The subliminal fountain of youth
The Boston Globe:
How can Medicare boost the health of the elderly? Maybe it should consider cutting a deal with the FCC to broadcast subliminal ads, given new research out of Yale University. Once a week for several weeks, elderly individuals viewed positive-age-stereotype words that were flashed subliminally on a screen. In subsequent weeks, these individuals reported more positive stereotypes and self-perceptions of aging—and, even more amazingly, they exhibited improved physical function—compared to those who viewed subliminally flashed neutral words. The effect on physical function “surpassed a previous study’s 6-month-exercise-intervention’s effect with participants of similar ages.” A nonsubliminal positive-age-stereotype intervention—writing about a “senior citizen who is mentally and physically healthy”—did not have the same effect.
Read the whole story: The Boston Globe
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