Depression and subliminal priming with emotional expressions

Subliminal affective priming is an effect that occurs when an individual is shown an emotional image at a speed that is too fast to consciously detect. The affect displayed by the subliminal image is then attributed to subsequent, consciously seen targets (Murphy, Monahan, & Zajonc, 1995). In this study, subliminal affective priming effects are examined along with the presence or absence of depression. It was hypothesized that depression would affect affective priming outcomes, and that relatively short versus long timing of subliminal prime would result in different results. Eighty-six University students participated in a web-based experiment, which showed happy or sad subliminal face primes for different lengths of time, followed by a neutral face. The subliminal priming experiment did not yield clear subliminal effects, but did show an association between increased depression and decreased perception of unpleasantness on a neutral face. Anxiety was significantly related to effects of subliminal prime. Methodological issues that may have affected the study's ability to function as intended are discussed.