Thread: subliminal messages help?

Originally Posted by Bonsay

Umm, how can there be placebo, if you don't know the subliminal messages are there?

Notice I said "no effect beyond the placebo effect". Subliminal tapes are usually marketed with specific claims, such as "if you listen to this, you will have lucid dreams," and then you may get a placebo effect. On the other hand, if you are listening to a tape and have no reason to believe that there are subliminal messages on it, there is no effect at all.

well, isn't there something on youtube that gives you certain messages when you play a song backwards?

Originally Posted by gangsterwu

well, isn't there something on youtube that gives you certain messages when you play a song backwards?

Sure. It's not just on YouTube. If you search for "subliminal tapes" you'll find that it's a whole damn industry. The problem is that none of it has any scientifically documented effect beyond the placebo effect.

What the hell is placebo? Am i stupid?

The placebo effect is achieved when you have a desired effect from pure belief that it will work.

Let me give you an example:

There have been studies done using placebos in hospitals. Patients are given pills that are actually sugar pills but they are told they are drugs to help them recover from the illness, and due to the patient's belief in the healing properties of the pill, they've healed.

Beliefs are very powerful.

i would be so sure that it doesn’t work. Have you seen Derren Brown? I know it is show business , but still …

oh thank you nick8462 apreciated

Originally Posted by newdawnnavigator

i would be so sure that it doesn’t work. Have you seen Derren Brown? I know it is show business , but still …

Yeah, that's cool, but I've seen David Copperfield perform far more impressive tricks.

If you are interested in the scientific work that has been done on subliminal persuasion, I would recommend that you start with this paper. However, as the paper points out, it is important to distinguish between two different things:

• Subliminal perception. That is, that you can perceive something subconsciously without perceiving it consciously. This has been scientifically verified, and is not controversial.
• Subliminal suggestions that influence behavior. The old example is that a movie can be manipulated so that some single frames flash images of popcorn and coke on the screen, and these images cannot be perceived consciously. According to the mythology this would make people go and buy popcorn and coke. But there is no scientific evidence that this works.