|
| Our Hidden Desires
When presented with motion in a scene, especially rapid motion, we are less aware or entirely unaware of any still images that may also be present, even if those still images are of something highly valued by us. This evolved from basic survival skills in which having to pay attention to moving parts of an environment, such as a leopard, or leaves rustling nearby, were far more important than a stationary rock or feature of the landscape.
In an experiment by Dr. Sheng He and his students, a series of flashing colored rectangles superimposed onto each other are projected into one eye, while a fainter and constant picture of a nude is projected into the other. This process, Continuous Flash Suppression, cloaks any accompanying still image, for minutes at a time.
Advertisers use this trick, knowing that whatever the still image is that is being cloaked, whether a nude, a shiny car, ice cream, etc. will cause the viewer to gaze longer and more intently at the scene, even while unaware of the enticements being cloaked by the motion. Something in our brain pays attention to the hidden image without our conscious awareness of it. The nude trick works best with voyeurs, ice cream with those with a sweet tooth, etc. |
|
