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Persistent complex subliminal activation effects: first experimental observations

Staffan Sohlberg1, Andreas Birgegard

  • 1Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Sweden. staffan.sohlberg@psyk.uu.se

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
|August 15, 2003
PubMed

A strong recent focus on unconscious processes has increased interest in subliminal stimulation and other experimental activation technologies. Five experiments using male and female university students (N = 365) were carried out to compare 5-ms exposures of "mommy and I" stimuli with 5-ms control stimulation. Measures of self-mother similarity and other variables taken 7-14 days after exposure were more strongly correlated among experimental participants. Such complex, persistent effects may follow when powerfully activating stimuli administered under wholly unconscious conditions provokes schematic processing of social information and behavioral confirmation. These scientifically exciting and ethically problematic findings imply a need for further reduction of the role accorded to conscious volition and control in psychology.

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