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Approved For Release 2003/09/10 : CIA-RDP96-00788R001300020001-6 UNCLASSIFIED ST-CS-01-169-72 July 1972 5. (U) The important feature of Soviet hypnopedia research is believed to be the conclusions that the Soviets are now arriving at in regards to the manipulation of the subconscious area of the brain. Much of the early work that is described by Dodge and Lamont (163) provide the foundation for a much broader under- standing of the various methods available for conditioning the human mind. Hypnopedia research has produced an interest in the Soviet Union for the use of the psychology of memory and the subconscious in order to create conditions and functional states for improving memory operation. The areas that grew out of basic hypnopedic research include hypnosis, autogenic training and subliminal perception. It is believed that these newer areas of endeavor bear more scrutiny than the more mundane area of hypnopedia. PART B ~ Subliminal Perception 1. (U) The use of subliminal perception in the advertising industry gained some notoriety in 1958 when an article appeared in the New York Times uncovering the technique developed by the New York firm known as the Subliminal Projection Company, Inc (165). Subliminal perception is a psychological belief that persons can be stimulated below (sub) the threshold (limen) of consciousness. Another interpretation, more commonly used, is that persons can supposedly be stimulated without being aware of it. Hypnopedia, for example, might be considered a form of subliminal perception. 2. (UV) Im the late 1950s there was much debate as to the moral and ethical use of subliminal advertising. There was in the US a strong moral repugnance to the use of subliminal perception in TV advertising. The furor raised by the public and the press concluded when the Federal Communications Commission entered the picture in 1957. An excellent overview on the subject of subliminal stimulation was prepared by McConnell et al in 1958 (166). The authors attempt to clarify the issues surrounding the application of subliminal perception. The article examines the levels of behavior that may be influenced by subliminal stimulation as well as the ethical questions that naturally arise. The article contains an extensive bibliography. 3. (U) The distinction between subliminal and supraliminal perception cannot always be clearly made. Because of the statis- tical nature of thresholds, it is possible that many subjects may receive some cues from stimuli even though they are supposedly below threshold. Also, what may for one person, at a particular 51 UNCLASSIFIED Approved For Release 2003/09/10 : CIA-RDP96-00788R001300020001-6