Phase
Execute the statistical evaluations and
subsequently draw implications and conclusions
01.04 – 31.04 Writing Phase
Finalization Phase
Finish writing the thesis and start the reviewing
process considering it as a whole
01.05 – 31.05 Finalization Phase Review the whole work, make the necessary
adaptations and corrections, and prepare the
final report and presentation
21
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