Chapter 7 - Persuasion Part 3: March 7 th, 2006

Subliminal Advertising One of advertising’s most controversial topics – subliminal messages Words/pictures not consciously perceived but supposedly influence attitudes or behaviors –Distinction between subliminal perception & subliminal persuasion Started in late 50’s – Vicary experiment in movie theater. –Examples?

Subliminal Messages Bush/Gore 2000 campaign – flashed word “RATS” after word “Democrats” Subliminal audio self-help tapes to help lose weight, stop smoking, etc. Does it work?

Subliminal Messages Greenwald’s experiments – Subjects listened to tapes with subliminal memory or self-esteem messages Groups either told of actual message or told of opposite message (memory or self-esteem). See chart for Groups 1-4 What were his results? Different from carefully controlled experiment?

Greenwald’s Experiment Told tape would improve memory Told tape would improve self-esteem Listened to tape w/subliminal memory messages Group 1Group 2 Listened to tape w/subliminal self- esteem message Group 3Group 4

Subliminal Evidence in Lab Murphy showed subjects Chinese characters and asked them to rate how much they liked them. What was the subliminal manipulation? What were Murphy’s results? –How can they be explained? How did the experimental conditions differ from Greenwald’s study?

Effects on self-perception Baldwin experiment –Grad students wrote research ideas, then subliminal exposure to faces –What were results?

Chapter Summary Central v peripheral persuasion Factors impacting persuasion (communicator, message, audience) Effects of media Gender Subliminal Ads Inoculation & Counterarguments