The Subliminal Self

[jonathan]

Explain briefly (1 or 2 paragraphs) how you could use something
specific from the Subliminal Self to alter some specific aspect of
your own life.

[Luisa Lange]

The main message in The Subliminal Self was that our unconscious mind
rules our behavior. More specifically, the speakers discussed the idea
that a person’s appearance and voice can unconsciously alter the
decisions we make. For example, in an election, we have an unconscious
desire to choose the person who appears most attractive. Therefore,
many people will vote based on this unconscious motive. If the person
appears confident, more people will vote for them. Similarly, the
pitch and tone of a person’s speech can alter how they are perceived.
When we see and hear these people, we unconsciously look for certain
qualities that control our decisions. With this knowledge, I will try
to pay closer attention to my unconscious motives when it comes to
voting for candidates in an election. If I suppress these unconscious
desires for attractiveness, I will better understand the actual
message, rather than focusing on the delivery of the message.

[Madeleine Beimford]

Building off of Luisa, I thought one of the more interesting aspects of the video was how unconscious motives drive our behavior in terms of speech and contact to transmit our ideas. I always thought our emotions and personality were the main conductors behind how we manage ourselves in public, since most people don't interact in the exact same ways. For example, if I have a fight with one of my parents, it's usually built off of how I interpret their tone when they're talking to me and vice versa. So, say I'm about to enter a full-fledged bickering match with one of my parents, if I can find a way to manipulate my voice, the fight can be scaled down. If I can modulate my tone and slow it down, it would appear less aggressive and angry which would help subdue the tension. Also, during a fight my unconscious motive is to get away, so my muscles are tense and I look rigid, but if I could loosen up and make some sort of contact with one of them, being aware of my unconscious drives would definitely be an advantage.

[Ashley Brede]

Throughout this year of AP psych, I always took Freud's psychoanalysis
of unconscious thoughts and repressed memories with a grain of salt,
because I'm a very common sense oriented person, so I personally
believed that my conscious thoughts decided everything for me. But,
after listening to this podcast, and thinking about certain things
like the halo effect and our social psych unit, I realized how big of
a role my unconscious actually has in my decision making processes.
For example, the podcast mentioned how when men would touch women's
elbows, they doubled their chances of getting those women's numbers. I
don't go around touching people's elbows, but after listening to this,
I realized that of the people I know, the ones that are more "touchy-
feely" seem nicer to me. I enjoy their presence better, and I have a
stronger connection with those people, even though I know them just as
well as some of my other friends. This may just be some Barnum
effect, because now that its been proven to work in one area of life
I'm applying it to my friends as well, but it is also a survival
tactic, and a comfort (Harry Harlow). So, true or not, I'm starting to
believe it and notice it, and its made me realize that when a waitress
puts her hand on my shoulder, acting overly nice, I know now to not be
fooled by my unconscious and tip her greater because of that one light
touch.

[Ryan Cassidy]

In the subliminal self, one topic of discussion was the great
difference between the modern unconscious and the past unconscious
that, in Freudian terms, was described as a “seething, irrational,
primitive and hallucinatory.” The unconscious back then was much more
detached, while due to evolutionary processes, the unconscious evolved
in order for humans to live and prosper in the wild and in social
groups. Due to our complex social organizations, we are socially
superior to many other animals as we have the ability to know what
other people are thinking. Thus, the new unconscious has not only
helped humans survive, but now it has helped modern societies progress
and many unconscious processes have evolved in order to serve this
function.
Thus, in my life, relationships with people often consist of making
many compromises. Specifically, I can’t stand giving kids rides home
after practice when I really just want to get home as fast as
possible, especially when the kids I am dropping off don’t live
anywhere near me. However, due to reciprocal altruism and the new
unconscious, I now find myself thinking, “well, if I ever needed a
ride home from any of these guys, I’m sure they would do the same
thing.” This thought process and decision making derives from my
unconscious and it’s ability to influence social progress in my life.
One day, I may need a very important ride somewhere very inconvenient,
and maybe one of these guys will be the only one with a car.
Therefore, I will now drive home kids that ask for rides no matter
where they live, known my unconscious is greatly influencing my
conscious decisions in order to further my social connections and
evolutionarily enhance my survival chance in society.

