Simple research paradigm for demonstrating subliminal psychodynamic activation: Effects of oedipal stimuli on dart-throwing accuracy in college males.

Abstract

Four experiments were carried out in which "subliminal psychodynamic activation" effects were sought from male college students in a dart-throwing contest. Pretest and posttest measures were taken of dart-throwing accuracy under one control and several experimental subliminal conditions, each condition consisting of 4-msec exposures of a verbal message and a congruous picture. In the first two experiments, experimental effects were obtained for stimuli that sanctioned the idea of defeating father in competition (enhancing accuracy) and one that condemned this idea (impeding accuracy). In the third experiment, however, no effects were obtained. Since the only substantive difference between Experiment 3 and the earlier ones seemed to reside in the illumination levels of the tachistoscopic fields, a fourth experiment was carried out to test for the relevance of the illumination variable. In keeping with what the earlier experiments suggested, at a low illumination level, there were clear effects, whereas at a high level, there were no effects. The results from all four experiments were discussed for their bearing on subliminal research and research on personality.