One of the simplest subliminal techniques. And it may be working on you.

You may think you're not susceptible to subliminal techniques, but the research says that virtually all of us are. And of all the various techniques out there, one of the most common is a simple trick called "anchoring." Here is a look at how it is used on you.

Suppose I were to ask you and a room full of others to make your best guesses as to when Thomas Aquinas was born. If you didn't have any idea other than "sometime in the middle ages," the average guess might be the year 1200. But what if I first announced, "Claudius Ptolemy was born in the year 85," and then asked when Aquinas was born? Would that change anything? It seems that it shouldn't, since it is irrelevant. But it almost certainly would change the guesses.

They would be much earlier, perhaps around the year 800. You and the others might not be aware that the first statement is affecting your estimates. You also probably wouldn't suspect that subliminal techniques were being used on you, in this case a simple trick called "anchoring."

ANCHORING AS A SUBLIMNAL TECHNIQUE EXPLAINED.

Researchers actually do tests like this, and consistently get the same effect. Anchoring, in the terminology of behavioral economics, is our tendency to give weight to whatever facts or figures are introduced - regardless of their relevance - if we have insufficient information. Obviously, if you knew the date of birth you would not be swayed by this technique. However, "insufficient information" is a common occurrence in life, isn't it? That's why this subliminal trick works.

As you might guess, since the term is used by researchers in the field of behavioral economics, that the trick is used in financial matters. It is. In fact, the simplest example is one you'll recognize immediately. Before you can form an opinion about the value of a product being sold on late night television, the announcer says something like "This normally sells for $189, but order right now and it's yours for only $59."

There may or may not be evidence provided as to why it is worth $189. The truth is that just saying it will increase the perceived value in listener's minds. If you had to previously place a value on it, you might have said just $19 - if you had nothing for an "anchor." But now that you have heard it is worth $189, it seems like a great deal at $59.

This trick is used in negotiations all the time. For example, you might think your house is worth the $285,000 you're asking, but there is almost always insufficient information to be certain. So when a buyer offers $239,000, you say no, but you're suddenly even less certain about the value. Then when the first buyer's secret partner later makes an offer of $260,000, it seems reasonable. The only offer you've had was $239,000, and with that as an anchor, you may be happy to get $260,000, so you agree. You may never know that with time the house would have sold for $20,000 more.

Employers can use subliminal techniques like this too. For example, a furniture store owner might mention to the sales people how much they make if they sell 70 items per month. If the employees have no idea what the monthly average is for the industry, they'll probably now guess that 70 is normal. They'll work to achieve that, not knowing that selling 40 pieces of furniture monthly is closer to the average.

Besides protecting yourself, there is another reason to learn about these subliminal techniques: You can use them on yourself. If you want to write, for example, get to know prolific writers. If you know a writer who writes forty pages daily, this will affect what you believe and therefore do, versus knowing one who writes just five pages daily. Though you may not write that much yourself, you have an "anchor" that will probably encourage you to do more than you would have.

Reveiw original article here.

[edit on 24-7-2009 by Jess_Undefined]

I think we all have seem the commericals. They say CALL NOW and instead of getting just one magic knife, were going to give you 3 more for free! Why do they keep throwing in free things? Because they make it so cheap they can afford too.

good post



Lots more of his stuff on Youtube

I love Darren Brown! I came across his videos a few months ago and its definetly something to think about. Thanks for the video because I havent seen that one before.

Originally posted by Jess_Undefined
I love Darren Brown! I came across his videos a few months ago and its definetly something to think about. Thanks for the video because I havent seen that one before.

Yah I am glad you are already aware of Darren Brown. He has many good examples of NLP techniques, (anchoring being one), people immediately dismiss him as a fraud. But he is not a fraud, he just knows how people work. NLP is extremely beneficial in ones life, not just for the effects you can create on other people, but for recognizing when they are being used against you whether intentionally or unintentionally.

Youtube search: Darren Brown NLP, and Darren Brown Swish Technique (another NLP technique using anchoring).

