Subliminal persuasion is a way of influencing people at a level that is below their conscious recognition (Larson, 2009). Subliminal persuasion tends to use more than words to help in influencing people. It is more about the power that lies beneath or behind the language.

It is apparent that most people detest subliminal persuasion and hoaxes more so when it comes to advertising. This is because they give room to the passing of information or messages that are not desirable for that particular aspect (Larson, 2009). A good example is how companies like Disney use subliminal advertising in some of their products. Examples include the “Little Mermaid Promo Art” which has an obvious penis in the middle and “Lion King Subliminal where there is a scene where the stars create the word SEX. Given the audience of this company, including such messages is viewed as an undesirable act.

Urban legends manage to convince people because they embrace characteristics that make ideas stick. To begin with, they are simple as they try to find the core without sounding silly. They are also unexpected, and this helps in grabbing the attention of people while they are also concrete to ensure that they can be easily grasped and remembered later. Urban legends are also emotional, and this helps people to see their importance, and they can also be told in stories hence making the idea sticky due to the mental stimulation involved.

Generally, people believe false ideas due to the rapport that is usually developed with the source of these ideas. When people feel more at ease, it becomes easy to be persuaded (Feldman, 2017). People also believe false ideas since it is easier compared to taking the initiative of analyzing and evaluating these ideas. The concept of emotional reasoning also enhances the endorsement of false ideas since people are easily swayed by emotions (Feldman, 2017).

References

Feldman, D. (2017). Why Do People Believe Things that Aren’t True?. Psychology Today. Retrieved 22 November 2017, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/supersurvivors/201705/why-do-people-believe-things-aren-t-true

Larson, C. (2009). Persuasion: Reception and Responsibility (12th ed.). Cengage Learning.

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