Back Door to the Mind

Overview

Objectives/Goals The objective of my experiment was to determine if it is possible to influence a person to act outside of their "normal" behavior. I believe that it is possible to influence people through oral and/or visual stimuli. Methods/Materials Permission was obtained from all available second period science teachers. I chose second period because it fulfilled my objective of using the number two as my influenced number. A display board containing the numbers zero through nine randomly placed (with the number two being 1/4 inch larger) was placed at the front of each classroom. A number two pencil and index card was given to each student. An identical speech containing the words two/to/too a total of 11 times was read instructing the students on how to proceed. In my control group, my fourth period science class, a speech was not read, nor did I provide pencils. The same display board was used, replacing the number two with an alternate number two the same size as the other numbers on the display board. Results Overall, in my experimental groups, twenty-six percent selected the number two, while twelve percent of my control group selected that number. Conclusions/Discussion In the past, there has been considerable debate over the authenticity of the ability to subliminally influence a subject. The data I collected from my experiment supports my hypothesis that it is possible to subliminally influence people to act outside of their "normal" behavior. The potential value of subliminal influence to enhance other methods of behavioral modification needs further examination.

Competition history

• CSEF 2006 Behavioral Sciences · Entry J0314

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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