On May 9, 8:15 am, jonathan <jsimon...@gmail.com> wrote:

[jack dario]

In the subliminal self, the author talked about how his mother was very paranoid whenever he would not answer a call immediately, and she often worried that he had been caught up in some serious trouble or danger whenever she could not reach him. The author attributed this to the fact that his mother had lost her family in the holocaust, and now her unconscious mind caused her to fear the same loss of her current family, leading to her paranoia. Over the course of my day's I often find myself very attached to my phone, almost to a fault. I am constantly in conversations with people, and always need to be checking my phone. After hearing the interview about the subliminal self, I believe that his phone addiction has an unconscious cause. When I was in middle school and forced to move from California to Wellesley I was also forced to say goodbye to all of the friends that I had known up to that point in my life. Spending the whole summer leading up to seventh grade alone in wellesley caused me to become very dependent on my phone. I could only make contact with my friends through cellular connection, so I spent hours on end on my phone to keep in touch with my friends. The phone gave me a sense of comfort and safety, and now, years later I still feel as if though I rely on my phone for these same things. 

[Jack Barry]

A point that was brought up was our unconscious association of
attractiveness with competence. An example currently was the
notion that Barack Obama was elected president because he
was a younger and more appealing candidate. The same was
also said about John Kennedy when he ran for president against
Richard Nixon. I will take from this the personal promise to try
and dispel any unconscious ideas of choosing one person over
another due to a bias of wanting to choose the more attractive
or appealing candidate. This will be especially useful in the
upcoming presidential election that will be the first I will be
voting in, where I will try my best to vote solely on each possible
presidents merits, plans for the future, and past achievements.

On May 9, 8:15 am, jonathan <jsimon...@gmail.com> wrote:

[mike vivo]

The Subliminal Self focuses on the unconscious mind's effect on
behavior. Managing the unconscious impression you leave on people can
make them feel more inclined to act a certain way. If I sell used
calculators to my friends, and act amiable to the potential costumer,
they will subconsciously want to by my calculators more. Also, if i
dressed better, and kept myself better than other calculator salesmen.
The costumer would find me more attractive and subconsciously feel
more inclined to buy the calculator. To appear confident to my
salesmen, The Subliminal Self states that I can consciously override
unconfident feelings. If I can cognitively perceive myself as more
confident, the viewer is more likely to perceive me as confident.

On May 9, 8:15 am, jonathan <jsimon...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Yara Farahmand]

A lot of the radio show had to do with the subconscious effects of
ones appearance and voice. It said that the lower a persons voice is,
the more confident they sound to others. I found this to be very
interesting, because I have found that when I talk to people that I
want to make an important impression with, like friends parents or
coworkers, I tend to adjust my voice to talk in a higher pitch. This
is not necessarily a bad thing though, because if a low voice means
that someone is more confident, then maybe a higher voice means
someone who is more innocent, almost forcing a halo effect into place.
I also find it interesting that when I perform on stage, I tend to go
into a lower register. This again probably has a lot to do with the
level of confidence I have in what I'm doing, and how I want others to
perceive me. In the future, I will definitely be paying more attention
to how i use my voice with different people, and what affect different
pitches have on the things i am doing. More so, I will try to pay
attention to how others voices change in pitch, especially when I am
meeting new people in college!

