Subliminal mere exposure and explicit and implicit positive affective responses

Abstract

Research suggests that repeated subliminal exposure to environmental stimuli enhances positive affective responses. To date, this research has primarily concentrated on the effects of repeated exposure on explicit measures of positive affect (PA). However, recent research suggests that repeated subliminal presentations may increase implicit PA as well. The present study tested this hypothesis. Participants were either subliminally primed with repeated presentations of the same stimuli or only exposed to each stimulus one time. Results confirmed predictions showing that repeated exposure to the same stimuli increased both explicit and implicit PA. Implications for the role of explicit and implicit PA in attitudinal judgements are discussed.

Keywords:

• Positive affective
• Mere exposure
• Subliminal priming
• Implicit affect

Acknowledgements

We thank Markus Quirin for proving us with the IPANAT.