Abstract: << Examined the controversial public issue of subliminal messages in advertising and popular music. 65 undergraduates completed a series of tasks to determine whether any evidence exists that such messages affect behavior. Results reveal no evidence to support such a claim and suggest that the apparent presence of backward messages in popular music is more a function of active construction on the part of the perceiver than of the existence of the messages themselves. It is noted that the public media's treatment of this research fails to draw the distinction between the alleged presence of these messages and the impact they are purported to have on the listener or viewer. (23 ref) (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved) >>
(SOURCE: https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0003-066X.40.11.1231)