Notes for Unit II by Dr.

Mohammed Naved Khan

PERCEPTION
Introduction: Reality is a totally personal phenomenon, based on a persons needs, wants,
values, and personal experiences. Reality to an individual is merely that (or a particular)
individuals perception of what has taken place.
Individuals act and react on the basis of their perceptions, not on the basis of objective reality
because the consumers make decisions and take actions based on what they perceive to be
reality.
One of the most frequently reported problems encountered by marketers is getting prospects
to receive, comprehend and remember information about their products and services. The
problem is particularly acute for advertisers.
Marketers often use attractive models to attract attention to their ads this is particularly true
when the ad is directed toward males. How effective is this tactic?
In advertisement research a new device is being used to measure the effectiveness of an ad.
This device is called eye tracking device. It is a combination of computer and video
technology that allows one to record eye movements in relation to stimulus such as package
or a commercial. Respondents control how long they view each scene.
The ETD allows the researchers to determine how long an ad or other marketing stimulus is
viewed, the sequence in which it is viewed, which element were examined and how much
time was devoted to looking at each element.
Another way of assessing the impact of advertising is to measure the arousal elicited when
consumers view the ad. Devices that assess blood pressure, pupil dilation, brain wave
patterns, and even temperature of ear drums have been used.
Marketers do not want their target audience to look only at the models in their ads. They
generally want to communicate something about the product as well. However, since there
are many more commercials then consumers can possibly look at, marketers often use
attractive models, celebrities, humor, or often factors unrelated to the product to as what the
target markets interest. But if not well done, these factors attract attention only to
themselves, not to the advertising message.
A sound knowledge of perception is essential to avoid this and other problems encountered
when communicating with various target audiences.
Perception is the critical activity that links the individual consumer to group, situation and
marketer influences.
Perception is a process through which individuals are exposed to information, attend to
information, and comprehend the information. (Thus perception is a subset of the larger field
of information processing).
The Nature of Perception
Information processing may be defined as a process through which consumers are exposed to
information, attend to it, comprehend it, place it in memory, and retrieve it for later use.
Or
Information processing is a series of activities by which stimuli are perceived, transformed
into information and stored.
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Notes for Unit II by Dr. Mohammed Naved Khan

Discuss Information Processing Model

Take in figure on page 2 - 19
1) There is linear flow from exposure to memory
2) These processes occur virtually simultaneously and are clearly interactive.
Both perception and memory are extremely selective. Of the massive amount of information
available, an individual can be exposed to only a limited amount. Only a small percentage is
attended to and passed on to the central processing part of the brain for interpretation. Much
of the interpreted information is not available to active memory when the individual needs to
make a purchase decision.
Take in figure page 2 - 20
Exposure: Exposure occurs when a stimulus such as a billboard, comes within range of a
persons sensory receptor nerves. For example; Vision
The individual is exposed to no more than a small fraction of the available stimuli.
Most of the stimuli to which an individual is exposed are self selected i.e. we deliberately
seek out exposure to certain stimuli and avoid others. Generally we seek information that we
think will help in achieving our goals. These goals may be immediate or long range.
Immediate goals would involve seeking stimuli such as an advertisement to assist in a
purchase decision.
Long range goals might involve reading a book in the hope of obtaining a degree.
The concept of selective exposure is of great interest to advertisers. The tendency of
consumers to selectively screened information to which they are exposed can dramatically
lower the effectiveness of advertising.
Of course, we are also exposed to a large number of stimuli on a more or less random basis
during our daily activities. While driving, we may hear commercials; see billboards etc. that
we do not purposely seek out.
Discuss the flush factor
The flush factor illustrates the point that consumers watching TV will selectively avoid
themselves to commercials and attend to other matters.
This selectivity to exposure has led to two interrelated phenomenon in TV commercials which
have created problems for advertisers. These are zipping and zapping.
Zipping occurs when one fast forwards through a commercial on a prerecorded programme.
Zapping involves switching channels when a commercial appears. The nearly universal
presence of remote controls makes zipping and zapping very simple.
It has been found that most commercials are zipped without any viewing at all.
What are its implications for the advertisers?

