Can subliminal messages influence our decisions?

Posted on | January 15, 2008 | No Comments

We need more research on this area, but it is clear where the pointers are heading towards:

Subliminal Political Messages: Science Sensei 10: Science Videos – Science News – ScienCentral

In the study, they asked Israeli volunteers to complete a computer-based survey about their opinions on core issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But for half of the volunteers, subliminal images of the Israeli flag were flashed throughout the question and answer session. The flashes lasted 16 milliseconds or 0.016 seconds – too fast for the volunteers to consciously notice the image. Participants were also given a test to rate them on an “Identification With Israeli Nationalism” (IWIN) scale, designed to identify their position on the national political spectrum.

The results were clear. The image of the flag, though unnoticed on the conscious level, caused the test group to respond differently from controls who were not exposed to the subliminal image.

Comments