depression

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

backmasking

http://jeffmilner.com/backmasking/
For your post, please explain what back masking is in a clever and original way. Elaborate on why it works using AP psych terms from chapter 5 and 6.  Comment once and reply twice.

50 comments:

  1. Backmasking is just a subliminal stimulus that secretly makes us hail Satan and think its fun to smoke marijuana. In chapter 6 objective 15, we found that our brain will work backwards allowing in stimulus. The subliminal stimulus will prime us and affect our perceptions and when we see someone smoking the marijuana while playing "another one bites the dust" we're gonna think, "hey that dude is having fun and worshiping the devil".

    We need to think about the children.

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    1. I agree with how you mentioned that our brain works backwards. Just like in the demos we did in class, many of us did not hear these hidden messages in the songs until Mr. Ramirez suggested them afterwards. Now that we were looking for what was suggested, we were able to hear the messages the second time around. ->Our brain working backwards

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    2. Exactly in class Ramirez explained to us that back masking is fitting information into an ideal presented by somone or something it's top down processing

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    3. Given that the interpretation of the back-masked song depends on what specific priming one experiences, wouldn't it beg the question that one may hear a message different than the message other interpreters propose, however change what they originally believe they heard after being influenced by other individuals' thinking?

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    4. given your interpretation of back-masked songs. A persons interpretations would be different, if you weren't primed to hear a certain message and the influence of others would just be priming you even more so when you listen to the song again, you would hear what you were primed to listen.

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    5. I agree entirely with Gabriel; his observation about priming and our brains' tendencies to work backwards (top-down processing) are impeccable. I do think it should, however, be noted that the influence the priming has is relative to when it was suggested to the listener (i.e. as Daisy mentioned it only is effective if we hear the song backwards first and make our own impression of it, and then hear it again, this time with the suggestion that it says something else).

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    6. i agree with you. most of backmasking is much of the information processed worked unconsciously. the subliminal marketing has little to no value. and remember it doesn't work.

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    7. I agree Gabriel:) we as humans get brain washed easily and we would believe anything we hear. If every song backmasked means something about satan then does it mean that gospel songs have a satan meaning backwards??

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  2. Backmasking is the hidden messages we Want to "unmask."
    As explained in Chp. 6 Obj.14 our experiences, expectations, and assumtions make up our percepual set which then influence how we perceive things. If we expect to hear hidden messages while playing a song backwards, or have previously experienced a time when something similar occured, then chances are we might hear "hidden" messages or words once again.

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    1. This reminds me a lot of chapter 8 objectives 15 on priming the concepts seems very similar

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    2. I completely agree with you because like i said back masking has to do with perceptual sets.

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    3. Absolutely agree, we hear the evil secret message when we're a primed. my question is if we can hear it backwards when we're primed can people identify the evil secret message if they just had the lyrics to a song? Is backmasking only audio or can it be in writing and if it can be in writing then how do you know your not being brain washed as you read this?

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    4. Interesting point Gabriel! I mean, how come we only hear those 'evil messages' while the music is played backwards? I mean, even if we were primed to think that there was some underlying evil intent to the music, I highly doubt anyone would notice it if the music was played normally. So then, priming only works when we can't clearly identify something–if it sounds unintelligible to us (hence why we need to hear it backwards).

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  3. Back masking is like an investigator who decides who's guilty than searches for evidence to prove it . Since he's already have what he's searching for in mind all evidence he comes across will only solidify his own beliefs . Back masking works the same way if someone tells you the songs has devil references you are unconsciously searching for them while you listen this any noise you hear you subconsciously attribute to satan

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    1. I believe the same thing because once the song is played backwards without any references said to what the song plays we don't hear anything but once we are referenced to hear a certain phrase we can match the phrase said with the song being played backwards. I hope that made sense.

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    2. Your definition of back masking further supports the idea it is dependent almost entirely on expectations, and you are right.

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    3. your explanation was simple and easy to comprehend. i agree with every word you said because as Ramirez said in class, our brain activity underlies perception combines sensory input with assumptions and expectations.

