Does subliminal perception really occur? Can anyone be able to observe something involuntarily without being conscious about it? These questions were raised to challenge the scientific validity of such claims. Experiments were conducted to prove that subliminal perception was indeed a fact.Messages were flashed briefly and fast to the test subjects by the researchers. The subjects did not report seeing any of these. The subjects were asked whether they 'saw' the material that they did not 'see'. The subjects appeared to 'see' what they actually did not 'see'. But then this could neither be confirmed, nor could it be verified whether the subjects were either mistaken or even lying about seeing the flashed messages. The experiments came to be considered comical due to the difficulties encountered in both methodology and semantics. But the few devoted researchers continued their search. 'Subliminal perception' after all these was concluded to be an oxymoron by the scientists who were researching perception. Charles Eriksen, a leading important critic, pointed to a number of flaws in the concept. However, though upsetting, the critique was inconclusive. He concluded that subliminal perception, rather than a question to be proved empirically, was actually illogical. He also did not take into consideration the distinction between the conscious awareness and verbal reporting of the stimulus itself. According to him, if the subject was able to discriminate the stimulus in a test and therefore become aware of it, then the experiment was treated as failed. That the subject did not see the stimulus was considered by him as not pertinent. However, this critical factor becomes important subsequently to the understanding of illusions, perceptual bias and subliminal perception. On the other hand, these disapprovals by Eriksen and others led to methodological improvements later and finally to the very recognition of the experience. Though these experiments were unsuccessful in some ways in terms of behavioral and introspective measures. The experiments were not lacking in results but were failures due to the weakness in their integration with available conceptual models and interpretations that lacked clarity...read more...Wednesday 1 September 2010
Subliminal Messages: Do They Really Work?
Does subliminal perception really occur? Can anyone be able to observe something involuntarily without being conscious about it? These questions were raised to challenge the scientific validity of such claims. Experiments were conducted to prove that subliminal perception was indeed a fact.Messages were flashed briefly and fast to the test subjects by the researchers. The subjects did not report seeing any of these. The subjects were asked whether they 'saw' the material that they did not 'see'. The subjects appeared to 'see' what they actually did not 'see'. But then this could neither be confirmed, nor could it be verified whether the subjects were either mistaken or even lying about seeing the flashed messages. The experiments came to be considered comical due to the difficulties encountered in both methodology and semantics. But the few devoted researchers continued their search. 'Subliminal perception' after all these was concluded to be an oxymoron by the scientists who were researching perception. Charles Eriksen, a leading important critic, pointed to a number of flaws in the concept. However, though upsetting, the critique was inconclusive. He concluded that subliminal perception, rather than a question to be proved empirically, was actually illogical. He also did not take into consideration the distinction between the conscious awareness and verbal reporting of the stimulus itself. According to him, if the subject was able to discriminate the stimulus in a test and therefore become aware of it, then the experiment was treated as failed. That the subject did not see the stimulus was considered by him as not pertinent. However, this critical factor becomes important subsequently to the understanding of illusions, perceptual bias and subliminal perception. On the other hand, these disapprovals by Eriksen and others led to methodological improvements later and finally to the very recognition of the experience. Though these experiments were unsuccessful in some ways in terms of behavioral and introspective measures. The experiments were not lacking in results but were failures due to the weakness in their integration with available conceptual models and interpretations that lacked clarity...read more...