Lecture 4

Question 1

What is perception?

Answer 1

• The process by which sensations are SELECTED, ORGANIZED and INTERPRETED
• The study of perception focuses on how we give meaning to raw sensations

Question 2

Perception: 4 stages

Answer 2

1. Senses
2. Exposure
3. Attention
4. Interpretation

Question 3

Part 1: senses

Answer 3

• Vision
• Smell
• Sound
• Touch

Question 4

Part 1: senses

Why is vision important?

Answer 4

• Marketers rely heavily on visual elements in advertisements, packaging and store design
• Color, styling and size are communicated through visual channel
• Colors influence our emotions
  o Arousal and stimulating appetite (e.g. red apple)
  o Relaxation (e.g. blue)
• Saturated colors capture attention
  o Don’t overdo it. Extensive use can overwhelm people and cause visual fatigue
• Trade dress
  o Colors that are strong associated with a corporation (Coca-Cola, Red Bull)

Question 5

Part 1: senses

Smell

Answer 5

• Odors can stir emotions
• Odors can create a calming feeling
• Marketers use smell (scented stores, clothes, ads, cars, planes)

Question 6

Part 1: senses

Sound

Answer 6

• Famous songs are used in advertisements
• Advertising jingles create brand awareness
• Background music creates desired mood

Question 7

Part 1: senses

Touch

Answer 7

• Perceived richness or quality of the material in clothing is linked to its ‘feel’, whether rough or smooth.
• Relatively little research has been done on the influence of tactile information on the consumer.

Question 8

Part 1: senses

Taste

Answer 8

• Taste receptors contribute to our experience of many products.
• Changes in culture also determine what kind of taste we prefer.

Question 9

Experiment 4
Havermans (2007)

Sensory-specific satiety

Answer 9

When consuming a specific flavor it will decrease the experienced pleasantness of that flavor (If you eat more of the same thing, it decreases the pleasantness of that meal)

Obese people generally can eat more of the same taste before they get tired of it.

Question 10

Part 2: Exposure

Occurs when…

Answer 10

a stimulus comes within the range of someone’s sensory receptors

Question 11

Part 2: Exposure

Sensory Thresholds

Answer 11

ABSOLUTE threshold
o The minimum amount of stimuli that is needed to detect a stimulus

DIFFERENTIAL threshold
o The ability to detect changes or differences between two stimuli
o The minimum difference that can be detected is the j.n.d. (just noticeable difference)

Question 12

Part 2: Exposure

Weber’s Law

Answer 12

The amount of change that is necessary to notice a change depends on the intensity of the original stimulus.

The difference between 20 and 40 dB is different than the difference between 40 and 60 because of the intensity

Weber’s law helps with finding the perfect price cut. A price cut which is noticeable, but not too much so you won’t lose money.

Question 13

Part 2: Exposure

Marketing examples of J.N.D.

Answer 13

• Pricing
- price increase: < j.n.d.
- price decrease: > j.n.d.
• Sales promotion
- coupons: > j.n.d.
• Product
- size decrease (food products): < j.n.d.
- using the word “new”: product change > j.n.d.
• Packaging
- package styling and logo update: < j.n.d.
- image change: > j.n.d.

Question 14

Part 2: Exposure

Subliminal perception

Answer 14

• Occurs when the stimulus is below the level of consumers’ awareness (below the absolute threshold)

Question 15

Part 2: Exposure

Does subliminal perception work?

Answer 15

• Solomon book: Little evidence that it works

* Other research provides evidence that it can influence behavior