Chapter 2

Perception
By Michael R. Solomon

Consumer Behavior
Buying, Having, and Being
Sixth Edition
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Sensation and Perception

Sensation:
The immediate response of our sensory receptors (eyes, ears, nose, mouth, fingers) to basic stimuli such as light, color, sound, odors, and textures

Perception:
The process by which sensations are selected, organized, and interpreted

The Study of Perception:

Focuses on what we add to raw sensations to give them meaning

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An Overview of the Perception Process

Figure 2.1

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Sensory Systems
External stimuli, or sensory inputs, can be received on a number of different channels. Inputs picked up by our five senses are the raw data that begin the perceptual process. Hedonic Consumption:
The multisensory, fantasy, and emotional aspects of consumers interactions with products
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Sensory Systems - Vision

Marketers rely heavily on visual elements in advertising, store design, and packaging. Meanings are communicated on the visual channel through a products color, size, and styling. Colors may influence our emotions more directly.
Arousal and stimulated appetite (e.g. red) Relaxation (e.g. blue)
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Sensory Perceptions - Vision

Some reactions to color come from learned associations.
(e.g. Black is associated with mourning in the United States, whereas white is associated with mourning in Japan.)

Some reactions to color are due to biological and cultural differences.

(e.g. Women tend to be drawn to brighter tones and are more sensitive to subtle shadings and patterns)
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Perceptions of Color
This ad campaign by the San Francisco Ballet uses color perceptions to get urban sophisticates to add classical dance to their packed entertainment itineraries.

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Sensory Perceptions - Vision

Color plays a dominant role in Web page design. Saturated colors (green, yellow, orange, and cyan) are considered the best to capture attention.
Dont overdo it. Extensive use of saturated colors can overwhelm people and cause visual fatigue.

Trade Dress:
Colors that are strongly associated with a corporation, for which the company may have exclusive rights for their use. (e.g. Kodaks use of yellow, black, and red)
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Sensory Perceptions - Smell

Odors can stir emotions or create a calming feeling. Some responses to scents result from early associations that call up good or bad feelings. Marketers are finding ways to use smell:
Scented clothes Scented stores Scented cars and planes Scented household products Scented advertisements
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Sensory Perceptions - Sound

Advertising jingles create brand awareness. Background music creates desired moods. Sound affects peoples feelings and behaviors. Muzak uses a system it calls stimulus progression to increase the normally slower tempo of workers during midmorning and midafternoon time slots. Sound engineering:
Top-end automakers are using focus groups of consumers to help designers choose appropriate sounds to elicit the proper response.
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Sensory Perceptions - Touch

Relatively little research has been done on the effects of tactile stimulation on the consumer, but common observation tells us that this sensory channel is important. People associate textures of fabrics and other surfaces with product quality. Perceived richness or quality of the material in clothing is linked to its feel, whether rough or smooth.
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Sensory Perceptions - Taste

Taste receptors contribute to our experience of many products. Specialized companies called flavor houses are constantly developing new concoctions to please the changing palates of consumers. Changes in culture also determine the tastes we find desirable.
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Exposure
Exposure:
Occurs when a stimulus comes within the range of someones sensory receptors

Consumers concentrate on some stimuli, are unaware of others, and even go out of their way to ignore some messages.

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Sensory Thresholds
Psychophysics:
The science that focuses on how the physical environment is integrated into our personal subjective world.

Absolute Threshold:
The minimum amount of stimulation that can be detected on a given sensory channel.

Differential Threshold:
The ability of a sensory system to detect changes or differences between two stimuli. The minimum difference that can be detected between two stimuli is known as the j.n.d. (just noticeable difference).

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Webers Law
The amount of change that is necessary to be noticed is systematically related to the intensity of the original stimulus The stronger the initial stimulus, the greater a change must be for it to be noticed. Mathematically:

i K I

K = A constant (varies across senses) i = The minimal change in the intensity required to produce j.n.d. I = the intensity of the stimulus where the change occurs

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Subliminal Perception
Subliminal perception:
Occurs when the stimulus is below the level of the consumers awareness.

Subliminal techniques:
Embeds: Tiny figures that are inserted into magazine: advertising by using high-speed photography or airbrushing.

Does subliminal perception work?

There is little evidence that subliminal stimuli can bring about desired behavioral changes.