Notes for Unit II by Dr. Mohammed Naved Khan

Zapping, apart from being influenced by the same ad characteristics as zipping, is also
influence by situation itself (presence of remote control, cable TV, amount of clutter- number
of ads during the time period) and the type of household (multi-person, males present, with
children etc.)
Some steps that can reduce audience erosion are:
1) Format change: place the commercial in the interior of the programme. In the beginning
and end, zapping is frequent.
2) Spread commercials: insert the commercial in more than one channel-both in network and
cable TV channels.
3) Strategic timings: zapping occurs after 5 to 10 seconds of the commercial appeariang.
Thus, place important material early in the commercials and try to obtain first position in a
series of commercials.
4) budget more for print and other media
5) Persuade TV stations to show few ads at a time to reduce clutter.
Avoidance of commercials is not limited to TV. New papers readers now read only about half
the daily paper compared to almost 2/3 ten years ago.
Sometimes the consumers actively seek out commercials e.g. viewers look forward to
commercials developed for major sporting events like World cup, Super bowl. More
impressive is the positive response to infomercials-programme length materials (30 minutes)
Attention: Attention occurs when the stimulus activates one or more sensory receptor
nerves and the resulting sensations go to the brain for processing. Marketers are vitally
concerned with attention because it is a necessary step in order for information to be
comprehended and placed into long term memory.
When a consumer attends to an advertisement or a personal selling communication, he/she is
allocating mental capacity to the task. The more demanding the task or the more involved the
person in the task, the greater the amount of attention focused upon it.
Types of attention: Attention can be activated either voluntarily or involuntarily.

Voluntary attention: it involves the consumer in actively searching out information in

order to achieve some goal. A major aspect of voluntary attention is its selectivity. Through
selective attention consumers identify the stimuli on which they will focus attention, based
upon whether or not it matches their goals. This is a major problem for advertisers.
Consumers are exposed to the message but simply decide not to attend to the information
contained in the communication.

Involuntary attention: it occurs when a consumer is exposed to something surprising,

novel, threatening, or unexpected. Such stimuli result in an autonomic response in which the
person turns toward and allocates attention to it. The response which the consumer cannot be
consciously controlled is called orientation reflex. Because most advertisements to which
consumers are exposed are unrelated to the immediate goals of the audience, marketers try
hard to elicit orientation reflex.
The next obvious question that comes to our minds is what determines or influences
attention?

Notes for Unit II by Dr. Mohammed Naved Khan

Attention always occurs within the context of a situation.

The same individual may devote different levels of attention to the same stimulus on different
situations. Attention therefore is determined by three factors:
1) The stimulus
2) The individual, and
3) The situation
Stimulus factors: Stimulus factors are physical characteristics of the stimulus itself. A number
of stimulus characteristics tend to attract our attention independently of our individual
characteristics.
1) Size and intensity: the size of the stimulus influences the probability of paying attention.
Larger stimuli are more likely to be noticed than smaller ones
Insertion frequency: the number of times the same ads appears in the same issue of a
magazine has an impact similar to ad size. The intensity (e.g. loudness, brightness) of a
stimulus operates in the same manner. Recall level was found to increase by 20 - 200% by
multiple insertions.
2) Colour and movement: both colour and movement serve to attract more attention.
Brightly coloured and moving items are more noticeable.
3) Position: position refers to placement of an object in a persons visual field. Object place
near the center of visual field are more likely to be noticed than those near the edge of the
field.
4) Isolation: isolation is separating a stimulus object from other objects. The use of white
space - placing a brief message in the center of an otherwise black or white advertisement is based on the same principle.
5) Format: format refers to the manner in which the message is presented. In general,
simple, straight forward presentations receive more attention than complex presentations.
Format interacts strongly with the individual characteristics i.e. what I find complex can be
interesting for you; it must be developed with a specific target market in mind.
6) Information quantity: since all consumers have limited capacities to process information;
thus the marketer must see to it that information overload does not occur. Information
overload occurs when consumers are confronted with so much information that they can not
or will not attend to all of it.
Individual Factors
Individual factor are characteristic of the individual. Interest or need seems to be the primary
individual characteristic that influences attention

