Definition of backward masking
1
psychology
:masking (see 1masking 2c) of one stimulus by the occurrence of another stimulus immediately after it
- In backward masking, the stimulus of interest is presented to the subject followed within milliseconds by another related stimulus that masks the effect of the first.
- —Nita A. Farahany, Stanford Law Review, February 2012
- If researchers flash a word on a screen for a few milliseconds and immediately follow it by a pattern of random lines, the viewer cannot report the word (backward masking).
- —Rita L. Atkinson et al., Introduction to Psychology, 9th edition, 1987
2
:backmasking
- The religious right accused the band of using backward masking to hide satanic messages … a charge that was dismissed by both the band and the general public.
- —Wayne Bledsoe, Knoxville (Tennessee) News-Sentinel, 3 Mar. 1995
- “Free as a Bird,” the “new” Beatles recording unveiled at the end of Sunday's televised “Beatles Anthology,” ends with a bit of backward masking. It sounds like gibberish until it's played backward to reveal John Lennon saying, “It turned out nice again.”
- —Richard Harrington, Washington Post, 22 Nov. 1995