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Attention
Attention:
The extent to which processing activity is devoted to a particular stimulus.

Attention economy:
The Internet has transformed the focus of marketers from attracting dollars to attracting eyeballs.

Perceptual selection:
People attend to only a small portion of the stimuli to which they are exposed.
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Personal Selection Factors

Experience:
The result of acquiring and processing stimulation over time

Perceptual vigilance:
Consumers are aware of stimuli that relate to their current needs

Perceptual defense:
People see what they want to see - and dont see what they dont want to see

Adaptation:
The degree to which consumers continue to notice a stimulus over time
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Factors that Lead to Adaptation

Intensity: Less-intense stimuli habituate because they have less sensory impact. Duration: Stimuli that require relatively lengthy exposure in order to be processed tend to habituate because they require a long attention span. Discrimination: Simple stimuli tend to habituate because they do not require attention to detail. Exposure: Frequently encountered stimuli tend to habituate as the rate of exposure increases. Relevance: Stimuli that are irrelevant or unimportant will habituate because they fail to attract attention.
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Stimulus Selection Factors

Size:
The size of the stimulus itself in contrast to the competition helps to determine if it will command attention.

Color:
Color is a powerful way to draw attention to a product.

Position:
Stimuli that are present in places were more likely to look stand a better chance of being noticed.

Novelty:
Stimuli that appear in unexpected ways or places tend to grab our attention.
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Chapter 3

Learning and Memory

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR, 9e
Michael R. Solomon

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11/2/2012 Copyright 2011 Pearson

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The Learning Process

Learning: a relatively permanent change in behavior caused by experience Incidental learning: casual, unintentional acquisition of knowledge

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Behavioral Learning Theories

Behavioral learning theories: assume that learning takes place as the result of responses to external events.

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11/2/2012 Copyright 2011 Pearson

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Classical conditioning: a stimulus that elicits a response is paired with another stimulus that initially does not elicit a response on its own.

Types of Behavioral Learning Theories

Instrumental conditioning (also, operant conditioning): the individual learns to perform behaviors that produce positive outcomes and to avoid those that yield negative outcomes.
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11/2/2012 Copyright 2011 Pearson

Classical Conditioning
Ivan Pavlov rang bell and put meat powder into dogs mouths; repeated until dogs salivated when the bell rang Meat powder = UCS (natural reaction is drooling) Bell = CS (dogs learned 3-25 11/2/2012
Copyright 2011 Pearson
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Marketing Applications of Repetition

Repetition increases learning More exposures = increased brand awareness When exposure decreases, extinction occurs However, too MUCH exposure leads to advertising wear out
Example: Izod crocodile on clothes
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Marketing Applications of Stimulus Generalization

Stimulus generalization: tendency for stimuli similar to a conditioned stimulus to evoke similar, unconditioned responses.

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Family branding Product line extensions Licensing Look-alike packaging

11/2/2012 Copyright 2011 Pearson

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Instrumental Conditioning
Behaviors = positive outcomes or negative outcomes Instrumental conditions occurs in one of these ways:

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Positive reinforcement Negative reinforcement Punishment Extinction

11/2/2012 Copyright 2011 Pearson

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Figure 3.2 Instrumental Conditioning

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Role of Memory in Learning

Memory: acquiring information and storing it over time so that it will be available when needed. Information-processing approach; Figure 3.4
Mind = computer and data = input/output

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11/2/2012 Copyright 2011 Pearson

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How Information Gets Encoded

Encode: mentally program meaning Types of meaning:
Sensory meaning, such as the literal color or shape of a package Semantic meaning: symbolic associations

Episodic memories: relate to events that are personally relevant Narrative: memories store information we acquire in story form
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What Makes Us Forget?

Appropriate factors/cues for retrieval:
State-dependent retrieval/ mood congruence effect Familiarity Salience/von Restorff effect Visual memory versus verbal memory

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11/2/2012 Copyright 2011 Pearson

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Chapter 4

Motivation and Values

By Michael R. Solomon

Consumer Behavior
Buying, Having, and Being
Sixth Edition
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The Motivation Process

Motivation:
The processes that lead people to behave as they do. It occurs when a need arises that a consumer wishes to satisfy.
Utilitarian need: Provides a functional or practical benefit Hedonic need: An experiential need involving emotional responses or fantasies

Goal:
The end state that is desired by the consumer.
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The Motivation Process

Drive:
The degree of arousal present due to a discrepancy between the consumers present state and some ideal state

Want:
A manifestation of a need created by personal and cultural factors.

Motivation can be described in terms of:

Strength: The pull it exerts on the consumer Direction: The particular way the consumer attempts to reduce motivational tension
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Motivational Strength
Biological vs. Learned Needs:
Instinct: Innate patterns of behavior universal in a species Tautology: Circular explanation (e.g. instinct is inferred from the behavior it is supposed to explain)

Drive Theory:
Biological needs produce unpleasant states of arousal. We are motivated to reduce tension caused by this arousal. Homeostasis: A balanced state of arousal

Expectancy Theory:
Behavior is pulled by expectations of achieving desirable outcomes positive incentives rather than pushed from within
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Motivational Direction
Needs Versus Wants:
Want: The particular form of consumption used to satisfy a need.

Types of Needs
Biogenic needs: Needs necessary to maintain life Psychogenic needs: Culture-related needs (e.g. need for status, power, affiliation, etc.) Utilitarian needs: Implies that consumers will emphasize the objective, tangible aspects of products Hedonic needs: Subjective and experiential needs (e.g. excitement, self-confidence, fantasy, etc.)

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Motivational Conflicts
Approach-Approach Conflict:
A person must choose between two desirable alternatives. Theory of Cognitive Dissonance: A state of tension occurs when beliefs or behaviors conflict with one another. Cognitive Dissonance Reduction: Process by which people are motivated to reduce tension between beliefs or behaviors.

Approach-Avoidance Conflict:
Exists when consumers desire a goal but wish to avoid it at the same time.

Avoidance-Avoidance Conflict:
Consumers face a choice between two undesirable alternatives.
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Three Types of Motivational Conflicts

Figure 4.1

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Solutions to Approach-Avoidance Conflict

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Classifying Consumer Needs (cont.)

Specific Needs and Buying Behavior:
Need for achievement: To attain personal accomplishment Need for affiliation: To be in the company of others Need for power: To control ones environment Need for uniqueness: To assert ones individual identity

Maslows Hierarchy of Needs:

A hierarchy of biogenic and psychogenic needs that specifies certain levels of motives.

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Maslows Hierarchy of Needs

Figure 4.2

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Consumer Involvement
Involvement:
A persons perceived relevance of the object based on his/her inherent needs, values, and interests.
Object: A product or brand

Levels of Involvement: Inertia to Passion

Type of information processing depends on the consumers level of involvement
Simple processing: Only the basic features of the message are considered Elaboration: Incoming information is linked to preexisting knowledge
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Conceptualizing Involvement

Figure 4.3

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Consumer Involvement (cont.)

Involvement as a Continuum:
Ranges from disinterest to obsession

Inertia (Low involvement consumption):

Consumer lacks the motivation to consider alternatives

Flow State (High involvement consumption):

Consumer is truly involved with the product, ad or web site

Cult Products:
Command fierce consumer loyalty and perhaps worship by consumers who are highly involved in the product

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The Many Faces of Involvement

Product Involvement:
Related to a consumers level of interest in a particular product

Message-Response Involvement:
(a.k.a. advertising involvement) Refers to a consumers interest in processing marketing communications

Purchase Situation Involvement:

Refers to the differences that may occur when buying the same product for different contexts
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Strategies to Increase Involvement

Appeal to hedonic needs
e.g. using sensory appeals to generate attention

Use novel stimuli

e.g. unusual cinematography, sudden silences, etc.

Use prominent stimuli

e.g. larger ads, more color

Include celebrity endorsers Build a bond with consumers

Maintain an ongoing relationship with consumers
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Attitudes and Attitude Change

By Michael R. Solomon

Consumer Behavior
Buying, Having, and Being
Sixth Edition
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The Power of Attitudes

Attitude:
A lasting, general evaluation of people (including oneself), objects, advertisements, or issues Anything toward which one has an attitude is called an object (Ao). Attitudes are lasting because they tend to endure over time.

