Touch

Natural History of the Senses- TOUCH

“At Purdue University, a woman librarian goes about her business, checking out

people’s books.  She is part of an experiment in subliminal touch, and knows that

half the time she is to do nothing special, the other half to touch people as

insignificantly as possible.  She brushes a student’s hand lightly as she returns a

library card.  Then the student is followed outside and asked to fill out a

questionnaire about the library that day.”

Studies of subliminal messaging have been increasing in the last few decades

or so.  Many examples of this style of message have been used in social and

mainstream media.  When George Bush was running for president, one of his

campaign ads flashed the word “rats” across the screen as Al Gore’s name and

organization were being discussed.  In many popular songs and music videos, the

“illuminati triangle” is flashed quickly and can be caught on film if you pause the

video at the right moment.

In order for stimuli to be experienced subconsciously or consciously, it must

reach either the objective or subjective threshold.  The objective threshold is found

using a forced choice procedure, in which participants must choose which stimulus

they saw from the options given to them.  The subjective threshold is determined

when the participant reports that his/her performance on the forced choice is

around chance.  This threshold is usually 30 milliseconds slower then the objective.

Attached is a CBS article that displays the top 10 subliminal messages that have

appeared in our media.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-10-best-subliminal-ads-ever-made/2/