Notes for Unit II by Dr. Mohammed Naved Khan

Situational Factors
1) Situational factors: include stimuli in the environment other than the focal stimulus (i.e.
the ad or package) and or temporary characteristic of the individual that are induced by the
environment, such as time pressures or a very crowded store.
2) Programme involvement: print, radio, and TV ad occur in the context of a programme,
magazine or news paper. In general the audience is attending to the medium because of the
programme or editorial content, not on the advertisement (some individuals actively avoid
commercials by zapping them). It has been found that a high level of programme involvement
greatly increases both the viewership and the impact of TV commercials.
3) Contrast: contrast refers to our tendency to attempt more closely to stimuli that contrast
with their background then to stimuli that blend with it.
Interpretation
Interpretation is the assignment of meaning to sensation.
In the interpretation process people draw upon their experience, memory, and expectation to
attach meaning to a stimulus. Interpretation involves both a cognitive or factual component
and an effective or emotional response.
Cognitive interpretation: it is a process where by stimuli are placed into existing categories of
meanings. This is an interactive process. The addition of new information to existing
categories also alters those categories and their relationships with other categories.
It is the individuals interpretation, not objective reality that will influence behaviour.
Affective interpretation: it is the emotional response triggered by a stimulus such as an ad.
Determinants of interpretation
Take in figure from page 2 - 29
Interpretation is the function of the individual as well as stimulus and situation characteristics.
Individual Characteristics
Marketing stimuli have meanings only as individuals interpret them. A number of individual
characteristics influence interpretation.
Two particularly important personal variables affecting interpretation are learning and
expectations:

learning: The meanings attached to such natural things such as time, space,
friendship, and colors are learned and vary widely across cultures.
Even within the same culture, different subcultures assign different meanings to similar
stimuli.
Marketers must be certain that the target audience has learned the same meaning that they
wish to portray.

Expectations: individuals tend to interpret stimuli in the light of their expectations.

Expectation, cued by colour, leads to an interpretation that is inconsistent with objective
reality.

Notes for Unit II by Dr. Mohammed Naved Khan

Situational Characteristics
A variety of situational characteristics play a role in influencing the process of interpretation.
Temporary characteristics of individual, such as hunger or loneliness, influence interpretation
of a given stimulus, as do moods. The amount of time available also affects the meaning
assign to marketing messages.
Proximity: Refers to a tendency to perceive objects or events that are close to one another as
being related.
Stimulus Characteristics
The stimulus sets the basic structure to which an individual responds. The structure and
nature of the product, package, advertisement, or sales presentation have a major impact on
the nature of the mental processes that are activated and on the final meaning assigned to the
message.
In recognition of the critical importance of meaning associated with stimuli, marketers are
beginning to use
All aspects of message itself influence our interpretation. This can include our reaction to
over all style, visual and auditory background, and other verbal and non-verbal aspects of the
message, as well as its explicit content and even lack of content
SENSATION
Sensation is the immediate and direct response of sensory organs to simple stimuli.
It is the stimulation of a persons sensory receptors and transmission of sensory information
to the brain and spinal cord via nerve fibres.
Sensitivity: Human sensitivity refers to the experience of sensation.
Sensitivity depends upon:
1) Quality of an individuals sensory receptors.
2) The amount or intensity of stimuli to which individual is exposed.
In situation where there is a great deal of sensory input, the senses do not detect small
intensities or differences in input.
As sensory input decreases, our ability to detect changes in input or intensity increases, to the
point that we attain maximum sensitivity under conditions of minimal stimulation.
THE ABSOLUTE THRESHOLD
The lowest level at which an individual can experience a sensation is called the absolute
threshold.
The point at which a person can detect a difference between something and nothing is
that persons absolute threshold for that stimulus.
Adaptation: In the field of perception, the term adaptation refers specifically to getting
used to certain sensations, becoming accommodated to a certain level of stimulation.
Thus, we can say that in order for the stimulus to have an impact on the consumer after the
adaptation has occurred, it must be changed in some way, of course, and the change must be
greater than the JND of the stimulus.
Sensory adaptation is a problem experienced by many TV advertisers during special
programming events such as the World Cup.
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Notes for Unit II by Dr. Mohammed Naved Khan