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The Functions of Attitudes

Functional Theory of Attitudes:
Attitudes exist because they serve some function for the person (i.e., they are determined by a persons motives)

Katzs Attitude Functions

Utilitarian function (Drink coke for the taste of it) Value-expressive function (Nike: Just Do It) Ego-defensive function (Right Guard Deodorant) Knowledge function (Advil and Vioxx)

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The ABC Model of Attitudes

Affect:
The way a consumer feels about an attitude object

Behavior:
Involves the persons intentions to do something with regard to an attitude object

Cognition:
The beliefs a consumer has about an attitude object

Hierarchy of Effects:
A fixed sequence of steps that occur en route to an attitude
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Three Hierarchies of Effects

Figure 7.1

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Attitude Hierarchies
The Standard Learning Hierarchy:
Consumer approaches a product decision as a problem-solving process

The Low-Involvement Hierarchy:

Consumer does not have strong initial preference Consumer acts on limited knowledge Consumer forms an evaluation only after product trial

The Experiential Hierarchy:

Consumers act on the basis of their emotional reactions
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Product Attitudes Dont Tell the Whole Story

Attitude Toward the Advertisement (Aad):
A predisposition to respond in a favorable or unfavorable manner to a particular advertising stimulus during a particular exposure occasion

Ads Have Feelings Too:

Three emotional dimensions:
Pleasure, arousal, and intimidation

Specific types of feelings that can be generated by an ad

Upbeat feelings: Amused, delighted, playful Warm feelings: Affectionate, contemplative, hopeful Negative feelings: Critical, defiant, offended
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Forming Attitudes
Not All Attitudes are Created Equal:
Levels of Commitment to an Attitude: The degree of commitment is related to the level of involvement with an attitude object
Compliance (Pepsi at the exchange) Identification (Clothing, jewelry, shoes, music) Internalization (Apple Mac Users, Newtons)

The Consistency Principle:

Principle of Cognitive Consistency: Consumers value harmony among their thoughts, feelings or behaviors to be consistent with other experiences
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Changing Attitudes Through Communication

Persuasion:
An active attempt to change attitudes Basic psychological principles that influence people to change their minds or comply with a request:
Reciprocity Scarcity Authority Consistency Liking Consensus

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Decisions, Decisions: Tactical Communications Options

Who will be the source of the message?
Man, woman, child, celebrity, athlete?

How should message be constructed?

Emphasize negative consequences? Direct comparison with competition? Present a fantasy?

What media will transmit the message?

Print ad, television, door-to-door, Web site?

What are the characteristics of the target market?

Young, old, frustrated, status-oriented?

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The Traditional Communications Model

Figure 8.1

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An Updated Communications Model

Figure 8.2

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The Source
Source effects: A message will have different effects if communicated by a different source. Two important source characteristics: Credibility and Attractiveness Source credibility: A sources perceived expertise, objectivity, or trustworthiness.

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The Source (cont.)

Building Credibility: Credibility can be enhanced if the
sources qualifications are relevant to the product.

Hype versus Buzz: The Corporate Paradox

Corporate Paradox: The more involved a company appears to be in the dissemination of news about its products, the less credible it becomes. Buzz: Word of mouth, viewed as authentic Hype: Corporate propaganda, viewed as inauthentic

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Sending the Message

Repetition:
Mere Exposure: People tend to like things that are more familiar to them, even if they are not keen on them initially. Habituation: Consumer no longer pays attention to the stimulus because of boredom or fatigue

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Constructing the Argument

One- Versus Two-Sided Arguments:
Supportive argument: Presents only positive arguments Two-sided message: Presents positive and negative info

Comparative Advertising:
A strategy in which a message compares two or more recognized brands and compares them on the basis of attributes.
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Types of Message Appeals

Emotional Versus Rational Appeals:
Choice depends on the nature of the product and the type of relationship that consumers have with it Recall of ad content tends to be better for thinking rather than feeling ads

Sexual Appeals:
Sex draws attention to the ad but may be counterproductive unless the product itself is related to sex

Humorous Appeals:
Distraction: Humorous ads inhibit the consumer from counterarguing (thinking of reasons not to agree with the message), increasing the likelihood of message acceptance
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The Source vs. The Message: Sell the Steak or the Sizzle?
Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM):
Assumes that once a customer receives a message, he or she begins to process it.

The Central Route to Persuasion:

The processing route taken under conditions of high involvement Cognitive Responses

The Peripheral Route to Persuasion

The processing route taken under conditions of low involvement Peripheral Cues
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The ELM Model

Figure 8.5

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