Class 3: Perception

Question 1

Sensation

Answer 1

The immediate response of our sensory receptors (eyes, ears,
nose, mouth, and fingers) to basic stimuli (light, color, sound,
odor, and texture).

Question 2

Perception

Answer 2

The process by which sensations are selected, organized, and
interpreted.

Question 3

Perceptual Process

Answer 3

Sensation:

Sights -> Eyes
Sounds -> Ears
Smells -> Nose
Taste -> Mouth
Textures -> Skin

Process of Perception:

Exposure -> Attention -> Interpretation

Question 4

Sensation: Vision

Answer 4

• Many of our consumption decisions are based on how things look.
• Colors can provoke emotions.
• ‘Trade Dress’ plays an important role in how consumers recognize products and brands.

Question 5

Sensation: Smell

Answer 5

• Odors create mood and promote memories.
• Marketers use scents:
• Inside products, in promotions (e.g., scratch ‘n sniff), in
  stores

Question 6

Sensation: Hearing

Answer 6

• Sound affects behaviour and feelings
• Music in stores can sway purchases
• Jingles are an effective advertising tool

Question 7

Sensation: Touch

Answer 7

• Haptic senses—or touch—are the most basic, and
  earliest learned.
• Touching affects the product experience:
• Waitresses who touch patrons get bigger tips
• Contagious consumption
• Touching an item forms a relationship with the product

Consumers are willing to pay more for products they have touched vs. products
they have not touched.

Touching creates a sense of perceived
ownership which increases perceived –
this is called the endowment effect.

Question 8

Sensation: Taste

Answer 8

• People form strong preferences for particular flavours
• Tastes can evolve
• As we age, our taste buds become less sensitive
• Link between taste and colour

Question 9

Exposure

Answer 9

▪ Exposure occurs when a stimulus comes within
range of someone’s sensory receptors
▪ We can concentrate on, ignore, or completely miss
stimuli.
▪ There are so many sensory stimuli in our environment that we are in a state of sensory overload.

Question 10

What do we Notice? - Sensory Thresholds

Answer 10

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

Differential threshold:
Ability of a sensory system to detect changes or
differences between two stimuli (i.e., pricing,
packaging)

If you do not want consumers to notice a change→ fall below Just Noticeable Difference (JND)

Question 11

Attention

Answer 11

Attention – The extent to which processing activity is
devoted to a particular stimulus.
▪ Marketers spend a great deal of effort attempting to attract attention.
▪ Typically through the use of surprising or unexpected stimuli – expectancy violation.

Question 12

Attention: Perceptual Selection

Answer 12

People attend to only a small portion of the stimuli to which they are exposed.

Perceptual vigilance → pay attention to things that relate to current needs.

Perceptual defense → ignore things that don’t fit with our existing beliefs.

Adaptation → stop paying attention to something because it is familiar.

Question 13

Interpretation

Answer 13

▪ Consumers consider the entire situation – gestalt – to discern overall patterns and meanings.
▪ Consumers think about both the functional elements of brands and products as well as the symbolic elements.
▪ Consumers try to make sense of what they are exposed to and tend to relate incoming sensations to those that are already in memory.

Question 14

Semiotics

Answer 14

Semiotics: correspondence between signs and
symbols and their role in the assignment of meaning
▪ Marketing messages have three basic components:

Object (Product)
Interpretant (Meaning)
Sign (Image)

Question 15

Perceptual Positioning

Answer 15

Brand perceptions = functional attributes + symbolic attributes

Question 16

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