Chapter 2

Perception, Learning and Memory

2-<number>
Sensation and Perception
• Sensation is the immediate response
of our sensory receptors (eyes, ears,
nose, mouth, and skin) to basic
stimuli (light, color, sound, odor, and
texture).
• Perception is the process by which
sensations are selected, organized,
and interpreted.

2-<number>
Sensation and Perception
• Each product’s unique
sensory qualities help it to
stand out from the
competition, especially if
the brand creates a unique
association with the
sensation

2-<number>
Figure 2.1 Perceptual Process

We receive
external
stimuli through
our fi ve senses

2-<number>
Hedonic Consumption
• Hedonic consumption:
multisensory, fantasy,
and emotional aspects
of consumers’
interactions with
products
• Marketers use impact
of sensations on
consumers’ product
experiences

2-<number>
Sensory Systems
• Our world is a
symphony of
colors, sounds,
smells, tastes
• Advertisements,
product packages,
radio and TV
commercials,
billboards provide
sensations

2-<number>
Vision

• Color provokes
emotion
• Reactions to color are
biological and cultural

2-<number>
Vision
Color Associations Marketing Applications
Optimistic Used to grab windown
Yellow
and youthful shopper’s attention
Red Energy Clearance sales
Trust and
Blue Banks
security
Green Wealth Relaxation in stores
Orange Aggressive Call to action
Powerful and
Black Luxury products
sleek
Beauty or anti-aging
Purple Soothing
products

2-<number>
Vertical-Horizontal Illusion
• Which line is longer:
horizontal or
vertical?
• Answer: both lines
are same length

2-<number>
Framing effect

2-<number>
Name a price?

2-<number>
 Real life experiment

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnOPu0_YWhw

• 6 masterpieces played with 3,5-million violin

• Result after 45 minutes:
Among 1070 people passing by, 27 people donated
total 32.17 USD. Only 1 woman recognized Joshua
Bell

2-<number>
Scents
Odors create mood and
promote memories in
lymbic system.
Marketers use scents:
• Instores
• In promotions (e.g.,
scratch ‘n sniff )
• Ex:
https://www.youtube.co
m/watch?v=P81i66_tLlU

2-<number>
Sound
Sound aff ects people’s feelings and
behaviors
• Sound symbolism: Consumers are
more likely to recognize brands
names that begin with hard
consonant like a K or P.
• Uses sound and music to create mood
⚬High tempo = more stimulation
⚬Slower tempo = more relaxing

2-<number>
Touch
• Haptic senses—or “touch”—is the
most basic of senses; we learn this
before vision and smell
• Haptic senses aff ect product
experience and judgment
• Endowment eff ect: Touching a
product encourages them to imagine
they own it

2-<number>
Taste
• Cultural factors
determine desirable
tastes
• The more respect we
have for ethnic
dishes, the more
spicy food we desire

2-<number>
Exposure
• Exposure occurs when a stimulus
comes within range of someone’s
sensory receptors
• We can concentrate, ignore, or
completely miss stimuli
• Cadillac’s 5 second ad

2-<number>
Exposure
• Sensory threshold: the point at which
it is strong enough to make a
conscious impact in a person’s
awareness

2-<number>
Attention
• Attention is the extent to which
processing activity is devoted to a
particular stimulus
• Consumers are often in a state of
sensory overload
• Marketers need to break through the
clutter

2-<number>
Personal Selection Factors

Perceptual vigilance We are aware of stimuli

that relate to our current
needs

Perceptual defense We don’t see what we

don’t want to see

Adaptation The degree to which

consumers continue to
notice a stimulus over
time

2-<number>
Factors Leading to Adaptation

Intensity Exposure

Discrimination Relevance

2-<number>
Stimulus Selection Factors
• We are more likely to notice stimuli that differ
from others around them
• So, marketers can create “contrast” through:

Size Color Position Novelty

2-<number>
Creating Contrast with Size

2-<number>
Interpretation
• Interpretation refers to the meaning
we assign to sensory stimuli, which is
based on a schema (set of beliefs)

2-<number>
Interpretational biases
Gestalt: the whole is greater than the sum of its parts
• Closure principle: People tend to perceive an
incomplete picture as complete
• Similarity principle: Consumers tend to group
together objects that share similar physical
characteristics
• Figure-Ground principle: One part of a stimulus will
dominate (figure), the other parts recede into the
background (ground)

2-<number>
Semiotics: The meaning of meaning
Every marketing message has 3 components:
• Object: the product that is the focus of the message
(example: Marlboro cigarettes)
• Sign: the sensory image that represents the intended
meanings of the object (example: cowboy)
• Interpretant: the meaning we derive from the sign
(example: rugged, individualistic, American)

2-<number>
Semiotics: The meaning of meaning
Signs can resemble, connect or tie to objects:
• Icon: A sign that resembles objects
• Index: A sign that connects to a product because
they share some property
• Symbol: A sign that relates to a product by either
conventional or agreed-on associations

2-<number>
The Learning Process
• Learning: a relatively
permanent change in
behavior caused by
experience
• Learning can be
intentional or incidental
• Incidental learning:
casual, unintentional
acquisition of
knowledge

3-<number>
Behavioral Learning Theories
• Behavioral learning theories: assume
that learning takes place as the result
of responses to external events.

