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DOI: 10.1177/1081180X06293938 Taking the "Low Road" with Subliminal AdvertisementsA Study Testing the Effect of Precognitive Prime "RATS" in a 2000 Presidential Advertisement
Arkansas State University, Department of Political Science, P.O. Box 1750, State University,AR 72467; phone: 870-0972-3048; pstewart{at}astate.edu Despite extensive research successfully using subliminals to affect individual attitudes, public understanding and public policy response reflect a lack of awareness of their effectiveness.This article attempts to redress this by presenting findings concerning the effectiveness of one class of subliminal stimuli, precognitive primes. It then considers the effect of the controversial "RATS" subliminal political advertisement. Here the term "RATS" appeared on screen for one frame, that is, one-thirtieth of a second, as part of an attack ad by the Republican National Committee criticizing presidential candidate Al Gore's prescription drug plan. An experiment carried out on Election Day 2000 presented the advertisement with or without the RATS frame, as well as a parallel Medicare ad by the Gore campaign, to subjects. Findings suggest that while evaluations and behavioral intentions were not significantly affected, attitudes toward Medicare, the political parties, and Al Gore were significantly affected by the subliminal stimulus.The experiment was small in scale, so the findings are far from definitive. But they suggest a need for further research on the topic.
Key Words: political advertisements • subliminal stimuli • presidential campaigns
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