On May 9, 8:15 am, jonathan <jsimon...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Carly Conway]

The Subliminal Self brought together a lot of what I had already
learned this year in the AP Psych class, but also expanded to
introduce new ideas. For example how individuals can make a bigger
impact on someone else's day by altering small details in
conversation, like using a higher pitched voice when speaking can make
someone happier. Or the lower someone's voice is the more confident
they will appear to be. For me, I believe I am a confident person
although I have a naturally higher voice, and it made me wonder how
other's view me in terms of confidence due to just the sound of my
voice. Also, it was said that a slight touch on the hand, or elbow
will increase someone's chances at getting a date or relationship, but
I would feel stand-offish if someone were to gently touch my elbow.
Even though it was said that those small touches would subconsciously
make someone more interested in the person, I am not sure if I would
agree that it works for everyone. I look forward to paying attention
to people's conversations and interactions to see if these small
details really do make a difference.

On May 9, 8:15 am, jonathan <jsimon...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Cara Skelly]

The Subliminal Self podcast discussed the importance of appearance and
voice in how we feel about that person. Although some of this is
consciously known, such as the better looking or more confident
looking candidate willing the election, I found it interesting to hear
how this is the unconscious acting. The radio talk mentioned how
Margerat Thatcher allegedly lowered her voice while running for prime
minister to appear more confident (and perhaps more masculine as well
as she was the first female prime minister?) because research shows
this can improve apparent confidence. These thoughts make me want to
analyze my choices, whether they be in leaders or friends, and see if
I do the same things unconsciously.

On May 9, 8:15 am, jonathan <jsimon...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Laura Scott]

The Subliminal Self discussed the important ways in which the thoughts of our subconscious mind can play into our daily thoughts and actions. Messages we receive, whether consciously or unconsciously, make play a role in what we do on a daily basis. Subliminal messages within the media are an interesting instance of this occurrence. An example given during the podcast described a study in which participants at a movie theater were flashed images of certain soft drinks and other food. After the movie, the participants were all thirsty and were offered a drink on their way out. The participants who had been briefly shown the image of a certain type of drink were more likely to choose that drink than other drinks, in comparison to people who had not been shown an image at all. This quick, almost subconscious exposure has more influence into their actions than they would likely have known. This could help me in my daily life if I try to recognize and seek out these messages from the media; if I know they exist, then I have more power over choosing whether to ignore them or not.

[Elizabeth McTighe]

The Subliminal Self podcast talked about how hunches are actually the
result of unconscious processing, which analyzes large amounts of
information even while we are not focused on one specific stimulus.
The speaker said it is important not to ignore hunches. An example he
gave was how the intuition of experienced nurses is often valuable
because their unconscious is capable of processing more information,
like movement or body language, than conscious analysis of medical
charts can. As someone whose view of the unconscious was more akin to
Freud’s irrational and impulsive unconscious, I was wary of the
letting hunches or unfounded emotions get in the way of my decision
making. In the future I will include the unconscious more in my
decision making process (when looking more at data, not at social
interactions where appearance, physical contact, or weather might
influence my unconscious), especially when I have a lot of variables
to consider. This would be helpful when buying a car or finding an
apartment.

[Ava Varasteh]

The Subliminal Self podcast talks about how touching is essential in
bonding and forming trust. An experiment was held where men would hit
on women, and half of them would lightly touch the women's arms while
conversing, and the other half would not. The outcome was that the men
who did experiment with touching had received more women's phone
numbers than those who did not touch. After the fact most of the women
admitted to not even noticing the touch, which shows the unconscious
effect that it had on them. I can understand this theory, because when
someone lightly touches you while talking, you feel connected to them
and as if the person genuinely likes you. Usually a casual arm touch
is common amongst friends and family, so if lightly touched by a
stranger I would automatically feel closer to them by grouping them
together with the people I trust the most. After listening to this
podcast I will most likely be more conscious of how I move and use my
hands during conversations, as well as other people's movements, and I
will gauge my reaction to see if touch improves my view of others.

