PRICE
University
of
Oklahoma
College of
Business
Attention
and
Comprehension
1
The Interpretation Process
Activated knowledge influences
how consumers attend to
information
Memory
Product
knowledge
and
involvement
Information in the
environment
Interpretation
Exposure,
Attention, and
Comprehension
Knowledge,
meanings and
beliefs
2
INTERPRETATION
An ongoing process by which customers make
sense of or determine the meaning of important
aspects of the physical and social environment
as well as their own behaviors and internal
affective states
3
External
Stimuli
Input
Sensory
Memory
(Senses)
Working
Memory
(Shortterm
Store)
Long-term
Memory
(Assoc.
Network)
EXPOSURE - A customer’s contact with
information in the environment
• Intentional exposure occurs when customers
purposefully search for information relevant to a
goal or problem they have.
• Accidental exposure occurs when customers
unexpectedly encounter marketing information in
their environments.
• Selective exposure is a customer’s tendency to
avoid exposure.
4
EXPOSURE
Marketers can facilitate
intentional exposure.
5
EXPOSURE
Marketers can maximize
accidental exposure
6
External
Stimuli
Input
Sensory
Memory
(Senses)
Working
Memory
(Shortterm
Store)
Long-term
Memory
(Assoc.
Network)
ATTENTION is focusing on information that is
relevant to important goals and values.
1. Preconscious attention is the highly automatic, largely
unconscious selection of certain stimuli for simple
cognitive processing
2. Focal attention is a controlled, conscious level of
attention that focuses cognitive processes on relevant
or prominent stimuli in the environment
3. Selective attention is the process by which customers
select information in the environment to interpret
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Levels of Attention
Preconscious Attention
Uses activated
knowledge from
long-term memory
No conscious awareness
Automatic processes
Uses little or no cognitive
capacity
Focal Attention
Same
Conscious awareness
Controlled processes
Uses some cognitive
capacity
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Levels of Attention
Preconscious Attention
More likely for familiar,
frequently encountered
concepts, with well-learned
memory representations
Focal Attention
More likely for novel,
unusual, infrequently
encountered concepts,
without well-learned
memory representations
More likely for concepts
of low to moderate
importance or
involvement
More likely for concepts
of high important
or involvement
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Factors Influencing Attention
Affective
State
• Low affective arousal reduces the amount
and intensity of attention
• High affective arousal narrows consumer
focus and makes attention more selective
Involvement
Motivational state that guides the selection
of stimuli for focal attention and
comprehension
Environmental
Prominence
Activating relevant knowledge structures
most likely through prominent marketing
stimuli
10
Comprehension
• Construct meanings
• Form knowledge structures that represent
relevant concepts, objects, behaviors, and
events
• Activate relevant knowledge structures
(schemas and & scripts)
- Provides a framework that guides and
directs comprehension processing
- Cognitive learning occurs
11
Comprehension
The cognitive processes involved in interpreting
and understanding concepts, events, objects,
and persons in the environment
• Construct meanings
•
Form knowledge structures that represent relevant
concepts, objects, behaviors, and events
•
Activate relevant knowledge structures (schemas
and & scripts)
-
Provides a framework that guides and
directs comprehension processing
-
Cognitive learning occurs
12
COMPREHENSION
Inferences
Beliefs or knowledge that are
not based on information
directly present in the
environment.
Inferences are heavily influenced by
consumers’ knowledge that is activated
during comprehension.
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COMPREHENSION
Factors Influencing Comprehension
Knowledge
in Memory
Involvement
Exposure
Environment
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Information Processing and Memory Stores
Exposure
Attention
Comprehension
- Intentional - Preconscious
- Accidental - Focal
- Selective - Selective
External
Stimuli
Input
Sensory
Memory
(Senses)
Rehearsal
Chunking
Forgotten;
lost
Activation
Retrieval
Working
Memory
(Shortterm
Store)
Forgotten;
lost
Accretion
Tuning
Restructuring
Long-term
Memory
(Assoc.
Network)
Unavailable
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Aspects of the Cognitive System
1. Interpretation involves interactions between
knowledge in memory and information
2. Activated knowledge influences how
consumers attend to information and
comprehend its meaning
3. Consumers can consciously attend to and
comprehend only small amounts of
information at a time
4. Much attention and comprehension
processing occurs quickly and automatically
with little or no conscious awareness
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