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    4. This is the most accurate analogy I've read so far. There seems to be a misconception that back making has something to do with hidden messages, but it doesn't. It's only one example. Your detective simile shows that backward masking affects us in other ways. Ways that have nothing to do with backwards songs and satan worshiping.

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    5. Yup. This is very accurate. Us humans are always trying to find hidden messages in everything. When all I ever hear is murmurs when I hear them played backwards.

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    6. I love your interpretation of back masking and your simile. I concur that the "investigator" just searches for what he already believes, which is his biased hypothesis.

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  4. I think that back masking is all about assumptions and how we perceive the song as it is played backwards. Our mental disposition greatly influences what we perceive through experiences which has to do with our top down processing. Different perceptual sets brings different views for example if one person hears something in the song and another hears something else and they both sound similar but are different things that were said this brings to the conclusion that perceptual sets can influence what we hear.

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    1. Griselda Padilla

      I agree with you about our perceptual set can influence what we hear. This is because where we come from and grew up around had all the influence in what we believe or believe to hear.

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  5. Back masking is a clever invention for those who believe in conspiracy theories to justify attacking the music industry and its performers. We are primed by those who believe in the influences of back masking and their satanic interpretations instead of allowing our own top-down processing to allow ourselves to "hear" the message for ourselves. Listening to a song played backwards to a child or adult in turn may or may not influence them to try drugs, worship satan, or do whatever the backward song suggests they should do, however the decision would be based more on the previous experiences of the individual and not the subliminal stimulation back masking provides.

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    1. I agree, it is a matter of prime. When listening to the reversed clip in class, at times I did not hear anything distinguishable. Other times i did hear the faint "sa" from the assumed "satan" but only because I thought it to be what we were looking for.

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  6. Backmasking is really just when an unintentional message is found by playing a piece of music backwards. It goes hand in hand with priming and, if a suggestion as to what the backwards music is saying is made, one may actually end up 'hearing' that message. Through record burning protests by overzealous Christians, backmasking became controversial in the US and has become associated with hidden satanic messages in the songs of rock musicians. Simply put, backmasking is the combination of interference between our two systems of sensation and interpretation: bottom-up processing and top-down processing. In other words, we hear the song backwards and perceive gibberish (bottom-up at work here), but then we are told there IS a message and, upon rehearing the song we trick ourselves into hearing that it is there (delayed top-down processing and priming). There is no more significance or truth to 'satanic' messages in backmasking than there is in santa claus. Seriously, it's bogus. On a more psychological level, it is comparable to the effect of when a person sees a missing child poster, then later in the day sees a child with a suspicious adult and automatically thinks "Wait! Could this be that kid?" The true insight from all of this is that our two systems of information processing are vulnerable to influence from an outside source–meaning our perceptions can be altered and induced to change.

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    1. Yes! You're the first one (I think) to mention that bottom-up processing is used at all when processing back masking. I agree with that statement. Also thanks for the concise history lesson of back masking.

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  7. Backmasking is when you try to make a clear understanding in something that isnt there. for example, when we did the Demo of the songs being played backwards, we had to "unmask" what the lyrics actually said and understand it. this was difficult because most of us couldnt really understand what the words said. as soon as Mr. Ramirez told us what the words were supposed to say, we all heard it. the reason for this was because our brain put the pieces that we had heard, and what Ramirez had told us was supposed to be there, we put it into a whole. this process of us putting it into a whole was Gestalts theory. another example that supports this idea was the blindspot demo in Chapter 6, obj.3. when the spiral that had gaps, looked as a whole when we looked only at the center.

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  8. Back masking is a really creative way to send subliminal messeges and you can only find them once you're primed.
    A funny example of back masking is in little Nicky, when they play Ozzy and you can hear anything, and then Nicky puts Chicago and you hear a "message" from lucifer.

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    1. Griselda Padilla

      I agree with you Vanessa. I only heard the satanic message once I was told what I should of heard from the song.

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  9. Backward masking is changing your perception of an image, event, or experience after you've already experienced it, because you were primed to perceive it another way.
    Let's say somebody makes a comment toward you that really didn't strike you in any way. Then, once the conversation is over, a friend points out that the comment seemed a bit rude to them and give you a reason. It may not have meant anything to you as it happened, but looking back, now you think it was very rude. If given the chance to repeat the experience, you would from then on perceive that comment to be very rude.
    And that's backward masking in perception. I'm finding it hard to find articles on the internet about backward masking that doesn't have to do with visual backward masking...

