Defining Learning and Perception Value is important to the discussion of consumer behavior and cannot be communicated without consumer learning and perception, Learning refers to a change in behavior resulting from the interaction been a person and a stimulus. Perception is how the consumer is aware of and interprets reality. Consumer perception An issue important to consumer researchers is: what’s more important, perception or reality? This is important to understand since the way a consumer perceives something greatly influences learning Exposure, Attention, and Comprehension
There are three elements of consumer perception: exposure, attention, and comprehension. Exposure brings a stimulus in close proximity to a consumer to be sensed by one Of the five human senses. Attention is the consumer’s allocation of information-processing capacity toward the stimulus to develop an understanding Of IL Comprehension occurs when consumers attempt to derive meaning from the information they receive. ALL. List and define phases of the consumer perception process. Consumer perception process The three phases of consumer perception include: sensing organizing, and reacting.
Sensing This is an immediate response to stimuli that have come into contact with one Of the five senses. When a consumer reads a Tweet from someone he or she is following, the perceptual process goes into action. Organizing When something is sensed, the consumer organizes information like sorting mail Consumers develop an interpretation during this stage and begin to comprehend the stimuli. If a consumer has difficulty categorizing a stimulus, the brain tries to reconcile the inconsistencies by reacting in three possible ways: 1.
Assimilation occurs when a stimulus has characteristics that consumers readily agonize as belonging to some specific category. 2. Accommodation occurs when a stimulus shares some, but not all, tot the characteristics that allow it to fit in an existing category. 3, Contrast occurs when a stimulus does not share enough in common with existing categories to allow it to be categorized. Reacting This is the end of the perceptual process and can be both physical and mental in response to the stimuli. The example in the book details when a driver notices that the car ahead has its brake lights on so the learned response is to apply brakes as well.
The reaction occurs as a response or behavior. Selective Perception Selective exposure screens out most stimuli and exposes a person to only a small portion of stimuli. Selective attention is the process of paying attention to only certain stimuli. Selective distortion involves how consumers interpret information in ways that are biased by their previously held beliefs. Subliminal Processing ALL. Apply the concept of JNI. Applying the JNI Concept The JNI concept is closely related to the perceptual process and deals with changes in the strength of stimuli.
Webber Law states that as the intensity of the initial stimulus increases, a consumer’s ability to detect deterrence between two levels of the stimulus decreases. The book uses the decibel levels at a concert as an example. The JNI has numerous marketing implications for marketers attempting to provide value to consumers. I _ Pricing changes by small increments do not attract lot of consumer attention. 2. Quantity changes by small increments do not attract lot of consumer attention. 3. Quality improvements in small amounts will not attract attention so the difference must be large enough to create a true perceptual difference. Add-on purchases work if it doesn’t create the perception Of increased spending. Just Meaningful Difference Closely related to MIND is JAM. The example in the book asks, how much Of a change in price is really needed to influence consumer behavior and learning? What makes the change in price meaningful to the consumer? Retailers generally find a 20% price discount effective. Implicit and Explicit Memory The knowledge a person gets from reading a textbook is stored in explicit memory?memory for information that a person is exposed to, attends to, and applies effort to remember.
Implicit memory is for things that a person did not try to remember such as stimuli you are exposed to but do not pay attention to. Banner ads on websites are a good example of implicit memory. Mere Exposure Effect This effect leads consumers to prefer a stimulus to which they’ve previously been exposed. Consumers prefer familiar objects. There is a difference between the mere exposure effect and subliminal effects. Subliminal messages are presented below the threshold Of perception While during the mere exposure effect, the stimulus is evident and could be paid attention to.
Product placements are another way promotions can impart implicit memory among consumers. Attention Attention plays a key role in distinguishing implicit and explicit memory. Involuntary attention is beyond the conscious control of the consumer and occurs as a result of exposure to new or surprising stimuli, A natural reflex that occurs as a response to a threat from the environment is an orientation reflex. This happens when attention is given to a stimulus that surprises us. LOS. Know ways to help get a consumer’s attention. Factors that Get Attention Getting a consumer’s attention is even more difficult in today’s mufti-tasking society.
These factors can enhance attention: Intensity of Stimuli – examples might include a brightly colored ad Contrast ? examples might include quiet TV commercials when you’re expecting it to be loud Movement – examples might include a strobe light to advertise a car wash Surprising Stimuli – examples might include the billboard that featured a fake small child and teddy bear seated on top of it Size of Stimuli ? examples might include a billboard with a life-size MINI Cooper attached Involvement – examples will vary depending on how relevant each individual finds the product Comprehension
Consumers should devote cognitive capacity to comprehend the choices that Offer the most value for them. Comprehension is the way consumers organize and understand information. ALL. Understand the key differences between intentional and unintentional learning, The Difference between Intentional and Unintentional Learning Goth types tot consumer learning (intentional and unintentional) concern perceptual processes.
Behaviorism and Cognitive Learning Theories Psychologists generally follow one of two basic theories of learning: behaviorism approach to learning or information processing (or cognitive) perspective, The behaviorism approach focuses on changes in behavior due to association without great concern for the cognitive mechanics of the learning process. So consumers are exposed to stimuli and respond in some way.
For information processing theory, the focus is on the cognitive processes associated with comprehension. So the consumers mind acts like a computer processing bits of knowledge to form meaning. Unintentional Learning Two approaches to unintentional learning from the behavioral learning theory are classical conditioning and instrumental conditioning. Pavlov/s experiments ere the most famous in classical conditioning studies.
