Consumer Behavior Topic 5
Information Processing and Perception
Attention – the allocation of processing capacity to a stimulus – that is, allocating a part
of your brain, your ability to process, to something.
This is determined by:
a. personal determinants (individual)
1. needs and motivations (e.g., very thirsty, pay attention to drink ads)
2. attitudes (e.g., a vegetarian does not pay attention to ads with meat)
3. span of attention – how long can the individual focus on something
amidst all of the advertising clutter we are bombarded with (this is also a
function of our ability to pay attention to a person with ADD [attention
deficit disorder] would not have the same ability to focus)
Marketers can not control these personal determinants whereas they have more control
over stimulus determinants.
b. stimulus determinants
1. size – large stimulus is more like to be noticed (marketers fight for
shelf space) or perhaps prepare larger ads – generally larger ads do get
more noticed
2. color – the more colors, the more effective the ad – color is expensive
yet marketers are willing to pay for it, particularly for colors that are
most noticed such as the hot colors (red, orange, yellow – the same as
with street lights when green is safe and a weaker color) – the same
holds true for noise where loud noise is more noticed
3. intensity
4. contrast – such as black and white ads stand out – we tend to notice
opposites
5. position – self studies indicate that eye level positions are most likely
to be noticed – marketers don’t want to be on the bottom shelf
6. directionality – the eye follows the point like an arrow – so the way the
ad is prepared can direct the eye – same is true with packaging
7. movement – the eye follows movement – think about neon signs
8. isolation – like contrast – there is stimulus in a barren field – think of
the VW bug campaign on seamless paper with just the car and a
headline
9. novelty – the unusual and unexpected gets noticed
10. “learned” attention inducing stimuli – such as a ringing phone – we’ve
been taught to respond to this – also doorbells – almost a Pavlovian
conditioned response
11. attractive spokesperson – uniqueness of the person
Even an annoying spot can be quite successful because it is memorable.
Comprehension – you may notice the ad but not know what it is advertising –
comparative ads are particularly dangerous because if they are not done correctly, then
the consumer does not remember who the ad is for
Perception/Attention/Comprehension
Comprehension – an attempt to apply psychology to these concepts in Consumer
Behavior
a. stimulus categorization – how do we classify stimulus using the concepts
stored in our memory (e.g. you see a granola bar and think of health – granola
has been stored in our brain as a health food) – even the name given a product
can effect how we perceive of the product (i.e., odor eaters = nasty smell)
b. stimulus elaboration – such as memory experts – how do they do it? – this
refers to the amount of integration between new information and the existing
knowledge stored in the memory (the range is from low to high) – the number
represents the personal connection between stimulus and the person’s own
elaboration – the more elaboration, the less likely to forget
c. stimulus organization – how is incoming stimuli organized? Generally
incoming stimulus comes to the individual as a whole package and studies
focus on stimulus organization – these are the Principles of Gestalt
Psychology:
1. simplicity (e.g., two overlapping square – nobody sees them as a
square with a triangle or trapezoid – people have a tendency to
organize patterns into simple patterns rather than space – hence we
tend to organize perception into simple patterns
2. figure and ground – negative space – tells us the way we organization
things – sometimes the background stands out – in advertising, the
goal is to have the product stand out and the ads fail is this does not
happen – there have been many famous commercials where the
celebrity or model is noticed rather than the product
3. closure – this is a principle in perception – a circle with a missing
point where we would supply the missing element – people want to
perceive a meaningful whole (i.e., words without “K” - nish, Broolyn,
all added up to a campaign for K-mart; J&B - _ingle _ells for Jingle
Bells; also done with jingles where the words are not supplied but the
listener would fill them in
4. proximity – nearness - things that are close together tend to be
perceived of as belonging together – a no frills department suggests
cheaper and lower quality so integrate with designer names to tell you
that brand names are available (i.e., Syms which is a discount store
that has absolutely no frills and are generally painted black to suggest
that no money is wasted on environment so that the greatest savings
can be passed along to the customer.
The same is true with ad placement in a high quality publication vs a
low quality one – the context changes the meaning
The logic of using major brands is the hope that this will suggest some
qualities to you that are appealing
5. similarity – likeness – important – the idea is if it looks like something
else it may be the same or as good (e.g., a Ford ad in which a
policemen writes a ticket for a Mercedes but the care was a Granada
Ford).
In advertising a study done on commercials tested what happens when 2
distinct products are integrated within a spot. The findings were that the
most effective integration is when the same brand and a related product
were integrated (i.e., Heinz ketchup and mustard) rather than different
brands and unrelated products (i.e., Pampers and Pringles – both
manufactured by P&G) – there seems to be some connection for
comprehension – like a logical sequence of a shower with soap and then
powder and lotion as with a baby. Target has had a successful campaign
integrated diverse products however they use common colors as one
possible connection as well as the background, timing and music track.
Comprehension
Further consideration of personal and stimulus determinants:
With personal determinants, knowledge has an impact in that the more knowledge the
consumer possesses the easier it is for them to pick up additional knowledge. Also,
expectations impact comprehension/perception (i.e., what we expect will impact our
perceptions – blind taste tests where the participant is uncertain as to which product is
their selected one).
With stimulus determinants:
1. stimulus determinants
a. physical properties of a stimulus – physical properties that effect
perception include size, color, brand names, packaging (i.e., if heavy
the assumption is that it is well made and will be durable – one of the
quality determinants that people use when assessing furniture)
b. linguistics – how language effects things – marketing research looks at
this problem – if you want people to understand a sentence, avoid the
use of negative words such as “never” or “not” – they are harder to
comprehend – create active sentences vs. passive
c. context – something presented in Playboy will be perceived of
differently than something in Computer World – the surrounding
environment impacts our understanding
d. order effects – a very important argument in psychology – primacy
(first or beginning) vs. recency (last or most recent) – every study
shows that the worse place to be is in the middle – this has
implications in advertising – place the arguments and most important
data at the beginning and the end
Miscomprehension
A researcher at NYU, Jacoby, studied just what was understood by TV watchers – he
study advertising and news programs and used multiple choice tests to see if his research
participants actually understood what they watched – he found a rate of 68%
miscomprehension which actually is an overstatement since the viewer was more likely
to pay attention during the test rather than at home
Acceptance step
When the product claims superiority, 70% of people don’t believe it. Research is done
on acceptance and how to get people to change their attitudes. Research helps to
construct counterarguments and support arguments. The brain thinks of these when you
are trying to persuade someone (a cognitive response – the more rational side vs. the
Affective response (where emotions are evoked by a stimulus – so you may feel warm or
upbeat or possibly negative towards a product)
Retention step
This is where the consumer transfers information to long term memory. Studies on brain
function suggest that the left side of the brain contains the more logical components
whereas the right side is more spatial, emotional, pictorial and fantastical. Yet we also
know from stroke survivors that when one part of the brain is injured, other parts will
regenerate hence the truth is left brain/right brain is not that clear cut. However, for the
purposes of this discussion we will work with the traditional concepts of left/right brain.
The theory is that people will have better recall of pictorial information than written or
spoken materials and that picture and sound, especially music and sound effects, will
assist memory. Thus recall of text is much more difficult a task without the visual
element.
Memory Systems
There are 3 kinds of memory systems:
1. sensory memory – a fraction of a second in duration; our brains have the
capacity to hold all that perceptual senses can experience; information is
encoded in a direct representation; memory will decay over time and it
will be lost – referred to as ironic memory
2. short term memory – less than a minute in duration; our brains have the
capacity to hold 4-7 items this way; we encode it in an indirect way – we
chunk reality into pieces (i.e., a telephone number that we rehearse in an
inner or even out loud speech); it will decay over time
Two kinds of transfer:
a, recall – 5 to 10 seconds – have to remember completely
b. recognition – goes faster – 2 to 5 seconds – just recognize the
material but not fully remember it
3. long term memory – many years in duration; our capacity to hold these
memories is almost unlimited; memories are encoded indirectly and are
clustered by meaningfulness (and category/subject) and not
chronologically; we lose these memories due to the interference of new
information which may override old information (much like a computer)
but many argue that we don’t ever lose these memories and simply may
need a cue, or a jog to our memory to find them
Applications of Information Processing Theory and Perception
a. presentation of information in-store at point-of-purchase (on package or at the
POP display)
b. unit price – classic study done in 1975 published in the Journal of Marketing
which attempted to simplify the unit prices so that an ordinary shopper could
understand them – place with the highest to lowest and found that shoppers
tended to go for the less expensive
c. information overload or sensory overload – again Jacoby, at NYU, a
marketing psychologist found that in the 1970s the public policy people were
arguing to place too much information on packaging and he believed that if
there was too much then the consumer becomes overloaded and not notice
anything – Jacoby suggested placing enough information on the packages to
assist the consumer in making a good decision but as information quantity
went up, accuracy went down.
