![]() ![]() The name of someone each student identified as very controlling was flashed on the computer screen so briefly that the student could not have recognized it consciously. The students were asked questions, including some designed to find out surreptitiously if they had persons in their lives who were very controlling, particularly in regards to "hard work" and "having fun." The students then took a test.īut here's the tricky part. In two experiments, conducted on separate campuses, the researchers selected participants from a large pool of psychology students. So it was a useful tool for Chartrand and her colleagues to deploy in their effort to find out if even a subconscious suggestion of mom can make us more recalcitrant. ![]() Researchers at various institutions, including University College London and Boston University, have documented that subliminal messages can cause the brain to respond subconsciously, even though the subject is unaware of it. It wasn't going to turn us into consumer robots. Additional research suggested that the phenomenon was real, but probably not as manipulating as had been thought. Subliminal advertising was subsequently banned in some countries, like Great Britain, but not in the United States. That was supposed to make us all dash out and buy a carton of Camels. It was feared that flashing the name of a particular brand on a television monitor so briefly that it registered subconsciously, even though we were unaware of having seen it, could influence our behavior. ![]() A few decades ago that was a really big issue, because some research indicated that our minds could be tricked into buying certain products by subliminal advertising. To find out, the researchers turned to a controversial tool, subliminal priming. Psychologists call it reactant, a powerful force that we employ when we think our independence is in jeopardy.īut do we know we are reacting like reactants? Could it be that sometimes we dig in our heels even when we don't know we're reacting to a nagger? It's pretty well a given that many of us rebel against those who would rule our lives, be they parents or spouses or bosses, or even kids. The husband and wife team, along with doctoral candidate Amy Dalton, wanted to plunge a little deeper into the subject than previous researchers. She is married to Gavan Fitzsimons, also a Duke psychologist, who was recruited to help. That's not exactly a rare problem, but Chartrand found herself uniquely suited to find out why. "My husband, while very charming in many ways, has an annoying tendency of doing exactly the opposite of what I would like him to do in many situations," she admits. Psychologist Tanya Chartrand of Duke University, lead author of the report, says she conducted the study because she couldn't get her husband to do what she wanted him to do. And the more controlling that person seems to be, the more likely the individual will "automatically do the opposite of that which the significant other wishes," the scientists report in the current issue of the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. New research shows that if a parent nags a son about cleaning up his room, the kid will probably dig in his heels and live in a pig pen even if he doesn't realize mom is still on his case. Ma— - Be careful what you ask, because you may get just the opposite. ![]()
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