Subliminal Messages Defined

Subliminal messages are said to be secret signals that enter our subconscious mind without our knowledge and quietly influence our conscious decision making process. More commonly they refer to messages that are embedded in print or audio visual form displayed for a fraction of a time to try and influence the conscious decision making of the intended audience.

The boundary between the conscious and the unconscious mind called the ‘limen of consciousness’ is what the word subliminal refers to. Johan Friedrich Herbart was the earliest person who expounded this concept through his writings. His theory was that ideas lying below consciousness levels vie with one another to get into the area of consciousness and thereby influence each other. These ideas have the clout to manipulate the conscious part of the mind. This theory is fundamental to the notion of subliminal messages.

The study of the mind has always been a fascination to human beings and things that are beyond the control of the mind even more so. Hence it is no wonder that subliminal messages have attracted popular imagination. Another reason for their popularity is the widespread controversy that they have generated at various times in the last century. The hidden implications of subliminal messages has aroused public outcry, even making governments to ban them. The ‘Eat Popcorn / Drink Coca Cola’ study by James Vicary in the 1950’s made the British and the Australian governments prohibit using subliminal messages for commercial purposes.

Wilson Bryan Key’s recent book on subliminal messages has further instigated the controversy surrounding use of subliminal messages by corporate houses to promote their products. Many fundamentalists and religious organizations have claimed to identify hidden occult and satanic subliminal messages in rock music.

The market for subliminal self help tapes being around $50 millions is an indication that subliminal messages are alive and kicking. The general public is still intrigued by them. The producers of these subliminal tapes claim tremendous success of increasing the self confidence and boosting other physiological functions of its users. But despite the popularity, subliminal messages have no scientific theory to validate them. They are still in the realm of speculation and the theory of subconscious mind is itself rejected by many scientists. Subliminal signals like hypnosis and robotic words are known to have some result but the influence of subliminal messages in ads has no scientific evidence. As with many other working of the human brain, how subliminal messages affect us is still shrouded in mystery. This mystery is frightening to some and compelling to others but all indications are that subliminal messages are here to stay, both in our advertising medium and integrated into various self help methods.