In 1957 the world was awakened to the frightening possibility that our minds could be manipulated. In a simple experiment, by James Vicary, involving popcorn, coke and a cinema audience, we were lead to believe sales were increased through the use of subliminal messages. Although the experiment was ?unsubstantiated? and it has never been replicated successfully, the belief that subliminal messages can affect our behaviour lingers on in the public mindset. It sent fear through the civilized world.
In Washington, D.C., legislators headed by William Dawson, began a campaign to ban the use of subliminal messages in television and radio. He warned that if subliminal messages were put to political propaganda purposes they could serve and maintain a totalitarian government.
Although there was no real evidence to substantiate this claim the public outcry was deafening. Even then, as today, many scientists had serious reservations about the effectiveness of such techniques - they just didn't believe they worked. The greatest majority of opinion within the scientific and governmental communities was that subliminal persuasion does not work. However, the public wanted them banned!
Could that be the reason why the USA, British and Australian Governments banned their use on television? Or is it possible that somewhere along the line some other people found that by using subliminal messages it really is possible to affect people's behaviour?
These messages, being subliminal (presented just below the threshold of conscious awareness), intrigued a very powerful group not long after the Vicary experiment. The CIA (Central Intelligence Agency), have always been involved in the development and research of mind altering drugs and therapies. So it should come as no surprise to you to find out they invested a lot of resources and manpower into studying the subject of subliminal persuasion.
In classified documents, that were released under The Freedom Of Information Act, it can seen just how involved the CIA has been in researching the effectiveness of subliminal messages.
So what did they find out?
Well, under pressure from journalists and Congressional Investigators, the CIA have released a variety of documents including previous year's copies of their journal titled ?Studies in Intelligence?. In one such Journal, dated 1958, the CIA reported their initial investigations into subliminal persuasion. The report was scarily called ?The Operational Potential of Subliminal Perception?.
It should be noted that this was just one year after the Vicary experiment. The best available evidence is the surviving documentation on the CIA's research programs.
In a book written by Martin A. Lee, an unnamed former CIA agent said that some thought had been given to whether they could affect a political outcome by using subliminal messages on television and radio. In a declassified document, from January 17th 1958, the CIA stated that in their subliminal projection it might be possible to include a subliminal message such as ?Obey? and added that subliminal messages achieved some success in commercial advertisements!
No-one knows if the CIA ever finished their investigations into subliminal technology or if it continues to this day. However, its use as a self improvement tool is growing every year. So, there must be something in it. Isn't it time to tried one?
As far back as 1957 subliminal messages where being used to try to influence the behaviour of ordinary people. The most famous example, from that time, was the cinema experiment by James Vicary. Vicary prepared a film with the embedded subliminal messages "eat popcorn" and "buy coke". His findings stated that sales of both these products increased as a result of the subliminal stimuli. Even though this experiment has been discredited and has never been successfully duplicated the vast majority of people still believe in the effectiveness of subliminal programming.
William Dawson and other legislators, In Washington D.C., immediately launched a campaign get subliminal messages banned from television and radio broadcasts. Dawson sternly warned that if subliminal messages were used as a political propaganda tool the results could be frightening as they could be used to serve and maintain a form of totalitarian government.
Even though there was no real hard evidence to substantiate any of Dawson's claims the huge and overwhelming public outcry was enough to force the Government into action. At the time, as is still true today, the majority of scientists had well-founded reservations about the effectiveness of subliminal messages; the majorty of people in the scientific community hold the belief that they are completely ineffective. So, even though scientific and governmental communities didn't believe subliminal to be effective the public wanted them banned!
This is the official reason behind the USA, British and Australian Governments decision to ban the use of subliminal advertising on television and radio? However, there is evidence to suggest that at around the same time scientists were completely dismissing the idea some other people, with a very different agenda, had found that by using subliminal messages they really could affect people's behaviour!
During the raging debate over the effectiveness of subliminal advertising and the outcry for them to be banned the interest of a very powerful covert group was sparked. A group that did not have to answer to the public and that had immense, almost inexhaustible, resources at their disposal. This group decided, at this time, to start a full investigation. It is well known that The CIA have always had a keen interest in the research of anything that can influence the human mind and their development of mind altering drugs and therapies is well documented. It should be in no way shocked to discover that these same people were willing to use their power and finances to find out if subliminal technologies could be used as a form of control.
In recently released classified documents, now available under The Freedom Of Information Act, we see just how deeply involved and thorough the CIA were in researching the effectiveness of subliminal messages as a means of brain-washing.
Under intense pressure from investigative journalists and Congressional Investigators, the CIA were forced to release a wide variety of documents which included some previous year's copies of their internal journal "Studies in Intelligence". In a 1958 journal CIA investigators reported their initial findings into subliminal persuasion in a report frighteningly titled "The Operational Potential of Subliminal Perception".
In the excellent book by Martin A. Lee, a former agent with the CIA who remains unnamed tells of the CIA's commitment to investigate whether or not subliminal messages could be used to influence the outcome of a political campaign. They were especially interested in using of subliminals in this way on television and radio.
In a January 17th 1958 declassified document, the CIA stated that it might be possible to include a subliminal message such as ?Obey' in their subliminal projection and added that subliminal messages had achieved some success in commercial advertisements!
No-one can be sure if the CIA ever concluded their investigations into subliminal technology, if it continues to this day or if they found any other startling information that is, as yet, unavailable to us. As far as we are concerned subliminal messages can be extremely powerful for self change. As a self improvement tool they can be used to make changes in almost any area of your life. So, there must be something in it. Perhaps now you may think about giving one a go?
Both Michael Anthony Mcgrath & Michael Mcgrath are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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