Subliminal stimuli

Subliminal stimuli (/sʌbˈlɪmɪnəl/; sub- literally "below" or "less than")[1] are any sensory stimuli below an individual's threshold for conscious perception, in contrast to supraliminal stimuli (above threshold).[2]

In 1957, the American cinematographer James Vicary claimed to have increased the sales of Coca-Cola by inserting in his cinema's movies some frames with "Drink Coca-Cola!" written on it. Five years later, however, he admitted to having inflated his results somewhat by including certain data that were labeled scientifically unreliable.[3] However, Vicary's claim increased scientific interest in subliminal messages.

Indeed, subliminal stimulation is now accepted as a legitimate research field in the scientific literature. A 2012 review of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies showed that subliminal stimuli activate specific regions of the brain despite participants' unawareness,[4] a result corroborated in a meta-analysis from 2023[5] concerning subliminal stimulation in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Visual stimuli may be quickly flashed before an individual can process them, or flashed and then masked to interrupt processing. Audio stimuli may be played below audible volumes or masked by other stimuli.

  1. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles. "sublīmis". A Latin Dictionary – via Perseus Project.
  2. ^ Loftus, Elizabeth F.; Klinger, Mark R. (June 1992). "Is the unconscious smart or dumb?". American Psychologist. 47 (6): 761–65. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.47.6.761. PMID 1616173.
  3. ^ Karremans, Johan C.; Stroebe, Wolfgang; Claus, Jasper (2006-11-01). "Beyond Vicary's fantasies: The impact of subliminal priming and brand choice". Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. 42 (6): 792–798. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2005.12.002. hdl:2066/56862. ISSN 0022-1031.
  4. ^ Brooks, S. J.; Savov V.; Allzén E.; Benedict C.; Fredriksson R.; Schiöth H. B. (February 2012). "Exposure to subliminal arousing stimuli induces robust activation in the amygdala, hippocampus, anterior cingulate, insular cortex and primary visual cortex: a systematic meta-analysis of fMRI studies". NeuroImage. 59 (3): 2962–2973. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.09.077. PMID 22001789.
  5. ^ Cesari, Valentina; Frumento, Sergio; Leo, Andrea; Baroni, Marina; Rutigliano, Grazia; Gemignani, Angelo; Menicucci, Danilo (2023-09-15). "Functional correlates of subliminal stimulation in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Systematic review and meta-analysis". Journal of Affective Disorders. 337: 175–185. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2023.05.047. ISSN 0165-0327. PMID 37236272.