I never liked the term "subliminal advertising" because it always seemed redundant.

10 million people are not buying Snuggies because we are in the midst of the coldest winter in years during an energy crisis. They are spending their money on stuff they don't need because the commercial uses subliminal messaging to play directly to everyone's subconscious need for security and comfort.

Whenever I see a Snuggie commercial I picture the first fire salesman:

You get cold?
Video clip of cave dwellers shivering
You hate wear dirty animal skins?
Video clip of cave dweller shaking the dust out of animal skins and sneezing
Introducing new FIRE!
Video clip of cave dweller smiling in the warm glow of Fire
Fire great for whole tribe.
Video clip of a family smiling in the warm glow of Fire while performing some family activity
Fire is steal at 100 shells but call now we ship Fire at introductory price - 50 shells!
Video clip of cave dwellers pleasantly surprised by the price
That not all! We give two Fire!
Video clip of cave with two fires burning
Send smoke signal now, get Stick free!
Video clip of cave with two fires burning and a roasting skewer set up
With Stick, Fire make animals tasty!
Video clip of cave with a lamb being roasted by a smiling wench
Together Fire and Stick make fun for whole tribe. Smell pleases a God!
Video clip of cave with a happy family roasting a lamb together with the smoke rising out of the cave entrance

Jon

Originally posted by Voxel
I never liked the term "subliminal advertising" because it always seemed redundant.

10 million people are not buying Snuggies because we are in the midst of the coldest winter in years during an energy crisis. They are spending their money on stuff they don't need because the commercial uses subliminal messaging to play directly to everyone's subconscious need for security and comfort.

Whenever I see a Snuggie commercial I picture the first fire salesman:

You get cold?
Video clip of cave dwellers shivering
You hate wear dirty animal skins?
Video clip of cave dweller shaking the dust out of animal skins and sneezing
Introducing new FIRE!
Video clip of cave dweller smiling in the warm glow of Fire
Fire great for whole tribe.
Video clip of a family smiling in the warm glow of Fire while performing some family activity
Fire is steal at 100 shells but call now we ship Fire at introductory price - 50 shells!
Video clip of cave dwellers pleasantly surprised by the price
That not all! We give two Fire!
Video clip of cave with two fires burning
Send smoke signal now, get Stick free!
Video clip of cave with two fires burning and a roasting skewer set up
With Stick, Fire make animals tasty!
Video clip of cave with a lamb being roasted by a smiling wench
Together Fire and Stick make fun for whole tribe. Smell pleases a God!
Video clip of cave with a happy family roasting a lamb together with the smoke rising out of the cave entrance

Jon

I dont know what the hell your point was.

But where can I buy this fire you speak of? I think my family could use some.

reply to post by Voxel


Yeah I have to agree im missing your point too. Please explain.

Shows the power of context(s) and contrast.

It's also why when they offer "freebies" to us (sometimes people just buy the products because of the freebies), they show their monetary value.

You can learn tons of language, persuasion in just an ad like Ginsu Knife:


I also recommend the reading of Robert Cialdini (you can apply that stuff to your personal life)... It's pretty much about framing (context), which was perhaps coined by George Lakoff.

Also check my thread called "Very Cool Psychology Experiments".

I found this a very entertaining post because , working in a law firm, I encounter these attempts at 'anchoring' all the time. Lawyers use it in a very similar manner to advertisers: "Because X is in violation of Title X, Subsection Y, Paragraph Z, we respectfully petition the Honorable Court to..." But when you actually look at what is referenced, it often bears little - if any - resemblance to what is actually in question. But it sounds good.

I often find myself reading briefs, petitions, etc and thinking, " Ohhh, we're screwed". Then I shake myself awake and think, "Let's go see what exactly it is that they are building their argument on..." More often than not, you'll find that the point raised has little or no bearing upon the actual issue. But still, just for a second, because you were offered a supposedly concrete answer, you assume it must be True.

I found a wealth of information using other techniques in an old book called "The Clam Plate Orgy"

www.amazon.com...

basically explaining how images of death combined with sex....sells....