skip navigation
Home / Publications / NCJRS Abstract

PUBLICATIONS

Register for Latest Research

Stay Informed
Register with NCJRS to receive NCJRS's biweekly e-newsletter JUSTINFO and additional periodic emails from NCJRS and the NCJRS federal sponsors that highlight the latest research published or sponsored by the Office of Justice Programs.

NCJRS Abstract

The document referenced below is part of the NCJRS Virtual Library collection. To conduct further searches of the collection, visit the Virtual Library. See the Obtain Documents page for direction on how to access resources online, via mail, through interlibrary loans, or in a local library.
 

NCJ Number: 100907 Find in a Library
Title: Midwest Research Report on Subliminal Messages in Retail Stores
Author(s): L A Conner; L A Conner
Corporate Author: Shoplifters Anonymous International
United States of America
Date Published: 1985
Page Count: 40
Sponsoring Agency: Shoplifters Anonymous International
Glen Mills, PA 19342
Type: Report (Study/Research)
Format: Document
Language: English
Country: United States of America
Annotation: Subliminal (both subaudible and subvisual) messages should be tried in retail businesses to help prevent employee theft and shoplifting, given their probable effectiveness and the absence of any legal or ethical arguments against them.
Abstract: Subliminal messages are those received by the mind without conscious awareness. Subliminal messages may be communicated through videotape, film, printed art work, or audio tape. Various experiments have demonstrated the apparent effectiveness of subliminal messages in producing behavior that was not evident without the messages, but findings have not been consistent, suggesting the need to identify factors that contribute to the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of such messages. There is evidence that effective messages must reinforce or relate to a predisposition in the subject. Subliminal messages do not alter behavior towrad which the subject has a predisposed commitment. If subliminal messages communicated through sound or visual means in retail stores are to be effective, they should target vulnerabilities in the mind set of potential offenders. A particular vulnerability is the fear of getting caught. Messages should be framed to play on this fear and intensify it to the point of preventing theft. 20 references.
Main Term(s): Shoplifting
Index Term(s): Business security; Crime specific countermeasures; Employee theft; Retail business crimes; Security systems
To cite this abstract, use the following link:
http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/abstract.aspx?ID=100907

*A link to the full-text document is provided whenever possible. For documents not available online, a link to the publisher's website is provided. Tell us how you use the NCJRS Library and Abstracts Database - send us your feedback.