Ch 4 Flashcards
Physical characteristics
Tangible elements or the parts of a message that can be sensed
Golden section
The preferred ratio of objects, equal to 1.62 to 1.00
Message congruity
Extent to which a message is internally consistent and fits surrounding information
Figure
Object that is intended to capture a person’s attention, the focal part of any message
Ground
Background in a message
Figure-ground distinction
Notion that each message can be separated into the focal point (figure) and the background (ground)
Expertise
Amount of knowledge that a source is perceived to have about a subject
Trustworthiness
How honest and unbiased the source is perceived to be
Credibility
Extent to which a source is consider to be both an expert in a given area and trustworthy
Counterarguments
Thoughts that contradict a message
Support arguments
Thoughts that further support a message
Habituation
Process by which continuous exposure to a stimulus affects the comprehension of, and response to, the stimulus
Adaption level
Level of a stimulus to which a consumer has become accustomed
Signal theory
Explains ways in which communications convey meaning beyond the explicit or obvious interpretation
Dostats
Russian word that can be roughly translated as “acquiring things with great difficulty”
Expectations
Beliefs about what will happen in some future situation
Brain dominance
Refers to the phenomenon “hemispheric lateralization.” Some people tend to be either right-brain or left-brain dominant.
Metaphor
In a consumer context, an ad claim that is not literally true but figuratively communicates a message
Information intensity
Amount of information available for a consumer to process within a given environment
Framing
Is a phenomenon in which the meaning of something is influenced (perceived differently) by the information environment
Prospect theory
Theory that suggests that a decision, or argument, can be framed in different ways and that the framing affects risk assessments consumers make
Priming
Cognitive process in which context or environment activates concepts and frames thoughts and therefore affects both value and meaning
Memory
Psychological process by which knowledge is recorded
Multiple store theory of memory
Theory that explains memory as utilizing three different storage areas within the human brain: sensory, workbench, and long-term
Sensory memory
Area in memory where a consumer stores things exposed to one of the five senses
Iconic storage
Storage of visual information in sensory memory and the idea that things are stored with a one-to-one representation with reality
Echoic storage
Storage of auditory information in sensory memory
Haptic perception
Interpretations created by the way some object feels
Workbench memory
Storage area in the memory system where information is stored while it is being processed and encoded for later recall
Encoding
Process by which information is transferred from workbench memory to long-term memory for permanent storage
Retrieval
Process by which information is transferred back into workbench memory for additional processing when needed
Repetition
Simple mechanism in which a thought is kept alive in short-term memory by mentally repeating the thought
Dual coding
Coding that occurs when two different sensory traces are available to remember something
Meaningful coding
Coding that occurs when information from long-term memory is placed and attached on the workbench and attached to it in a way that the information can be recalled and used later
Chunking
Process of grouping stimuli by meaning so that multiple stimuli can become one memory unit
Cognitive interference
Notion that everything else that the consumer is exposed to while trying to remember something is also vying for processing capability and thus interfering with memory and comprehension
Chunk
Single memory unit
Tag
Small piece of coded information that helps with the retrieval of knowledge
Rumination
Unintentional but recurrent memory of long-ago events that are spontaneously (not evoked by the environment) triggered
Nostalgia
A yearning to relive the past that can product lingering emotions
Response generation
Reconstruction of memory traces into a formed recollection of information
Semantic coding
Type of coding wherein stimuli are converted to meaning that can be expressed verbally
Spreading activation
Way cognitive activation spreads from one concept (or node) to another
Scheme
Cognitive representation of a phenomenon that provides meaning to that entity
Script
Scheme representing an event
Nodes
Concepts found in an associative network
Associative network
Network of mental pathways linking knowledge within memory; sometimes referred to as a semantic network
Exemplar
Concept within a schema that is the single best representative of some category; schema for something that really exists
Prototype
Schema that is the best representative of some category but that is not represented by an existing entity; conglomeration of the most associated characteristics of a category
Episodic memory
Memory for past events in one’s life
Social schema
Cognitive representation that gives a specific type of person meaning
Social stereotype
Another word for social schema
