Sensation and Perception

Sensation and Perception

• Sensation: The immediate response of sensory receptors (eyes, ears, nose, mouth, skin) to basic stimuli (light, color, sound, odor, texture).
• Perception: The process of selecting, organizing, and interpreting sensations to give meaning to them.
• Pyramid of Perception: Sensory input is filtered, with only some signals reaching conscious awareness.
• Filter Mechanism: Determines which sensory data is relevant, e.g., living near a train station reduces awareness of train sounds.
• Sensory Marketing: Companies utilize consumer senses to create desired experiences associated with their products.
• Vision: Marketers use visuals in ads, packaging, and store design; color (blue=relaxing, red=arousal), size, and styling are crucial. Trade dress refers to colors strongly associated with a company.
• Smell: Odors evoke emotions and feelings, and firms use scents in stores, products, and advertising.
• Sound: Sound symbolism, the way a word sounds, influences our perceptions (e.g., size).
• Touch: The endowment effect suggests that touching a product leads to greater perceived value.
• Taste: A sensory input important in consumer experiences.

Perceptual Process Stages

• Exposure: The stimulus enters the range of sensory receptors.
• Sensory Thresholds:
  • Absolute Threshold: Minimum stimulation to detect a stimulus (e.g., a dog whistle).
  • Differential Threshold/Just Noticeable Difference (JND): The minimum difference between two stimuli for detection. Marketers can use this to make changes that consumers notice.
  • Weber's Law: The stronger the initial stimulus, the greater the change needed for detection.
• Subliminal Perception: Stimuli below conscious awareness. Subliminal messages' effectiveness in marketing is debated.
• Attention: Processing activity devoted to a specific stimulus.
  • Sensory Overload: Consumers are exposed to more information than they can process.
  • Perceptual Selection: Consumers filter information; personal factors and stimulus factors play a role.
    • Personal Factors: Personal needs and desires influence what's noticed. Perceptual vigilance (attending to needs) and perceptual defense (avoiding threatening stimuli) are important filters.
    • Adaptation: Decreased sensitivity over time due to continuous exposure to a stimulus. Factors include intensity, discrimination, exposure, and relevance.
    • Stimulus Factors: Characteristics of the stimulus (e.g., size, color, position, novelty) influence attention.
• Interpretation: Assigning meaning to stimuli.
  • Gestalt Psychology: We perceive meaning from the totality of stimuli rather than individual stimuli. Principles:
    • Closure: Filling in missing information.
    • Similarity: Grouping similar objects.
    • Figure-Ground: Distinguishing between the main stimulus (figure) and the background (ground).
    • Continuity: Perceiving smooth lines.
    • Proximity: Grouping close objects.
    • Symmetry: Perceiving symmetrical objects as unified wholes.
  • Semiotics: The study of signs and symbols and their meanings (object, sign, interpretant).
    • Iconic Signs: Resemble the product.
    • Indexical Signs: Share a property with the product.
    • Symbolic Signs: Relate via associations.
• Positioning Strategy: Establishing a brand's place in the market based on various features (like lifestyle, price, attributes).
• Holland et al. (2005): Study highlighting the subconscious influence of odors, in this case, citrus cleaner, on cleaning-related thoughts and behaviors.

Learning and Memory

• Learning: Relatively permanent behavioral change from experience.

• Classical Conditioning: Learning associations between stimuli; pairing a neutral stimulus with a stimulus that naturally elicits a response.

  • Pavlov's Dog Experiment: Conditioned response (salivation) to a neutral stimulus (bell).
  • Extinction: Disappearance of a conditioned response.
  • Stimulus Generalization: Responding similarly to similar stimuli.
  • Marketing Applications: Creating positive associations with products, branding, and packaging.

• Operant Conditioning: Learning associations between behavior and consequences.

  • Positive Reinforcement: Strengthening responses through rewards.
  • Negative Reinforcement: Strengthening responses by removing negative stimuli.
  • Punishment: Decreasing responses through unpleasant events.
  • Extinction: Disappearance of a response due to lack of reinforcement.
  • Marketing Applications: Rewarding or punishing consumers for purchase decisions.

• Cognitive Learning: Emphasizing internal mental processes like problem-solving, using previous knowledge, and vicarious learning.

  • Vicarious Learning: Learning through observing others.
  • Iconic Rote Learning: Association by repetition.
  • Reasoning: Using existing knowledge to form new associations.

• Memory: The process of acquiring and storing information for later recall.

  • Information-Processing Approach: Encoding, storage, and retrieval.
  • Memory Types: Different types of memory are involved.
  • Enhancing Storage and Retrieval: Chunking, rehearsal, recirculation, elaboration.
  • Enhancing Retrieval: Pioneering brand, descriptive brands, state-dependent retrieval, Von Restorff effect, visual information, emotional messages, primacy/recency effects, and product as memory markers.
  • Levels of Memory: Brand-specific, ad-specific, brand identification, product category, and evaluative reactions, leading to different recall possibilities.