The Subliminal Effect of Negative Campain Ads in Particular, and Life in General
I caught this video over at ABCNews.com. It chronicles how researchers tested approximately 200 largely undecided voters across the country through a simple online test that measures implicit biases. About half the test subjects were shown a picture of Obama and the other half a picture of McCain. Various words, both positive and negative, were flashed on the screen in different colors. The participants were asked to press a button that corresponded to the color of the word as it appeared on the screen.
Most of the voters in the study said ads calling McCain "out of touch" didn't affect their perception of him. The same went for an Obama ad that suggested McCain was "erratic." But according to the test results, "Bush" and "erratic" were the top two words the group associated with McCain.
The group was also shown a clip of a Sarah Palin rally where she said, "Obama, he pals around with terrorists." The majority of voters said they didn't think Obama had any connection to terrorists. But in fact, the word "terrorist" was one of the top five words the group associated with Obama.
As for the loaded issue of race, most participants said Obama's race was not a factor in how they would vote. But the No. 1 word they associated with Obama was "uppity," a word rife with racial overtones, which surprised the group members.
It's really a fascinating little clip. Most of us think that we're so cognitively powerful that we can set aside those things we come across that our conscious mind "knows" are wrong. We can listen to some gangsta rap without really becoming gangsta in our thinking. And we Christians, well, we can tap into "the things of the world" every now and then without really having them effect us. We're strong enough to compartmentalize those things and know, understand, and live unto that which is real, important, eternal. The violence we watch for entertainment is just that. entertainment. The sex that sells, the lifestyles of the rich and famous, the magazine covers at the supermarket, the ads on TV, the lyrics to the songs on the radio that we listen to, and all that good stuff that permeates our lives, well, we're "adult" enough to not let it effect us, right? When it comes down to the nitty-gritty, that stuff doesn't matter. We are the masters of our fate! If you're effected by the consumer culture, well, that just shows how weak you are. Me? I'm above all that.
Well, if you're still walking around with that mindset, take a look at this video. Stick with it...the punchline is at the end.
Get it?
Those Amish...pretty goofy, huh?
Maybe not.
Maybe this "in the world but not of the world" thing isn't as easy as we thought. Maybe those prissy and prudish fundamentalist-types that we post-evangelical/emerging/its-all-about-Jesus-types marginalize and snicker at, well, maybe we need to stop snickering and take another listen, huh?
What do you think?...............................................................Now, do you remember who told you to think it?...and why?
Grace and Peace,
Raffi
Most of the voters in the study said ads calling McCain "out of touch" didn't affect their perception of him. The same went for an Obama ad that suggested McCain was "erratic." But according to the test results, "Bush" and "erratic" were the top two words the group associated with McCain.
The group was also shown a clip of a Sarah Palin rally where she said, "Obama, he pals around with terrorists." The majority of voters said they didn't think Obama had any connection to terrorists. But in fact, the word "terrorist" was one of the top five words the group associated with Obama.
As for the loaded issue of race, most participants said Obama's race was not a factor in how they would vote. But the No. 1 word they associated with Obama was "uppity," a word rife with racial overtones, which surprised the group members.
It's really a fascinating little clip. Most of us think that we're so cognitively powerful that we can set aside those things we come across that our conscious mind "knows" are wrong. We can listen to some gangsta rap without really becoming gangsta in our thinking. And we Christians, well, we can tap into "the things of the world" every now and then without really having them effect us. We're strong enough to compartmentalize those things and know, understand, and live unto that which is real, important, eternal. The violence we watch for entertainment is just that. entertainment. The sex that sells, the lifestyles of the rich and famous, the magazine covers at the supermarket, the ads on TV, the lyrics to the songs on the radio that we listen to, and all that good stuff that permeates our lives, well, we're "adult" enough to not let it effect us, right? When it comes down to the nitty-gritty, that stuff doesn't matter. We are the masters of our fate! If you're effected by the consumer culture, well, that just shows how weak you are. Me? I'm above all that.
Well, if you're still walking around with that mindset, take a look at this video. Stick with it...the punchline is at the end.
Get it?
Those Amish...pretty goofy, huh?
Maybe not.
Maybe this "in the world but not of the world" thing isn't as easy as we thought. Maybe those prissy and prudish fundamentalist-types that we post-evangelical/emerging/its-all-about-Jesus-types marginalize and snicker at, well, maybe we need to stop snickering and take another listen, huh?
What do you think?...............................................................Now, do you remember who told you to think it?...and why?
Grace and Peace,
Raffi
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