Chapter 2 Perception CONSUMER BEHAVIOR Copyright 2011 Pearson

Sensation and Perception • Sensation is the immediate response of our sensory receptors (eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and fingers) to basic stimuli (light, color, sound, odor, and texture). • Perception is the process by which sensations are selected, organized, and interpreted. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education 2 -2

Figure 2. 1 Perceptual Process We receive external stimuli through our five senses Copyright

Hedonic Consumption • Hedonic consumption: multisensory, fantasy, and emotional aspects of consumers’ interactions with products • Marketers use impact of sensations on consumers’ product experiences Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education 2 -4

Sensory Systems • Our world is a symphony of colors, sounds, odors, tastes • Advertisements, product packages, radio and TV commercials, billboards provide sensations Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education 2 -5

Vision • Color provokes emotion • Reactions to color are biological and cultural • Color in the United States is becoming brighter and more complex • Colors are associated with specific companies Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education 2 -6

Vertical-Horizontal Illusion • Which line is longer: horizontal or vertical? • Answer: both lines

Scents Odors create mood and promote memories: • Coffee = childhood, home Marketers use

Sound affects people’s feelings and behaviors • Sound and music are used to create

Touch • Haptic senses—or “touch”—is the most basic of senses; we learn this before vision and smell • Haptic senses affect product experience and judgment • Kinsei engineering is a Japanese philosophy that translates customers’ feelings into design elements Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education 2 -10

Table 2. 1 Tactile-Quality Associations Perception Male Female Fine High class Wool Silk Low

Taste • Cultural changes determine desirable tastes • The more respect we have for

Exposure • Exposure occurs when a stimulus comes within range of someone’s sensory receptors • We can concentrate, ignore, or completely miss stimuli • Cadillac’s 5 second ad Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education 2 -13

Attention • Attention is the extent to which processing activity is devoted to a particular stimulus • Consumers are often in a state of sensory overload • Marketers need to break through the clutter Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education 2 -14

Factors Leading to Adaptation Intensity Duration Discrimination Exposure Relevance Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education

Stimulus Selection Factors • We are more likely to notice stimuli that differ from others around them • So, marketers can create “contrast” through: Size Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education Color Position Novelty 2 -16

Creating Contrast with Size Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education 2 -17

Interpretation • Interpretation refers to the meaning we assign to sensory stimuli, which is

Semiotics • Semiotics: correspondence between signs and symbols and their role in the assignment of meaning • Marketing messages have three basic components: • Object: product that is the focus of the message • Sign: sensory image that represents the intended meanings of the object • Interpretant: meaning derived Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education 2 -19

Perceptual Positioning • Brand perceptions = functional attributes + symbolic attributes • Perceptual map: map of where brands are perceived in consumers’ minds • Used to determine how brands are currently perceived to determine future positioning Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education 2 -20