Swart L C, Morgan C L
Department of Psychology, California State University, Stanislaus, Turlock 95380.
Percept Mot Skills. 1992 Dec;75(3 Pt 2):1107-13. doi: 10.2466/pms.1992.75.3f.1107.
This study was designed to measure the effects of subliminal backward messages on attitudes. It was hypothesized that subliminal backward-recorded messages would influence the attitudes of listeners. Three subliminal backward-recorded messages from a popular song were used. 82 undergraduates were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: a three-message group heard a tape containing the backward messages recorded three times in succession, a six-message group heard a tape with the same backward messages recorded six times in succession, two control groups heard nonbackward recorded music. No statistically significant differences were found between the groups on a posttape attitude questionnaire. The results are discussed in terms of unconscious processing and the tricomponent theory of attitudes and attitude change.
