A study by University College London (UCL) finds that images or messages that are shown so quickly that the viewer does not consciously see them (subliminal messages) are more effective when the message being conveyed is negative.

In a series of experiments where people were repeatedly shown a series of both positive and negative words on a computer screen for a split second, the findings suggest that people do have the ability to process emotional information from subliminal messaging. In fact, based on this study, researchers found that participants were able to more accurately answer questions about the subject matter when responding to negative words.

These findings may have larger implications for the use of subliminal marketing to convey messages for various campaigns. Negative words have a more rapid impact and, although controversial, this suggests that highlighting the negative qualities of a subject may be effective in influencing individuals’ perceptions.