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Chapter 2
Perception
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“Perception is Reality”
Louis Cheskin
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Are The Center Circles the Same Size?
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Are the Purple Lines Bent or Straight?
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A Sax Player or a Woman’s Face?
Sensation and Perception
• Sensation
– Refers to the immediate response of our
sensory receptors (eyes, ears, nose, mouth,
fingers) to such basic stimuli as light, color,
and sound.
• Perception
– Process by which these sensations are
selected, organized, and interpreted.
– People only process a small amount of
information (stimuli).
– An even smaller amount is attended to and
given meaning.
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STIMULI or SENSORY INPUTS
The Perception Process
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Sensation
Exposure
Attention
Interpretation
Meaning
Response
Perception
Sensory Systems
Vision
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• Visual Elements in Advertising,
Store Design and Packaging.
Smell
• Odors Can Stir Emotions or Create
Feelings Such as Happiness/ Hunger.
Sound
Touch
Taste
• Research Has Analyzed Effects of :
Background Music & Speaking Rates
• Shown to Be a Factor in Sales
Interactions.
• Ethnicity Affects Taste Preferences.
Exposure
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• Degree to which people notice a stimulus that
is within range of their sensory receptors.
• Consumers:
– Concentrate on some stimuli,
– Are unaware of others,
– Even go out of their way to ignore some messages.
• Pychophysics - Science that focuses on how
the physical environment is integrated into our
personal, subjective world.
Sensory Thresholds
Lowest Intensity of a Stimulus That
Consumers are Capable of Perceiving:
Absolute Threshold
refers to the
minimum amount
of stimulation that
can be detected on
a sensory channel.
Marketing Stimuli
Differential Threshold
refers to the ability
of a sensory system
to detect changes or
differences between
two stimuli. (j.n.d.Just Noticeable
Difference &
Weber’s Law)
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Subliminal Perception
Subliminal Perception
Embeds
Tiny Figures in Print
Advertising
Occurs When The Stimulus Is
Below The Level Of The
Consumer’s Awareness.
Auditory Messages
Messages on Sound
Recordings
Low-Level Auditory
Stimulation
Threshold Messaging
Subliminal Techniques
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Does Subliminal Perception Work?
Threshold
Differences
Distance and
Position Control
Influence of Subliminal Messages
Viewing
Attention Control
Generalized
Effect
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Attention
• Refers to the extent to which processing
activity is devoted to a particular stimulus.
• Consumers often suffer Sensory Overload,
exposure to far more information than they
are capable of or willing to process.
• Example: More than 6000 TV commercials
are run each week.
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Perceptual Selection
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Perceptual Selection Means that People Pay Attention to
Only a Small Portion of Stimuli to Which They Are
Exposed.
How do Consumers Choose What to Pay
Attention To?
Experience
Result of Acquiring Information Over Time
Perceptual Filters
Past Experiences Influences What We Decide to Process
Perceptual
Vigilance
Perceptual
Defense
Adaptation
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Adaptation
Intensity
Relevance
Exposure
Factors
Leading to
Adaptation
Duration
Discrimination
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Perceptual Selection
How do Consumers Choose What to Pay
Attention To?
Stimulus Selection Factors
Size
Color
Create Contrast so That
Stimuli is More Likely to Be
Noticed.
Remember Weber’s Law.
Position
Novelty
Interpretation
• Refers to the meaning that we assign to
sensory stimuli.
• Consumers assign meaning to stimuli
based on Schema, or set of beliefs, to
which the stimuli is assigned.
– The schema will determine what criteria
will be used to evaluate the:
– product,
– package,
– message.
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Interpretation
• Semiotics: The Symbols Around Us
– The study of how consumers interpret the meanings of
symbols
» Object
» Sign
» Interpretant
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Semiotics
Stimulus Organization
The Gestalt Perspective (Summarized as “The Whole is
Greater Than the Sum of It’s Parts) Provides Several
Principles Relating to the Way Stimuli Are Organized:
Closure Principle
Principle of Similarity
People Tend to
Perceive an Incomplete
Picture as Whole.
Consumers Tend to Group
Objects That Share Similar
Physical
Characteristics.
Figure-Ground Principle
One Part of the Stimulus Will
Dominate (the Figure) While
Other Parts Recede Into
the Backdrop
(the Ground)
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Perceptual Positioning
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Positioning Strategy Uses Elements of the Marketing Mix
to Influence the Consumer’s Interpretation of It’s Meaning.
Quality
Lifestyle
Users
Occasions
Competitors
Price Leadership
Positioning
Dimen
sions
Attributes
Product Class
Repositioning
Repositioning Occurs When a Brand’s
Original Market Position is Modified
Because:
Current Brand is “Cannibalizing”
Other Brands in Product Line.
Too Many Competitors Are
Stressing the Same Attribute.
Original Market Evaporates or
Is Unreceptive to the Offering.
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