Subliminal Messaging

Day 184 / 365

During the day we are bombarded with loads and loads of sensory inputs, be it images or sounds or smells. We only notice a few of these, and if a sensory input below a threshold level we would not notice it at all. Such input is known as subliminal. So if it is that weak to notice, why bother about it at all?

Although we might not notice these signals consciously, our subconscious mind will pick these up and quickly act on them as well. Our Subconscious mind is way more powerful than our conscious mind. Do you consciously think about when to inhale and when to exhale? or how to take each step when you are walking? All this is handled by the subconscious. And in addition to these mundane tasks, it keeps picking all sorts of messages from your surroundings reacting to them.

Subliminal messages affect us without us noticing, and other people can take advantage of this. Consider an experiment conducted in the early 20th century. During a movie screening, a frame was added into the movie with the text ‘Eat some popcorn’. This text appeared for less than 1/3rd of a millisecond, and it would be impossible for us to notice. Still, the sale of popcorn during that movie increased by more than 50%!

In a similar experiment in a Supermarket, two types of wines were kept on sale, German and French. These were mostly similar in terms of popularity and price. When German music was played in the supermarket, people bought German wine more. When they switched to French music, the sales of French wine increased.

And this is not just limited to studies and experiments. Companies have been using hidden imagery and audios in their ads quite a lot to trick our subconscious into buying their products. Although there is still some skepticism about whether it really works or not, and also around the authenticity of the studies.

This post is part of my 365 Day Project for 2019. Read about it here

Yesterday’s blog — The origin of Tea