In order to keep the product or service communications fresh, marketers should attempt to
vary them periodically and this variation must be greater than the JND.
The Butterfly Curve
What the curve shows is that the preference for a stimulus is at its greatest level at points just
higher or lower than the adaptation level. At the adaptation level, preference declines slightly
because the person has become habituated to the stimulus. However, as the level of stimulus
moves too far from the adaptation level, the preference steadily decreases.
The simple idea of butterfly curve nicely explains why fashion trends are constantly changing.
Consumers quickly become adapted to a certain look, and its pleasure falls. Designers will
then modify the current look in some relatively small way, and it will appear fresh and
interesting because the stimulus has diverged from the adaptation level.
As predicted by the butterfly curve, unusual fashion looks are adapted slowly, because at first
they are too far away from the adaptation level.
Another consumer behaviour phenomenon that butterfly curve accounts for is spontaneous
brand switching. Many consumers switch brands even when nothing indicates that they are
unhappy with the brand previously used. The phenomenon seems to occur most frequently
for low involvement products in which little difference exists between brands.
Applying the concept of adaptation level, consumers may switch brands because they have
adapted to the brand most frequently used. Changing to a new brand moves the consumer off
the adaptation level, thereby providing some increment in the pleasure received from the
product class.
Companies in order to reduce switching tendency, frequently come out with new and
improved versions of their products. Why?
The Differential Threshold
The minimal difference that can be detected between two stimuli is called differential
threshold or the JND.
Earnest Weber discovered that the just noticeable difference between two stimuli was not an
absolute amount, but an amount relative to the intensity of the first stimulus.
Webers Law: states that the stronger the initial stimulus, the greater the additional intensity
needed for the second stimulus to be perceived as different. This law holds for all the senses
and for almost all intensities (e.g. for sight and sound).
Uses of JND:
Making the product improvement just equal to the JND. Thus becomes the most efficient
decision that management can make. Retailers have long made use of a general rule of thumb
that markdowns of merchandise must amount to at least 20% of the old price. Since a smaller
amount often goes unnoticed.
Marketing Applications of JND
Webers law has important applications for marketing. Manufacturers and marketers try their
best to determine the relevant JND for their products for two very different reasons:
1) So that negative changes are not easily noticed by the public.
2) So that product improvements i.e. positive changes are readily noticed without the
marketer being wastefully extravagant
If the marketer wants to update existing packaging without loosing the ready recognition of
consumers who have been exposed to years of cumulative advertising impact. In such cases,
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Notes for Unit II by Dr. Mohammed Naved Khan

they normally make a number of small changes, each carefully designed below the JND, so
that consumers will not perceived the difference.
Some marketing examples of JND.
S.No
Area of application
1
Pricing

Sales promotion

Product

Packaging

Example of use
When raising the price try to
move less than the JND
When lowering the price for
a sale, move more than the
JND
Make concessions larger
than the JND
Decrease size of food
products less than the JND
Decrease quality less than
the JND
When word new is used
make sure product change is
greater than the JND
To update package styling
and logo keep within the
JND
To change image, make
styling changes greater than
the JND