by commercial or political interests (Kotter and Armstrong, 1989).
The great majority of empirical research investigating subliminal advertising has concluded either that (1) it has not been possible to learn enough about the effects of subliminal message presentation to make a reliable assessment of its effectiveness, or (2) the practice is not effective in altering attitudes and drives (Beatty and Hawkins, 1989). Nevertheless, the concept and the purported effectiveness of subliminal advertising continue to receive wide support among both theorists and the general public (Kilbourne, Painton, and Ridley, 1985).
In the investigation of the concept of subliminal advertising and its application, answers were sought to two research questions. These two research questions, together with their associated research hypotheses, were stated as follows:
1. Research question number one, and research hypothesis number one:
a. Research question number one: is the concept of subliminal advertising practiced?
b. Research hypothesis number one: it is hypothesized that the concept of subliminal advertising is practiced.
2. Research question number two, and research hypothesis number two:
a. if the concept of subliminal advertising is practiced, is it effective?
b. it is hypothesized that, if the concept of subliminal advertising is practiced, it is effective.
Research Methodology and Presentation
The data required for the conduct of this study were collected through a search of the relevant literature. Assessment of this literature within the contexts of the research questions investigated and research hypotheses tested was performed within a qualitative, as opposed to a quantitative, context.
The findings of the research performed for this study, and the conclusions drawn from those findings are presented in seven chapters, in addition to this introductory chapter. The topic...