Advertising and Mind Control: Participate in my Study?

45
Female

1. No
2. To some extent yes. At minimum the ad makes me aware of the product. I would not include pain killers, but other meds possibly yes.
3. A

51
Male
No, I worked in retail for a bit. So I know how they work or don’t work.
No, same as above. I’ve also done ad campaigns.
A

9
f
no
no
a

@ragingloli 9?

26
Female
1 I’m becoming increasingly aware of the power of the subliminal. Yes it influences me.
2 Yes though I buy almost no food product brand or detergents or soaps. It doesn’t mean I don’t think about specific ones when some one triggers that.
3 A No one likes their mind messed with.

16, female

1. Slightly, yes. Ever since I really started to spend my own money, I’ve been thinking about what advertising schemes work and what don’t. It’s kind of interesting to think about.
2. Yes, when I see the same ad over and over again it kind of works its way into my head and when I think, “Oh I need some ____,” that brand name comes to mind. I may or may not buy it, but it does definitely come to mind readily.
3. I’m a very logical, methodical person, so I appreciate being given facts and then being able to independently chew on them. I wouldn’t want the speaker to be motivating or influencing me without my own interpretation of the facts. So I would go with speech A.

This is a very interesting study! Good luck!

49, Female

1: I can barely see without glasses as it is, I don’t think I am influenced by any “subliminal” messages. Sometimes I even question what the advertiser is trying to sell, like with those gerbils driving cars to loud urban music, what’s up with that? I know what I like, what I don’t like and what I actually need. Funds are scarce, so I only buy what I need. However, unlike most people, I actually enjoy watching commercials. I guess I just enjoy cinema in general.

2. Sometimes I am influenced. Especially if I see something different that may actually work, as opposed to things I have tried that I know do not work. I have a lot of scepticism toward new products that I think are just plain silly, useless or that I know are not likely to work, even though they might look neato or pretty or convenient. I can watch bacon commercials all day long, but because I’m a vegetarian, I’m not going to go out and buy bacon even if Patrick Stewart were hocking bacon. Even if Alan Rickman was hocking bacon as the new cure for cancer I would not buy/eat bacon or any other meat products, because I am a vegetarian. Although I enjoy those Jimmy Dean ads that have the “Sun” telling everyone about eating breakfast meat products. I’m still a vegetarian, even though I think the ads are cute.

3. I would choose to listen to the “devil’s advocate” version of the advertisement. Maybe there is a chance that they would have something to tell me that I have missed. If it was subliminal, I know it would be missed, because I don’t think that I can see/perceive subliminal messages. I’m one of those people that don’t buy salty popcorn or sweet soda at the movies, because I’m immune to subliminal messages. Sometimes I’m even immune to blatant messages, only because I know already what is important and relevant to me in my own life.

57 Male
1. Yes
2. Yes, if they are interesting otherwise no, I tune them out.
3. A.

Thanks to those of you that participated! Here are the statistics I promised:

Wilson, Gilbert, and Wheatley (1998) found that 80% of college students preferred not to receive a subliminal message because it might influence them in an undesirable way. 28% of college students preferred not to receive a regular everyday TV ad because it might influence them in an undesirable way.

When Wilson, Houston, and Meyers (1998) asked college students to choose to listen to the type of speech they thought would influence them the least, 69% chose the regular speech and 31% chose the subliminal speech.

In short, people are more wary of subliminal messages than overt advertisement. Ironically, there is no evidence that the types of subliminal messages encountered in everyday life have any influence on people’s behavior and, in fact, it was Speech A that changed people’s minds the most.

* ROUND 2 QUESTION *

1. What do you think of these statistics when compared to your answers?

I think I line up with those statistics pretty well. I find it interesting that Speech A statistically changes people’s minds the most.

I think subliminal messages work whether or not there is evidence to support it. Maybe not in the play the record backward sort of way but advertising is given less credit then its due. It wears us down in my opinion. The average American is exposed to 3000? ads a day.

If the speech changes my mind or makes me reconsider I may not have very much info on the topic. If it makes me rethink my position so be it, if I am that swayable on the subject I really need to think about it and learn more. I have confidence enough in my intelligence to be able to sort out what makes sense to me.

I think I fit the profile.

With subliminals you don’t even know you are being influenced.

I like to think I can consciously and automatically tune out ads but I wonder how effective I am actually.