This is a trickier question that it seems at first glance.
No, "subliminal" does not mean perceiving something that is not bright enough. Rather, it refers to perception of something that is below an individual's threshold of perception. Obviously, this can lead to lots of linguistic paradoxes. How can someone perceive something that by definition is below your perception threshold? Well, when we refer to subliminal perception, especially in the context of subliminal advertising, we tend to define "subliminal" quite broadly. Even if you can see it when it is pointed out to you, it is still called subliminal if you couldn't immediately and obviously perceive the subliminal content when you saw the stimulus. The "theory" behind subliminal effects is that even when you do not consciously perceive the subliminal content, your brain is processing that information and making you react accordingly.
You may notice that in the last paragraph, I put the word "theory" within quotes. That should give you some sense of where I stand when it comes to the claims that advertisements peppered with subliminal content can get you to buy products that you don't really want. There is very little theory supporting subliminal effects. More importantly, there is little empirical support for subliminal effects. Some weak subliminal effects have been shown, most notably Zajonc's "mere exposure effect." However, we will get to that later.
Besides the lack of any solid theory, another problem with actively using subliminal content to influence people is that subliminal thresholds are not universal. Not only do these thresholds vary from individual to individual, but they may vary for the same individual from time to time based on the person's mood, time of day, etc. In effect, even defining "subliminal" from an operational standpoint is problematic. For someone to use a subliminal stimulus in an advertisement undetected, it would have to be far enough below threshold perceptions that even very perceptive people do not immediately see the subliminal content and expose the perpetrator.
As an academic and a skeptic, therefore, I warn site surfers that I do not buy into the conspiracy theory that we are constantly be influenced by subliminal messages. If you are looking to support your idea that we are being manipulated subliminally today, you probably won't find this site helpful. However, there is no doubt that subliminal advertising is a fascinating topic. I have a lot of fun exploring the topic and have been amazed at some of the efforts at subliminal influence. Are there any subliminal messages in advertisements? Undoubtedly. Can they be used to manipulate people to do things they do not want to do? Nope!
The public has long wondered about subliminal manipulation. While research on subconscious effects dates back to the late 1800s, the real public concern about subliminal manipulation dates to 1957 when a marketing researcher called James Vicary claimed that he had found dramatic increases in sales of Coca-Cola and popcorn when he had flashed the phrases "Drink Coca Cola" and "Eat Popcorn" for 1/2000 of a second during the showing of a movie (ironically, the movie was called "The Picnic"). The response from the public was almost hysteria. Individuals and legislators dreamed up dire images of the future where everyone was converted into subliminally manipulated automatons. The fire was further fueled with the publication of Vance Packard's book on motivation research in marketing entitled "The Hidden Persuaders." Interestingly, several years later, Vicary admitted his "experiment" was a hoax -- but that has done nothing to diminish the public fear of subliminal manipulation. Subliminal messages can take many forms:
In general, research on subliminal effects has shown small effects in controlled conditions. Decades of research by top researchers in the field have found no evidence of subliminal messages influencing behavior in real-world settings.
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The Subliminal Site:
http://sbe.d.umn.edu/subliminal/
© 2001 Rajiv Vaidyanathan