Subliminal priming Flashcards
introduction
To what extent can non-conscious perception affect our behaviours?
This issue, one of the most controversial in psychology has been mainly addressed through the use of subliminal stimulation methods, in which a stimulus is presented below the ‘limen’ or threshold for conscious perception. Subliminal perception is inferred when a stimulus is demonstrated to be invisible while still influencing thoughts, feelings, actions, learning or memory.
introduction
People tend to believe that they have conscious control over their decisions and choice making. However, the idea of a free choice has been questioned by scientist. For example, there is research to suggest that the mind is capable of unconscious perception which can be seen in stage magic through a principle known as forcing. Forcing, once mastered, enables magicians to manipulate the spectator’s free choice. A study on human will may offer an explanation as to why forcing is successful at influencing behaviour, by discussing the thought processes behind experiencing free will. Additionally, it has been suggested that human behaviour can also be influenced unconsciously by subliminal (hidden) signs around them, using a phenomena known as priming. This essay shall further discuss to what extent can non-conscious perception affect our behaviour.
P1
People are capable of unconscious perception:
Evidence
In the past it was thought that higher cognitive functioning requires consciousness and attention, however there is research to suggest that stimuli exhibited subliminally can be perceived unconsciously. Lau and Passingham (2007) examined whether the cognitive control system, found in the prefrontal cortex, can be activated unconsciously. Participants were presented with words in the MRI scanner and asked to indicate whether it referred to a concrete object or a bisyllabic word. The experimental trials were also presented with a visual prime.
P1
People are capable of unconscious perception:
Results
The results suggested that participants in the primed condition displayed less brain activity related to the word task, which could indicate that they were also focused on the prime task. Additionally, researchers found activity in the mid-dorsolateral prefrontal cortex linked to the unconscious prime. Thus, results indicate that the human cognitive control system is not solely determined by conscious stimuli. A review of other fMRI studies on subliminal priming has suggested that even when the participants are unaware, priming triggers activation in subcortical brain regions (Brooks et al., 2012). In other words, these results may suggest that people are capable of unconscious perception.
P1
People are capable of unconscious perception:
additional review
A review of other fMRI studies on subliminal priming has suggested that even when the participants are unaware, priming triggers activation in subcortical brain regions (Brooks et al., 2012). In other words, these results may suggest that people are capable of unconscious perception.
P2
Forcing + evidence
Forcing is a stage magic principle, designed to influence a choice without causing the spectator any conscious awareness of the influence. Several studies examined the mechanisms behind forcing using card tricks. In a recent study (Olson et al., 2015), a magician approached 103 participants, riffled through a deck of cards, and asked them to choose one mentally. Only the target card was exposed for longer. The magician then revealed the target card and asked whether it was the card the participant chose. Results suggested that 98% of participants chose the target card and 91% of them indicated that it felt like a free choice.
P2
Forcing study limitations
The study does have limitations such as, demand characteristics, the experimenter’s expectations could have swayed the participants’ responses and thus, obtained biased results. An unsuccessful attempt to control for this limitation was noted in the journal article. Nevertheless, the effect size, even if exaggerated, is too large to ignore, therefore, the study affirms that the subjective experience of a free choice may actually be a forced choice. Additionally, the study’s results imply that majority of people are blind to such errors.
P4
subliminal priming research
Some may argue that subliminal priming research, rather than a magic principle, could be used to discuss the extent of subliminal stimuli influence on behaviour. However, literature suggest that evidence for subliminal priming may be reliable, but also weak. For example, study-one examined the effects of behavioural priming in which participants were primed with the stereotype of old age (Doyen et al., 2012). Participants had to complete a scrambled sentence task that contained words related to old-age, they were instructed to rearrange the words into logical sentences. Upon completion, all the participants left the building through a corridor, where there were two infrared sensors measuring their walking speed. Study-one did not find a significant decrease in the walking-speed of the participants and thus no effects of priming. Study-two however, manipulated the beliefs of some of the experimenters and convinced them that the participants would slow down their walking pace once primed accordingly.
P4
subliminal priming research
The study found that when the experimenters believed in the prime, their walking pace significantly decreased. This finding is congruent with recent evidence showing that primed behaviour is sensitive to the context in which it takes place. Behavioural priming while established in the social cognition literature has considerable limitations. In line with these results it seems that these methods need to be taken as an object of research per se before using it can be
considered as an established phenomenon. As with most prime studies, evidence suggests a weak effect of the prime on behaviour.
-Priming studies have replication limitations.
conclusion
To conclude, there is convincing evidence that subliminal stimuli can influence our behaviour by influencing our choice as it has been demonstrated by a magic principal of forcing however, the extent to which subliminal stimuli influences human behaviour is rather small, as it has been demonstrated by subliminal priming research.
There is evidence to suggest that humans are capable of unconscious perception and that may be the reason why subliminal stimuli has an influence. It sometimes takes the manipulation of the unconscious thought to prevent people from noticing that the free choice was forced. However, priming alone does not display a big enough effect to discuss behavioural influence further. The principle of forcing has not only been useful in demonstrating that subliminal stimuli can influence human behaviour but also in explaining that people tend to be blind to such errors too.
