Lecture 4: how do consumers acquire and process information? Flashcards
what is attention according to Wiliam James
focusing on some things and not on others. withdrawal from some things in order to deal effectively with others
why do we have attention?
to navigate complex envirnoments, focus on important information and surpress distracting information.
- because we have limited cognitive resources
limited cognitive resources
- limited brain signalling
- limited actions
- we can’t focus on everything at once and only act in so many ways at once.
top down versus bottom up
selective attention exists out of this.
- voluntary versus involuntary
- endogenous versus exogenous
- goal-directed versus salience
- controlled versus automatic
- directed versus captured
For example, you go to the store to buy milk (top-down), but decide to walk to the candy aisle, because your attention was grabbed by the smell (bottom-up).
what impacts bottom-up versus top-down attention?
bottom-up is usually influenced by our core needs like movement or contrast and top down is our motivation (and how strong it is) to do something.
stroop task
early versus late selection
depends on the perceptual load
earlier with more distractors because you would have to filter faster
there is some evidence for filtering at a perceptual level. but still debate about what we do and don’t process
4 stages of acquiring information
- pre-attentive analysis
- focal attention
- comprehension
- elaborative reasoning
pre-attentive analysis
scanning envirnoment, awareness
general, non-goal directed surveillance of the envirnoment. at the fringe of consciousness
- feature analysis = perceptual (exact repeat)
- semantic = conceptual (similar idea)
- matching activation hypothesis
- hedonic fluency
first stage
matching activation hypothesis
hemispheric specialization.
does exist to some extent.
for people with an intact brain the information is almost always immediately available for both halves.
hedonic fluency
easier processing is pleasant and leads to higher evaluation.
because of this we can missatribute pleasentness of ease to stimulus.
- goal fluency: sequences activating simular goals -> asking about intentions before behavior increases likelihood of behavior.
focal attention
focus on some information and filter out other, categorization
focus on bottom-up components
- awareness, identification, categorization
- short-term (working) memory
second stage
features that attract attention
in focal attention
- salience
- vividness
- novelty
salience
contrast to envirnoment. botom-up cues matter more if top-down goals are weaker. so this is stronger for lower processing motivation/involvement.
cuts through advertisement clutter
vividness
attention grabbing properties. can compete with meaning because of undermining it’s effect if it distracts from persuasive message.
novelty
unfamiliar, unexpected, surprising
- expectancy disconfirmation model
expectancy disconformation model
manage expectations in consumers, when you over promise and under deliver you will have more customers, but not for the long term. and the other way around.
categorization
a brand or product means something to a consumer.
categorization enables inferences.
we classify a product based on many aspects like attributes, brands and product usage.
what does the acceptance of a product rely on?
it is highly defined by
- the congruence or the “fit” with the brand
- associations
- prior knowledge
- involvement
involvement in accepting a new product
low involvement means relying perhaps only on similarity, whereas high involvement might include gathering other attribute information.
(dis)advantages of prototypical products?
are more liked, but less salient. which reduces attention to the product
pioneering advantage?
when a product is the first in it’s category it has novelty leading to deeper processing and more extreme evaluations.
this new product becomes prototypical eventually
assimilation in a category?
overestimating the similarity within category.
thinking of a domain in life you are succeeding leads to higher life satisfaction evaluation.
contrast in category?
overestimating differences between categories
an academic winning a nobel prize reflects good on the entire department, but leads to contrast compared to peers.
impression formation
categorize people according to associations (with brands)
brand personality
using systems for persons perception
introducing a new product?
a moderately similair product to the earlier products released from your brand is the most optimal strategy.
comprehension
third stage
understanding and interpreting information
- making inferences about semantic meaning
- understanding and misunderstanding claims
understanding?
is needed for deliberate persuasion, but there are other routes
thruth effect?
repetition of an ambigious message (even if known to be false) increases acceptance/belief over time.
has two steps
1. taking a message to be true (low effort default)
2. critical appraisal/disbelief (effortful, not guaranteed to happen).
when are you unlikely to get to step two of the truth effect?
under cognitive load, distraction, time pressure, linger delay and low involvement.
Skurnik et al., 2005?
- we misremember false claims as true more often than the other way around
- older adults are more likely to remember for repetition + delay
Henkel & Mattson, 2011?
- source reliability matters very little for longer delays
- les than 1/3 remember source reliability after delay
misleading claims?
- rely on inferences beyond literal statements
- literally true, but implement something different
- omit information
- juxtaposition (be cool, buy brand)
- reverse cause and effect
elaborative reasoning
linking attention and memory in evaluation
high involvement, link to previous knowledge.
thinking along at least three dimensions
- extent of thinking
- valence of thinking
- object of thinking
object of thinking?
- consumer goals
- self
- meta cognition
self-schema?
traits, values and beliefs about self guide attention and information processing.
- amplifying effect
- motivational matching
amplifying effect?
higher motivation to process information congruent with self-schema
meta-cognition
thinking about other’s motives credibility can lead to skepticism and resistance
thinking about your own inner state our thoughts can lead to self-validation
confidence amplifies persuasion.
study with giving arguments
what is the role of attention processes in attitude formation and attitude change?
- without attention, information is quickly lost
- attention is required for the process of focal attention -> comprehension -> elaborative reasoning
- assumption: attitude formation and attitude change is based on information
- attitude formation and attitude change requires attention.
without attention, no influence on attitudes? -> subliminal
