Chapter 4- Comprehension, Memory, and Cognitive Learning

Question 1

comprehension

Answer 1

the way people cognitively assign meaning to (ie. understand) things that they encounter

Question 2

what are 3 factors related to consumer consumption?

Answer 2

internal factors, cognitive and affective elements, signal theory

Question 3

internal factors

Answer 3

internal factors within the consumer powerfully influence the comprehension process.

Question 4

cognitive and affective elements

Answer 4

the process of comprehension involves both thoughts and feelings

Question 5

signal theory

Answer 5

every message sends signals, tells us that communications provide information in ways beyond the explicit or obvious content

Question 6

physical characteristics of a message

Answer 6

the elements of a message that are directly/tangible elements/parts of a message that can be sensed; consumers prefer objects that are consistent with the golden ratio of 1.62

Question 7

message congruity

Answer 7

represents the extent to which a message is internally consistent and fits surrounding information, figure, and ground

Question 8

figure

Answer 8

object that is intended to capture a person’s attention aka the focal image

Question 9

ground

Answer 9

the background; the contrast btwn the two represent the psychological figure-ground distinction

Question 10

figure-ground distinction

Answer 10

note that each message can be separated into the focal point (figure) and the background (ground)

Question 11

message source

Answer 11

a source’s attractiveness functions in much the same way as likeability; source influences comprehension to varying degrees based upon characteristics like likeability, attractiveness, expertise, trustworthiness, congruence

Question 12

expertise

Answer 12

refers to the amount of knowledge that a source is perceived to have about a subject

Question 13

trustworthiness

Answer 13

refers to how honest and unbiased a source is perceived to be

Question 14

support arguments

Answer 14

thoughts that further support a message

Question 15

intelligence/ability

Answer 15

intelligent, well educated, consumers are more likely to accurately comprehend a message than are less intelligent or less educated consumers;

marketers should communicate information pertaining to product warnings, usage instructions, or assembly directions in a way that those w/ relatively low intelligence can understand

Question 16

prior knowledge

Answer 16

the human brain matches incoming information w/ pre-existing knowledge or prior knowledge provides resources or a way through which other stimuli can be comprehended ie. superstition

Question 17

involvement

Answer 17

the highly involved consumer will click through more information than a less involved consumer

Question 18

familiarity/ habituation

Answer 18

consumers tend to like familiarity, however in terms of comprehension, familiarity may lower a consumer’s motivation to process a message

Question 19

habituation

Answer 19

the process by which continuous exposure to a stimulus affects the comprehension of , and response to some stimulus

Question 20

adaptation level

Answer 20

the level of a stimulus to which a consumer has become accustomed

Question 21

expectations

Answer 21

beliefs about what will happen in a future situation–what consumers expect to experience has an impact on their comprehension of the environment ie. how packaging influences consumer’s comprehension of products

Question 22

physical limitations

Answer 22

a consumer’s physical limitations can also influence our comprehension

Question 23

brain dominance

Answer 23

refers to the phenomenon of brain lateralization (left/right brain), R dominant tend to be visual processors (image>audio), whereas L dominant tend to deal better w/ verbal processing (words) & this influences metaphor comprehension among other things

Question 24

information intensity

Answer 24

refers to the amount of info available for a consumer to process w/in a given environment

Question 25

framing

Answer 25

a phenomenon in which the meaning of something is influenced by the information environment

Question 26

prospect theory

Answer 26

hypothesizes that the way information is framed differently affects risks assessments and associated consumer decisions

Question 27

priming

Answer 27

terms that refers to whether we are thinking about something using a concrete or abstract mindset; concrete: giving $10, abstract: thinking of a trip to Italy

Question 28

timing

Answer 28

refers to the amount of time a consumer has to process the message and the point in time at which the consumer receives the message, the way time or age influences the interpretation of things is sometimes called zeitgeist

Question 29

memory

Answer 29

the psychological process through which ppl record and store knowledge

Question 30

multiple state theory of memory

Answer 30

theory that explains memory as utilizing three different storage areas w/in the human brain: sensory, workbench, and long term

Question 31

sensory memory

Answer 31

(short term memory) area in memory system where info is stored and encoded for placement in long-term memory and eventually retrieved for future use

Question 32

mechanisms in sensory memory

Answer 32

iconic storage: storage of visual information as an exact representation of the scene echoic storage: storage of auditory info as an exact representation of the sound--all sights, sounds smells, tactile sensations, and tastes are recorded as exact replicas in the mind of the consumer

Question 33

workbench memory

Answer 33

(limited capacity/working memory) the area in the memory system where info is stored and encoded for placement in long-term memory and eventually retrieved for future use

Question 34

mechanisms in workbench memory

Answer 34

encoding: a process in which info is transferred from workbench memory to long-term memory and eventually retrieved for permanent storage retrieval: the process by which info is transferred back into work-bench memory for additional processing when needed

Question 35

what are 4 mental processes that help us remember things?

Answer 35

1. repetition- a process in which a thought is held in short-term memory by mentally repeating the thought 2. dual coding- a process in which two different sensory "traces" are available to remember something; a trace is a mental path by which some thought becomes active 3. meaningful encoding- a process that occurs when pre-existing knowledge is used to assist in storing new info 4. chunking- a process of grouping stimuli by meaning so that multiple stimuli can become a single memory unit

Question 36

long-term memory

Answer 36

a repository for all info that a person has encountered:; this portion of memory has unlimited capacity and unlimited duration

Question 37

mechanisms in long-term memory

Answer 37

semantive coding: the stimuli are connected to meaning that can be expressed verbally memory trace: mental path by which some thought becomes active spreading activation: way cognitive activation spreads from one concept (or note) to another ie. Tabasco & hot mental tagging: a tag is a small piece of coded data that helps us get that particular piece of knowledge onto the workbench rumination: refers to the unintentional, spontaneous, recurrent memory of past and sometimes long-ago events that are not necessarily triggered by anything in the environment, these thoughts frequently include consumption related activities nostalgia: a mental yearning to relive the past

Question 38

elaboration

Answer 38

the extent to which a person continues processing a message even after she develops an initial understanding in the comprehension stage

Question 39

personal elaboration

Answer 39

ppl imagine themselves associating w/a stimulus being processed, provides the deepest comprehension and greatest chance of accurate recall

Question 40

associate network

Answer 40

(semantic network) a network of mental pathways linking all knowledge within memory

Question 41

declarative knowledge

Answer 41

a terms used in psychology to refer to cognitive components that represent facts

Question 42

schema

Answer 42

a portion of an associative network that represents a specific entity and thereby provides it with meaning

Question 43

exemplar

Answer 43

a concept within schema that is the single best representative of some category; they can vary person to person based on their experiences

Question 44

prototypes

Answer 44

schema that is the best representative of some category but that is not represented by an existing entity; conglomeration of the most associated characteristics of a category

Question 45

script

Answer 45

a schema representing an event; consumers derive expectations for service encounters from these scritps

Question 46

episodic memory

Answer 46

the memory for past events, or episodes, in one's life

Question 47

social identity

Answer 47

the idea that individual is defined in part by the groups to which one belongs