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    1. I agree that it changes your perception of something when its inclined by someone that something is not what you thought before, kinda like priming

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  10. Griselda Padilla

    Back masking is a technique in which a subliminal message is unintentionally hidden within a song. When we tried this out in class I never heard the actual message until I was primed to here it. Now my brain was specifically listening for that phrase or word. We used our bottom up processing to hear the music but once told what we should of heard we use our perception to connect what we heard with the song. We are combing what we were told to what he thought we heard.

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    1. I agree that! Youd never think Queen wanted people to smoke marijuana! Lol

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    2. I agree with Griselda, but what I find funny is that once we were told it sounded like something, we all "heard" it.

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  11. So the only reason people could actually hear the subliminal messages backwards is because we were primed, we were told it actually means something rather than just gibberish. I think no one would really think it meant anything ither than a backwards song.

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    1. Yes!! Exactly like that! Haha.

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    2. I agree with gabby all we hear is mumbeling and once someone tells us what it "means" we all of a sudden hear it?

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    3. EXACTLY! Jackie gets it. Thats all I ever hear. Just murmurs. I think that unless the artist prove it fact, I believe its a load of bull poop.

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  12. Well, mostly what occurs in these backmasked songs is that our per eption is changed by a single suggestion. Reminds of the last chapter's power of suggestion. It may overlap into last chapter's information.

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    1. I had not thought of suggestion, but yes, I agree it can definitely overlap. Just like selective attention, we are putting unto ourselves what we expect, just how suggestion may alter our expectations.
      It is about expectation, not so much reality.

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  13. Backmasking also involves our brain being tricked of our perception. I believe this is the epitomic example of how our brain is largely involved in what we sense. Proving the large and ominent existence of top-down processing.

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  14. Through out the chapter8 it talks about backmasking and i always wondered what it ment but i realized it means nothing it is all in your head! We go crazy trying to figure it out and making up words just to make sense.

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  15. Backmasking has everything to do with your head. The things that are "said backwards" aren't really there. Backmasking is literally hearing the wrong information and then learning it wrong over and over telling yourself its right. Which if you ask me is pretty dumb.

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  16. Backmasking, a man wearing a mask on the back of his head. He walks forward with a fake guise and backwards with his real face. (Mask on his back, puny, puny…d: )
    I believe conspiracy theorists and paranoid religious groups hear all those supposed references to satan, drugs, and what not, because of the signal detection theory and priming. In the midst to noise and gibberish of the song, they would find the "secret message" by means of already knowing what they are looking for- with the faintest of auditory signals.
    This would also be selective attention. Even if we may not study conspiracy or do not believe in the "evils of rock", we may focus on finding something in specific, and we will find it- even if it is only by our perceptions.

    It is still pretty creepy to listen to the Beetles songs backwards, especially after watching the documentary. It is most chilling when the artist uses back masking on purpose.

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  17. when you hear A certain message, then your mind is going to start thinking your going to hear it, and then that's how you think you hear it, it's all the brain making it seem like that but if people just tell you to listen to it without telling you what it's going to say then you don't hear anything. its kind of like priming.

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  18. Back masking is the change of one's perception after already experiencing it, processing the information top-down. Our experiences, expectations, and assumptions influence how we perceive information; and if someone primes you with their biased assumptions then it is likely to perceive that information as they have suggested. These "backwards hidden messages" (gibberish) are just found by conspirators to manifest their hot topic ideas into society without sounding too crazy. I thought it was funny that when we were listening to all the back masking of songs in class, we got used to hearing all of them being about satan that we even assumed that the Queen song was about satan, when is was actually supposed to be about smoking marijuana. Personally, even after given what we were supposed to hear out of the back masked songs, it was hard for me to make out the subliminal messages.

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  19. That's a good point about us expecting to hear something satanic in the Queen song. Our brain picks up patterns and themes and base expectations off these experiences. And the same goes for just about anything.
    Funny how everything we've experienced can affect everything we will experience.

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