d. A different kind of information processing has to do with fighting false
rumors – the best way to fight false rumors or “urban legends” – if the rumor
is a disgusting one (i.e., McDonald’s hamburgers are made from worms) then
don’t use refutation because if you say “there are no worms” then the
consumer’s memory will store the concept of worm with McDonald’s and
make a link between the two.
There are different methods that show how the brain works but generally
refuting a false claim does not work. It is best to use the positive and present
common sense facts (such as emphasizing 100% beef used in the hamburgers
– you want the brain to connect with the positive)
e. presenting information to special groups, such as the elderly who have
difficulty in processing information because their ability to process decreasing
generally with age – if your target is a senior audience, then select media that
allows them to take as long as they need to process it (i.e., print, in-store
displays) vs. media which requires quick processing, such as TV at :30 or
radio at :60.
f. Sensory/perceptual cues – it assists memory if the senses can relate to a
product (i.e., Aquafresh toothpaste whitens teeth, freshens breath and prevents
cavities
g. 3 different jobs which is hard to convince the public that one product can do
all 3 so Aquafresh uses 3 different colors to suggest this although the color of
the ribbon of toothpaste has nothing to do with the job (also with Certs which
has Retsin and has blue dots to suggest this additive or Mentadent which has 2
jobs so squeezing the product and receiving the toothpaste ribbon from 2
different places aids comprehension)
Other clues:
The sound that a product should have is an engineered aspect of the product
(i.e., when Hoover designed a quite vacuum, it failed because the public
believed that loud = power and that noise = power); (i.e., in Detroit there are
sound engineers who decide what a closed automobile should sound like – a
heavy slam suggests protection; (i.e., with scents it is difficult to determine
what to place into a detergent – if it is too sweet, then that suggests weakness
whereas too strong suggests chemical – the scent must be balanced; (i.e., same
with the sense of touch – a tube of toothpaste is smooth which suggests your
teeth that are also smooth; (i.e., packaging a watch in a velvet case to suggest
jewelry)
h. color – a power marketing tool
1. attention getting – it is desirable for the package to attract attention –
red, orange, yellow (like street lights) – color is very helpful for
recognition (i.e., Hertz is yellow, National is green, and Avis is red;
also true with cereals where Cheerios are yellow/orange – so color
helps recognition
2. retention power – show people a brand name and they may remember
the color – also untraditional colors are memorable such as a pink
tuxedos or a pink Mustang or pink Cadillac
3. color preferences can be ethnic – Native Americans prefer red
4. color symbolism – the symbolic value of colors – certainly we
associate white with purity and mildness and black suggests night
while gold and silver suggest high value and red suggests passion;
think of Kodak, which is yellow, suggests sunlight while Pepsi is blue
which suggests coldness and green is associated with nature and the
natural so Salem cigarettes aligns with nature
Colors also suggest different weights – black seems like a heavy color
whereas light colors such as yellow, orange and white seem light and
pastels seem even lighter
Colors also suggest size where warm colored items appear bigger.
Color impacts are perceptions of sexuality as well with pastel colors
suggesting the female (i.e., pink razors) and other colors are more
masculine (i.e., steel grey)
i. other kinds of symbolism
1. form symbolism – certain shapes suggest things such as the oval is
associated with the female whereas the triangle is associated with
action and the dynamic
2. word symbolism – sibilants (and L or S sound) symbolizes the soft
and romantic (Caress soap) vs. hard sounds like B, P, T, K which are
explosives (Bold, Brut)
3. typography – the fonts used can suggest elegance or inexpensiveness
4. symbolism through objects – what suggests old fashioned? Use an
older person in a rocking chair to suggest olden days vs. Peppridge
Farm cookies with children with freckles; (i.e., a tiger = power =
Exxon; a bird or cat = feminine, gentle, grace)