On May 9, 8:15 am, jonathan <jsimon...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Raquel Rosenbloom]

The Subliminal Self podcast discusses the different types of
subconsciousness that has been discovered recently. Through research,
new ideas about the unconscious (since Freud) have been introduced.
One of these ideas is that the unconscious feelings that exist cannot
be controlled. A study done examined aesthetic qualities make someone
look more competent which included being tall, smiling in a photo and
having a certain type of hairline. It was found that these factors
changed the person's judgment of that candidates competence without
them realizing it consciously. However, while the feelings that you
have are not controlled, you can override it with the conscious mind.
One thing that I will do after listening to this podcast is try and
think about how I use people's looks to judge them and try not to let
my initial perceptions and feelings influence my actions or treatment
of others.

[Cody O'Brien]

The podcast talks about the role of touch in humans, especially that of social touching. A french experiment explored the power of this social touching through the success of acquiring phone numbers. The results indicated a doubled success rate for those who touched the women lightly compared to those who did not touch the women at all. Part of being social creatures is able to know what others are feeling or thinking at a certain time, as it helps with interaction that transcends just vocal communication. Understanding of the subconscious is then a necessary part of being able to connect with others. The idea of social touching could be useful when trying to create a closer bond with someone, or being able to comfort them when they're feeling upset, or things of that nature. Understanding the unconscious activity of people would help me form closer connections with them.

[Holly Wiberg]

In the Subliminal Self podcast, Leonard Miodinow talked about the influence of weather on decision making.  He referred to a 20 year study (the study concluded in the 1990s) which studied the influence of weather on the New York Stock Exchange.  The market averaged a 7% increase on cloudy days and a 24% increase on sunny days.  This effect was also observed in other stock markets.  He suggests that stockbrokers were unconsciously influenced by the weather conditions, which affected their market decisions.  In sunny weather, they felt more optimistic, which would make them more likely to pay more for the stocks, thus helping the stock market.  I notice that I feel happier and tend to view things more positively on sunny days.  After hearing this podcast, I can be more aware of how weather influences me; I will make an effort to be aware of the potential impact of weather on my thoughts, hopefully allowing me to make more rational decisions (e.g. not being pessimistic just because it is overcast).

[J Sito]

The Subliminal Self podcast discusses the different types of

subconsciousness that has been discovered recently. One point that was

brought up was our unconscious association of attractiveness with

competence. Determining factors were found to include height, smiling
in photos and possessing a strong hairline. Seemingly arbitrary
factors such as these can supposedly influence your subconscious into
viewing someone in a favorable (or other) light. Because these factors
should not logically be considered when assessing competence in most
situations, I will do my best to consciously ignore them when I am in
such situations.

[Alexander Golob]

Although the podcast is titled The Subliminal Self, a great deal of it was directed towards impression management. This podcast notes how people use shortcuts to evaluate the nature of another person they do not know well. This may come in the form of a slight touch, a lower tone of voice, not slow speaking, or a simple smile. All of these factors play into how people you view for the first time think of you. Yet, when a person consciously wields this knowledge, they often are put at a more advantageous position than their counterparts that do not use these methods. In France, a study where men standing on a street asked for women's phone numbers, those who gave a quick tap or pat on the woman's arm had a much higher success rate than did those who didn't give this physical touch. This knowledge will come very much in handy when I am trying to sell art. From now on, I will try to tap the arm of the person I am trying to sell my work to, and speak lower in my register and at a steady rate.

On Wednesday, May 9, 2012 8:15:58 AM UTC-4, jonathan wrote:

[Maulik Limbachiya]

The subliminal life podcast has taught me that there are always
unconscious factors to decisions. I think that now that I am aware of
some of these tells, I can notice them as they happen in my life. For
example, I can ask myself whether I like a politician by the way he
looks, or by his governmental policies. If I ever go into advertising,
I can try to use some sort of subliminal messaging to sell more of my
product. Since our unconscious controls so much of our conscious, I
can try to take a 3rd person view of my decisions, and try to find the
root cause of my decision making. It will be very interesting to find
out how I personally make my decisions that seem to be my own.

On May 9, 8:15 am, jonathan <jsimon...@gmail.com> wrote: