title: Affective and cognitive reactions to subliminal flicker from fluorescent lighting.
abstract: This study renews the classical concept of subliminal perception (Peirce & Jastrow, 1884) by investigating the impact of subliminal flicker from fluorescent lighting on affect and cognitive performance. It was predicted that low compared to high frequency lighting (latter compared to former emits non-flickering light) would evoke larger changes in affective states and also impair cognitive performance. Subjects reported high rather than low frequency lighting to be more pleasant, which, in turn, enhanced their problem solving performance. This suggests that sensory processing can take place outside of conscious awareness resulting in conscious emotional consequences; indicating a role of affect in subliminal/implicit perception, and that positive affect may facilitate cognitive task performance.
authors.affiliation: University of Gävle, Department of Social Work and Psychology, SE-801 76 Gävle, Sweden. Electronic address: igor.knez@hig.se.
authors.forename: Igor
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Knez
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect / Q000502:physiology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D005453:Fluorescence; D006801:Humans; D008029:Lighting / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D011897:Random Allocation; D013360:Subliminal Stimulation; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Affect; Flicker; Fluorescent lighting; Implicit perception; Problem solving; Subliminal perception