According to L. H. Silverman (1985), subliminal activation experiments document a universal wish for symbioticlike merger. A recent meta-analysis (R. A. Hardaway, 1990) was consistent with this proposition in revealing more adaptive behavior (Cohen's d = .41) after stimulation with Mommy and I Are One (MIO; L. H. Silverman, F. M. Lachman, & R. H. Milich, 1982) than after neutral control phrases. However, indications are that positive effects are not universal. On the basis of mood being a possible mediator of MIO effects, the authors conducted an experiment in which 10 women given a high "dose" of MIO were compared with 10 others given a neutral control stimulus. Effects on mood were gauged with a word selection task. In a second experiment with new participants, mood was assessed by means of early childhood memories. These experiments produced negative effects (Cohen's ds = -.40 and -.48) that were significantly different from the previous positive estimate (.41). Defense activity may explain why negative outcomes are not identified when crude or delayed outcome measures are used.

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