Definitions
When discussing stimuli and mental processes, Subliminal refers to that which is below the threshold of conscious awareness.
Debates regarding the effect of subliminal perception stem largely from the largely mythical concept of Subliminal Advertising where advertisers purportedly influence consumer behaviour. Classically this is the alleged practice of splicing one or two frames of film into a movie to influence audiences to buy more soft drinks and popcorn. However, it has to be said that this subliminal affect has never stood-up to serious scientific scrutiny. Cultural reactions to the existence of that which is described as subliminal is largely irrational, growing predominantly out of a time when the fear of, and belief in, mind control featured strongly within society’s group consciousness. That’s not so say there’s no such thing; rather that it’s not proven.
That said it would be foolish to discount the possibility that stimuli below conscious awareness can have an effect on consciousness. Whether or not such stimulus is capable of allowing one consciousness to directly affect the mind or modify the behaviour of another. Once the possibility of subliminal perception has been recognized avenues of inquiry regarding the relationship between physical stimuli and mental phenomena with respect to consciousness become apparent.
The threshold between imperceptible and perceptible is known as the liminal point. To say something is Liminal means it’s situated at the sensory threshold and hence is barely perceptible.
Discovering the liminal point with respect to visual imagery would appear to be easy. Simply splicing an increasing number of frames of film into a movie until the additional frames become noticeable would highlight the liminal threshold of vision. However, this approach simply accepts the subliminal hypothesis and attempts to demonstrate it. Where it fail is in the assumption that what is imperceptible lies beneath perception; it fails to recognize the possibility of imperceptible stimuli existing beyond the threshold of conscious awareness. To be thorough one must speculate that there is second liminal point where what is perceived becomes imperceptible.
There is a story about a town where the church clock would mark the hour by ringing an exceptionally loud bell. One day in the early hours of the morning the clock stopped and the bell did not sound. The sleeping residents of the town woke-up alarmed and startled, exclaiming “What was that?”. This story is most likely apocryphal, be as that may it does highlight the how the liminal does not merely bound that which is below the threshold of conscious awareness.
To be complete therefore, one must speculate on the hyperliminal. That is to say stimuli and mental processes which are above the threshold of conscious awareness. Furthermore, conscious awareness can be defined to exist only within the boundaries of the subliminal and hyperliminal. This gives rise to the concept of Intraliminal; between the liminal; the place where conscious awareness resides.
Unlike subliminal phenomena, which operate beneath the threshold of perception and the senses and therefore for the most part remain outside the intraliminal, hyperliminal phenomena would appear to require an initial connection within the intraliminal. Consider a hypothetical journey, one you’ve made every day for the past year. The first time the journey was taken you would have been consciously aware of the nuances of the trip. Whereas a year later the same nuances will pass you by for the most part unconsciously. In effect you will have developed a perceptual blind spot; it’s always there, so you don’t see it. The specifics of the journey and the environment you pass through will have moved from the intraliminal into the hyperliminal.
Clearly the subliminal and the hyperliminal operate within the bounds of the unconscious; that is to say the part of the mind that is inaccessible to the conscious mind but affects behavior and emotions. Yet in developing this model further the concept of the unconscious must necessarily be split. Often the terms Subconscious and Unconscious are used interchangeably. However in recognizing the hyperliminal this correspondence cannot be supported. Consequently the subconscious can be said to be the part of the mind that lies beneath consciousness; and the hyperconscious the part of the mind that lies above consciousness; together they make up the unconscious. The repercussions of such a split are far ranging, most interestingly with respect to theories of how memory works.