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In September 1957, I began what to me was a serious study of contemporary applied psychology at Hofstra College in Hempstead, Long Island. At exactly the same time, in nearby New York City, an unemployed market researcher named James M. Vicary made a startling announcement based on research in high-speed photography later popularized by Eastman Kodak Company.
THE TACHISTOSCOPE
Some time before, a device had been developed that could emit a flash of white light at a speed of 1/60,000th of a second. It was called the tachistoscope.
The light pulse of the tachistoscope was so fast that it was imperceptible to human consciousness--what I was learning as a psychology student to call "subliminal," because it was below ("sub") the threshold ("limen") of human perception.
The work done for Kodak involved a tachistoscope providing illumination in a pitch-dark studio for a large-lens camera with an open aperture. In one series of experiments, the flash of the tachistoscope was triggered electronically by the sound of a rifle shot, and the image of a bullet in flight was frozen on color film. Perhaps you have seen samples of these remarkable photographs hanging on the walls of your local camera store.
RETAINERS AND CONSULTING FEES
Armed with the scientific sound of "tachistoscope," Vicary invented a sparkling new pseudo science, and proceeded to contact the CEOs, marketing directors, and advertising managers of multi-million-dollar corporations headquartered in New York City. Basically, he offered to serve them on retainer as a motivational research consultant while he developed the process he called "subliminal advertising."
His persuasive sales pitch was that consumers would comprehend information projected at 1/60,000th of a second, although they could not literally "see" the flash. And he sent a news release to the major media announcing his "discovery" without any scientific validation whatsoever.
PLENTY OF COOPERATION
Ever eager to tickle the public fancies that sell periodicals and build radio and television ratings, publishers and broadcasters alike obediently ran Vicary's stories, thus endorsing in the public mind all that he imagined.
My psychology professors were as eager as the New York reporters to espouse the gospel of subliminal advertising, and touted Vicary's case enthusiastically in the classes I attended.
AND A LITTLE CONFLICT
Vicary's veracity was further enhanced by the...