I am (un)happy but I don't know why: Subliminal positive-self statements effects

This study provides evidence that positive self-statements can increase mood among unhappy people if they are presented subliminally. In study 1, participants with low and high levels of dispositional happiness were presented subliminally with the two words I AM which were immediately paired with a positive word. Results revealed that being exposed to subliminal positive self-statements seems to provide a boost in mood for people with less happy dispositions. Surprisingly, opposite effects were found for participants who had joyful dispositions: exposure to subliminal positive self-statements tended to lower their mood. Study 2 confirmed these results with an implicit measure of mood. Such results suggest that subliminal messages can affect emotions and highlight the necessity of taking personality into account in unconscious cognition research.