Monday, October 10, 2011

Subliminal Messages

The widely accepted psychological view of subliminal messages is that the effects (if any) are weak and thus no cause for alarm. They are worthy of research and debate, but certainly not a justification for concern.  In the 1980's rock music came under fire for allegedly encouraging devil worshiping through subliminal messages in their music. To listen to some of those music samples, click here.

Disclaimer: I do not believe any of these bands are satanic, nor do I endorse such "lyrics". The key here is to realize how our expectations influence our perceptions. Listen to the music backwards before you look at what it supposedly says. Then judge how your own anticipation of such lyrics changed the way you hear them.

Recent research has focused on how subliminal messages may influence out political attitudes. The following article summarizes research conducted at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem that found that efforts to influence voters attitudes didn't work as planned. Click here to read the article.

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