Problems in Silverman's Work Indicate the Need for a New Approach to Research on Subliminal Psychodynamic Activation

Abstract

The basic assumption in subliminal psychodynamic activation research is that participants can unconsciously perceive the psychodynamic meaning of a complete message as it is intended by the experimenter. In attempts to account for negative findings Silverman contended that this assumption holds only under certain luminance conditions and visual field positions of a message. Paradoxically, almost all of his findings, his major evidence in support of the basic assumption, came from experiments in violation of those strictures. Further, Silverman never presented MOMMY AND I ABE ONE under a critical condition required for it to be effective. These and other considerations identify the need for an account of empirical findings other than his and for changes in his experimental method. Such research must take into account the encoding of subliminal stimuli, an area neglected almost completely by Silverman. Shevrin and his colleagues' 1996 work is outlined as a model for the use of subliminal stimuli to investigate psychoanalytically generated hypotheses.