PERCEPTION

Definition- the means by which stimuli are received and interpreted by

the individual and translated into a response - “how we see the world around us”

It is a complex process by which people select, organize, and interpret sensory

stimulation into a meaningful picture of the world. Since we constantly receive
numerous stimuli, we select only certain stimuli, organize them, so that they become
understandable

Perception is what an individual sees within a perceptual field - his mental impression of
a stimulus object. Such view is formed over time and reflects his physiological
characteristics (eyesight, intelligence level, and psychological characteristics), per
sonality, needs, and experience, and the social environment

It is important to marketers since a customer’s decision to purchase will be influenced to

a large extent by the way he perceives the product. His perception is not only affected by
the product quality but also the attributes of a successful marketing through advertising,
packaging, and promotion techniques.

Sensation is the response of sensory organs to a stimulus. It depends on the quality of the
sensory receptors and the intensity of the stimulus.

There is a threshold level of stimulation below which there is no sensitivity at all. The
absolute threshold is the lowest level at which an individual can experience a sensation.
The point at which a person can detect between "something" and “nothing” is that
person’s absolute threshold for that stimulus. To illustrate, the distance at which a driver
can note a specific billboard on the highway is that person's absolute threshold. Below
this threshold, there may be stimulus reception, but it will not reach the individual's
conscious awareness ---> this is subliminal perception

Subliminal perception was criticized for persuading people to buy goods and service
without being aware of why they were motivated to do so.
The 6 weeks test at a New Jersey drive-in movie - "eat popcorn" and “drink coca cola"
were flashed on the screen during the movie.

Popcorn sales ↑58%, coke ↑18%

Other similar experiment supported the finding that individuals could perceive below
their level of conscious awareness, but that subliminal stimuli did not affect their
purchase intention.
-->New industry on subliminal audio perception (self-help cassettes)

In conclusion, there is some evidence that subliminal stimuli may influence reaction,
there is no evidence that subliminal stimulate ion can influence consumption motives or
actions, thus no state or federal law prohibits the use of subliminal advertising.

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There is also a differential threshold, representing the smallest change or
difference between stimuli that can be consciously perceived: this is also
called the `Just Noticeable Difference" or `JND'.

Weber's law --> the stronger the initial stimulus the greater the additional intensity
needed for the second stimulus to be perceived as different.

Automobile price - ↓ $100 --> not easily noticed

↓ $3000 --> more easily noticed

Gasoline price - ↑ $1.00 per liter--> noticed very quickly

Marketing application of JND

- Markdowns of goods in retailing must be at least 20% of the old prices, since a smaller
amount often go unnoticed. JND is not an absolute amount, but rather a relative amount
depending on the level of initial price. (Note that sales at
Parkson is usually 20% or more)

- Negative changes (↓ product size, ↑ product price) not so obvious

(Note how some Grade a rice are actually mixed with some inferior Grade but to a point
where consumer will not notice a different in taste)(Starkist Tuna 6 1/2 oz regular - sized
can)Decreased quantity 6 1/8 oz - maintained same price, it actually experienced a 5.8%
price increase.
(Procter & Gamble diapers - 88 to 80 - maintain old price - experienced a 9.1% price
increase)

- Positive changes (larger size, lower price) more noticeable (how about tissue paper
(scottex vs basix) and toilet paper)

Habituation - over stimulation of the senses, dulling the individual's sensitivity.

To combat habituation:-
-Bright packaging
-Perfume company uses `scent strips' to break the dullness in a visually overcrowded
magazine

-Three dimensional model

-Apple computers once took all the ad space in an issue of Newsweek to eliminate
sensory competition

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Perception is selective

Consumers are exposed to numerous ads per day but they actually perceive (become
consciously aware of) only certain ads since the process of seeing is affected by images,
memories, and expectation. We focus on selected stimuli while others are either not
perceived or marginally perceived.

For instance, while watching the European Champions League Finals between Barcelona
and Manchester United, we tend to either not perceiving the umpire, linesmen or the
crowd, or marginally perceiving the players; our attention is focus on how the balls are
played and/or scored.

Although we focus attention on specific stimuli at any point in time, our attention is
constantly shifting what is at the focus of our attention one minute may be marginal the
next.

Perception depends upon the nature of the stimulus

1.Intensity and Size

The brighter a light or the louder a sound, the more likely a person is to attend to it. The
same applies to large size and bright colors

2. Contrast
The alternating use of large and small sizes, loud and soft tones can produce greater
attention than any one stimulus alone. Thus an isolated black and white advertisement in
a magazine full of color advertisements may attract more attention because of its contrast
value.
Example: - An advertisement is showing a giant box of breakfast cereal being in the
middle of a country scene.