3-<number>
Behavioral Learning Theories
• This viewpoint does not focus on
internal thought processes
• The mind is considered as a “black
box”
• Observable aspects consist of things
that go into the box and things that
come out of the box

3-<number>
Types of Behavioral Learning Theories
Classical conditioning:
a stimulus that elicits
a response is paired
with another stimulus
that initially does not
elicit a response on its Instrumental conditioning
own. (also, operant
conditioning): the
individual learns to
perform behaviors that
produce positive
outcomes and to avoid
those that yield negative
outcomes.

3-<number>
Classical Conditioning
• Ivan Pavlov rang bell
and put meat powder
into dogs’ mouths;
repeated until dogs
salivated when the bell
rang
• Meat powder =
unconditioned stimulus
• Bell = conditioned
stimules
• Salivation = conditioned
response
3-<number>
Classical Conditioning
• UCS: A stimulus that
naturally causes the
response
• CS: A stimulus that does
not initially cause the
response

3-<number>
Marketing Applications of Repetition
• Repetition increases the strength of
stimulus-response associations and
prevent the decay in memories
• When exposure decreases, extinction
occurs
• However, too MUCH exposure leads to
advertising wear out

3-<number>
Marketing Applications of Stimulus
Generalization
• Stimulus generalization: tendency for
stimuli similar to a conditioned
stimulus to evoke similar,
unconditioned responses.
⚬Family branding
⚬Product line extensions
⚬Licensing
⚬Look-alike packaging

3-<number>
Marketing Applications of Stimulus
Generalization
• Me-too product: the product that
looks alike the original one.
• If the quality of me-too product is
lower than original one =>
consumers have more positive
feelings toward to original
• If the quality of me-too product is
higher => the premium price is not
worth

3-<number>
Marketing Applications of Conditioning
• Create a distinctive brand image
which links to an underlying need

3-<number>
Discussion
• Some advertisers use children songs
to promote their products for kids.
• Why do advertisers do this? How does
this relate to learning theory?

3-<number>
Instrumental Conditioning
• Behaviors = positive outcomes or
negative outcomes
• Instrumental conditions occurs in one
of these ways:
⚬Positive reinforcement
⚬Negative reinforcement
⚬Punishment
⚬Extinction

3-<number>
Instrumental Conditioning
• Positive reinforcement: is a reward
which strengthens the response and
form appropricate behaviours.
• Example: A women who gets
compliments after wearing a nice
dress from a famous brand will
continue to buy from that brand

3-<number>
Instrumental Conditioning
• Negative reinforcement: Strengthens
responses by avoiding negative
outcome
• Example: A perfume company runs an
ad showing a woman sitting home
alone on a Saturday night because
she did not wear its fragrance

3-<number>
Instrumental Conditioning
• Punishment: unpleasant events
following a response
• Extinction: removal of positive event
after a response

3-<number>
Figure 3.2 Instrumental Conditioning

3-<number>
Instrumental Conditioning

• Fixed-interval reinforcement: After a

specifi ed time period, the fi rst
response you make brings the reward
• Variable-interval reinforcement: The
time that must pass before you get
reinforced varies based on some
average

3-<number>
Instrumental Conditioning

• Fixed-ratio reinforcement: occurs only

after a fi xed number of responses
• Variable-ratio reinforcement: You get
reinforced after a certain number of
responses, but you don’t know how
many

3-<number>
Cognitive Learning Theories:
• Cognitive learning theory stresses the
importance of internal mental
process. This perspective views
people as problem-solvers who
actively use information from
external environment.

3-<number>
Cognitive Learning Theories:
Observational Learning
• Observational learning occurs when
we watch the actions of others and
note the reinforcements they receive
for their behaviors

3-<number>
Cognitive Learning Theories:
Observational Learning

2-<number>
How do we learn to be consumer?
• Parent’s infl uence
• Television and the web
• Cognitive development
• Message comprehension

2-<number>
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

3-<number>
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

3-<number>
Figure 3.5 The Memory Process

3-<number>
How memories store information
• Associative network: incoming piece
of information gets stored as bits of
related information

2-<number>
Spreading Activation
• As one node is activated, other nodes
associated with it also begin to be
triggered
• Meaning types of associated nodes:
⚬Brand-specifi c
⚬Ad-specifi c
⚬Brand identifi cation
⚬Product category
⚬Evaluative reactions

3-<number>
Levels of Knowledge
• Individual nodes = meaning concepts
• Two (or more) connected nodes =
proposition (complex meaning)
• Two or more propositions = schema

3-<number>
Retrieval for Purchase Decisions
• Retrieving information often requires
appropriate factors and cues:
⚬Situational factors
￭ Consumer attention; pioneering
brand; descriptive brand names
￭ Viewing environment (continuous
activity; commercial order in
sequence)
￭ Post experience advertising
eff ects

3-<number>
What Makes Us Forget?
• Decay and interference
• Appropriate factors/cues
for retrieval:
⚬State-dependent
retrieval/ mood
congruence eff ect
⚬Familiarity
⚬Salience/von Restorff
eff ect
⚬Viewing context
⚬Visual memory versus
verbal memory

3-<number>
Measuring Memory for Marketing Stimuli
• Recognition versus recall
• Problems with memory measures
⚬Response biases
⚬Memory lapses

3-<number>
The Marketing Power of Nostalgia
• Marketers may
resurrect popular
characters to
evoke fond
memories of the
past
⚬Nostalgia
⚬Retro brand

3-<number>
Discussion
• What “retro brands” are targeted to
you? Were these brands that were
once used by your parents?

3-<number>