Subliminal Persuasion

 1.  Of the five factors mentioned in the Pratkanis report, which one do you think is the strongest explanation for why people fall "victim" to so-called subliminal influence.  Explain why.

I believe the strongest explanation would be belief of a powerful unconscious. When at a loss for an explanation of ones actions, It is easiest to claim that the motives came from an unconscious force. This explanation connects all the dots without having to find real evidence- which makes it convincing. 

2.  Which factor do you think is the weakest of Pratkanis' arguments?  Explain why.

I find the weakest factor to be that subliminal persuasion is an irrational force uncontrollable by the recipient. This idea just illustrates ones lack of self control. The idea of an "uncontrollable force" in this instance is merely an excuse for one's gluttony.

3.  Do you believe subliminal advertising exists?  Have Pratkanis influenced your opinion.  Why or why not?

I believe subliminal advertising exists- but not to a full extent. Pratikanis brought my attention to the tactics used but he did not change my opinion of them. I believe a person with less knowledge of a specific subject might be more susceptible to subliminal influence than another with a better understanding of the given subject. it has the power to influence perceptions but can not completely change them/control them.

Sensation and Perception

1. Sensation- detected information from our sensory organs sent to the brain
Perception- Bringing meaning to the information signaled in our brain through interpretation and organization
2. This may be confusing to students because it can be hard to detach the association of a perception with its sensation. To remember the difference, Think of a Sensation as your friend and a Perception as your friend's friend. Sensation occurs on its own, whereas perception requires sensation to be present. You only know Perception through your friend, Sensation.
3. Sensation and Perception can be compared to a foreign word and it's definition. A foreign word just by itself is an abstract grouping of information of characters and sounds, but when it is interpreted by a language you understand, the word is suddenly given meaning. A way to find the word's meaning can be by looking at its root words or by translating it to another language. This would be using bottom-up processing. Top-down processing can be described by knowing a definition and from there figuring out  the word which it accompanies.

Phony Phrenology

Phrenology is the archaic science relating ones character and mental abilities to the shape and size of their head. It was believed that the brain is divided into many sections, each holding a specific characteristic or ability like wit, memorization and faithfulness. During the 1800's when phrenology was widely accepted, the workings of the human brain and body were little known, which made this science easily justifiable and therefore could not be falsified. In this case, the confirmation bias is very powerful. There was no way to prove the theory wrong, so there was no reason not to believe it. The idea of phrenology is very appealing because it gives humans the ability to identify an honest man, from a liar by the shape of his or her skull. So without any evidence stating otherwise, who wouldn't want to be able to confirm it to be true? Humans are pattern-seeking primates searching for meaning in the world. It's hard for us not to jump to conclusions, especially when we don't have all the information. Although phrenology was failed attempt to uncover the inner workings of our brain, it put psychologists on the right path and also taught us that appearance and character have nothing to do with each other.