3. Position
Research has shown that where cultural values involved reading from left to right, the
upper part of the page gains greater attention and the left-hand page obtains more
attention than the right-hand page.

In magazines - the first 10% of pages

4. Novelty (closely associated to Contrast)

Anything that is different from what we normally expect will tend to attract our
attention.

Example: - A lovable Monsters, Green Giant, A&W Bear

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5. Repetition
A stimulus has greater chance of gaining attention than one that is presented only once.

6. Movement
Items on display and billboards often incorporate moving features to attract attention

Example: - Flashing of neon lights, `Lipton Tea' `King Kong'

Perception Depends On Personal Factors

1. Needs, Motives, Interest

Our needs and interest determine what will arouse our attention. Consider an artist and
a sociologist attending a party in a friend's home. The artist will probably notice the
paintings on the wall while the sociologist will tend to watch and analyze the body
language and behavior of the people in the room.

Hungry people - more likely to attend to food stimuli

Hungry shopper - likely to load his supermarket trolley with more food items than others
Advertising frequently appeals to motives to attract attention.
Women - Advertisement on babies or children
Men - Fast cars, Sport, Attractive women

2. Self Concept - Carl Rogers (1951)

A person who views himself as a playboy is more likely to perceive a sports-car
advertisement.
The gap between the “I am” and the “I Should” is called incongruity. The greater the
gap, the more is the incongruity. The greater the incongruity, the more the individual will
suffer (neurosis) being out of sync with your own self.

Actual self-Image (I am)

Ideal self-image (I Should)
Social self-image (I Feel)
Ideal social self-image (I Wish)
Expected self-image (I Believe)

The Extended Self

Altering the Self

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3. Expectation or Set
If refers to the readiness to respond in a certain way to given situation or set of stimuli,
and may be result of either known past experiences.

Expectation is a function of personality, attitudes, culture, values, learned through

socialization. When people smile, we tend to react positively and vice versa. Similarly,
for any given product range, there will be a number of brands of which we are aware of.

This is termed `Awareness' Set

Evoke Set- Within awareness set; there will be a smaller number of brands which the
consumer would actually consider purchasing.

Inert Set - Neither positive nor negative evaluation because of insufficient information.

Inept Set - Negative evaluation due to unfortunate past experience or bad reports of the
products.

Marketing implications

Unawareness Set - Marketing strategy to raise grand profile

Evoke Set - Advertising to maintain it in the set

Inert Set - Give more information, samples, and promotion

Inept Set - Improve product, promotional message

Gestalt School of Psychology

There are no simple relationships between stimulus and response.

People have different psychological make-up: response is determined by the presence of
the stimulus plus its interpretation by the individual's motives, beliefs, or assumptions.
The Gestalt view is that it is necessary to consider the organized whole has a meaning
distinct from its individual parts. Gestalt in German means figure, whole, or pattern.
When a person looks at a landscape, he doesn't see many blades of grass, several trees,
white clouds, and a stream, but rather a field or total configuration. The numerous stimuli
we select are separate, as we tend to organize them into groups and perceive them as
unified wholes. It simplifies life considerably for the individual.

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Figure and Ground

Our perception consists of a number of objects, which appear to stand out against the
general background of our experience. Trees stand out against the sky and words against
the page. The trees and words are figure; the sky and page are seen as ground.

The figure is usually perceived clearly because in contrast to its ground, it appears to be
well defined, solid and in the forefront. The ground however is usually perceived as
indefinite, hazy, and continuous.

Marketers - not to allow background to overwhelm the figure

- make sure advertising is clear to consumers as which item is figure and which
item is the background

- Musical background must not overwhelm the jingle

Grouping

Objects that are close to one another tend to be grouped together. Thus, when several
different stimuli are presented together, we tend to perceive them as a kind of pattern.

Marketers - to imply certain meanings in connection to products.

Example : - Cappuccino advertisement showing a young women arriving in a
Lamborghini meeting a young man and sipping the coffee together leads consumer to
associate drinking cappuccino with romance, fine living, and wealth.

- chunking our phone numbers and IC number together.

Closure

A process where our mind tend to fill in the gaps when we perceive a symbol with
missing segments.
If the pattern of stimuli to which we are exposed is incomplete, we tend to perceive it
nevertheless as complete, consciously or subconsciously fill in the missing pieces.
The need for closure is also seen as the tension an individual experiences when a task is
incomplete, and the satisfaction and relief that comes with its completion, and the act of
completion serves to involve them more deeply in the message itself.

Marketers - cookies commercial "now you see it, now you don't"
- Soundtrack of TV commercial on radio, drivers perceive audio track as
incomplete and mentally playback the visual content in the art of closure.

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(Source: Leon Schiffman and Leslie Kanuk (2007) Consumer
Behavior, 9th Edition, Pearson Education Inc, USA)