Subliminal effects of verbal stimuli
Abstract
" . . . the meaning of words, exposed below the threshold of recognition, and followed immediately by a clearly supraliminal figure, would influence impression of the associated stimulus. The words HAPPY and ANGRY were presented tachistoscopically . . . each alternating with a drawing of a relatively expressionless face . . . S's (open ward V.A.H. patients) description of the face . . . were clearly more Pleasant in HAPPY pairings than in ANGRY pairings . . . . The . . . conclusion is that differences in meaning between words registered below the threshold of recognition can affect associated conscious thoughts, although these influences are modulated by response preferences and certain idiosyncratic reaction tendencies."