Esoteric forms of persuasion

Introduction
The word esoteric means “understood by or meant for only the select few who have special knowledge or interest .”Therefore, esoteric forms of persuasion deal with persuasion methods that only a limited amount of people know the effects of. In “Persuasion, Social Science, and Compliance Gaining”, Robert H. Gass breaks esoteric forms of persuasion down into 3 seperate categories - subliminal persuasion, music as persuasion, and the role of smell in persuasion.

Subliminal Persuasion

Subliminal means “existing or operating below the threshold of consciousness.” “The word subliminal literally means “beneath a limen” (sensory threshold). This is derived from the Latin words sub, meaning under, and limen, meaning threshold.”

Origin

Subliminal messaging got its start in a movie theater in Fort Lee, New Jersey, in 1957. James M. Vicary conducted a study that consisted of “showing movies while at the same time projecting the words “eat popcorn” and drink Coca-Cola” on the screen for 1/3,000 of a second.” He claimed that the sells of popcorn and sodas increased because of his tactic

Types of Subliminal Messages

Gass’s textbook breaks subliminal messages into four sub-categories:

Embedding
Embedding is a form of subliminal messaging where images are buried or hidden within an advertisement. Brian Wilson Key gave an example of embedding in his book Media Sexploitation. Key claimed that Ritz crackers baked the word “sex” onto the crackers to subliminally appeal to the consumers.

Subliminal Priming
As explained in Ortigue’s article, subliminal priming is when an image or message is flashed so quickly that it doesn’t register with humans on a conscious level. This is what James M. Vicary used when he flashed phrases on the screen at the movie theater.

Sub-Audible Messages
John R. Vokey described sub-audible messages as being an audible message that is usually hard to hear or near impossible to hear because it is masked, usually with music. Vokey claims that although the recipient isn’t aware of the message they are receiving, it can still have an impact on them.

Backmasking
Backmasking (also known as backward masking) is a recording technique in which a sound or message is recorded backward onto a track that is meant to be played forward. Backmasking is a deliberate process, whereas a message found through phonetic reversal may be unintentional.” Many songs are said to have backward masked phrases in them. The song that seems to receive the most attention concerning backward masking is Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven.”

Misconceptions about Subliminal Messages

Most people have misunderstandings concerning subliminal messages. Many consumers believe that subliminal messages are omnipresent in advertising and that they are also a highly effective way to persuade someone. However, John Bargh argues that not only are subliminal messages ineffective, but they are rare. Bargh only gave credit to the Microsoft and Reebok companies for using subliminal messaging.

Music as Persuasion

Music is an additional way to influence consumers to remember your product. That is why almost fifty percent of all television and radio commercials include some form of song. Prime time commercials are even more likely to have music associated with their advertisement, with the number jumping to over two thirds of the commercials having a melody or tune in them .

Music can persuade via either the central or the peripheral route. If the music has lyrics to it, and is the main focal point of the commercial, like an advertising jingle, the listener is more likely to cognitively think and process the words, which would result use the central route for persuasion. Other times, however, if music is simply a background noise, it will involve less cognitive activity and can be processed through the peripheral route.

Music as a Memory Recall

Having a tune or jingle for an advertisement truly does help listeners to recall your advertisement later on. This can be seen in a study conducted by Richard Yalch. In his experiment, Yalch presented his participants with 20 advertisement slogans. 10 of the slogans had a jingle associated with them, while the other 10 slogans did not. The research participants were overwhelmingly able to recall the slogans of the commercials that had jingles over those that did not have jingles or tunes associated with the product’s name.

Mere Exposure Hypothesis

Zajonc came up with the “mere exposure hypothesis”, which simply says that a simple exposure to a stimulus increases a liking for that particular stimulus. Zajonc’s “mere exposure hypothesis” also applies to tunes and jingles associated with an advertisement. If a popular song is placed on a popular advertisement, then it will create a liking for the product. However, if the song becomes over-played, and it is still associated with the product, then it will create a negative effect on the likability of the product. Hargreaves calls this the inverted-U function.

Music’s Influence on Shopping

Background shopping music can also play a vital role in the persuasion process. Ronald Milliman carried out an experiment to see what the effects were concerning the relationship between the tempo of the background music, and the consumer’s behavior. In his research, he discovered that the faster the tempo, the faster the consumer shopped, which resulted in the purchasing of fewer items. When music with a slower tempo was played, the consumers would shop slower, spending more time in the store, resulting in more purchases being made.

Another experiment was done by Bruce Lammers. Lammers determined that the amount of food purchased in a restaurant was greater when the background music was quiet, rather than loud. Lammers took his experiment to the next step. He also determined that the genre of music was irreverent, assuming it was either soft rock or classical.

In The Workplace

Research was done to see how background music would impact performance in the workplace. It was discovered that workers in a slow-tempo setting (music played at a rate of 60 beats per minute) were less productive than those exposed to an up-tempo (music played at a rate of 120 beats per minute) background music.

The Role of Smell in Persuasion

The term aroma-chology was coined in 1989 by the Fragrance Foundation and the Sense of Smell Institute. Aroma-chology is the “study of the influence of odors on behavior.” Aromas and scents have the ability to influence people’s moods, and even alter their emotions toward a specific stimulus.

In an experiment done by Hanisch, participants had a spider dangled by their face. Throughout the experiment, the aromas changed. Part of the time the participants were introduced to a pleasant, unfamiliar scent. Other times, the air was odorless. Hanisch discovered that when the pleasant aroma was in the air, the participants were more comfortable to have the spider closer to their face than when the air was odorless.

Different Effects of Particular Scents

Some aromas are known to have more calming effects than others. The smell of heliotropin (which smells like baby powder) has a relaxing effect. However, lavender and chamomile are probably known for having the most calming scents.

For an awaking effect, try citrus scents. The smell of citrus fruits, such as lemons, limes, and oranges, will enhance energy and boost mood.

Aromas and Work Production

How do aromas effect work production? In an experiment by Baron and Bronfen, students were asked to solve word problems. Some of the students were placed into odor-free rooms, while others were positioned in pleasant-smelling rooms. The results of this experiment were that the students placed in the pleasant smelling rooms completed more word problems.

Aromas and Consumers

It’s not uncommon to run across ambient odors in retail stores. In fact, using aromas is a smart way for a retailer to appeal to customers. “The sense of smell is far more important than anyone had previously realized.” Rental car businesses have recently discovered that a fresh scent in a vehicle is a way to achieve customer loyalty. If a retail store has pleasant aromas in the air, chances are that their customers will be in a better mood.

Hirsch decided to leave the retail stores alone and try pleasant aroma theory at casinos. Here Hirsh noted that gamblers in pleasant scented casino rooms put a significant more amount of money into the machines.

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