Perception

Lecture Notes: Dr. Rand Irshaidat

Reference: Schiffman,L.G, & Wisenblit,J.L (2018), Consumer Behavior: buying,

having, and being, 12thed, Pearson
Perception is the process of selecting, organizing and interpreting
information inputs to produce meaning.

Information inputs: sensations received through sight, taste,

hearing, smell, and touch.
Perception is a three step processes, although we receive numerous pieces of
information at once, only few reach our awareness.

1. Selection:

Types of Selection:
A) Selective exposure: the process by which some inputs are selected to
reach awareness and others are not.

B) Selective distortion: an individual’s changing or twisting of information

that is inconsistent with personal feelings or beliefs.

C)Selective retention: remembering information inputs that support personal

feelings and beliefs and forgetting inputs that do not.
2. Perceptual organization, information inputs that reach
awareness are not received in an organized form.

To produce meaning, an individual must mentally

organize and integrate new and old information.

3. Interpretation: assigning meaning to what

has been organized. A person bases
interpretation on what he or she expects or
what is familiar.
Elements of Perception
1)Sensory Inputs:
Sensation is the immediate response of the sensory organs to
stimuli.

A stimuli (information input) is any unit of input to any of the

senses.

In marketing, Products, packaging, brand names, advertisements are

all examples of stimuli.

Sensory reporters: are the human organs that receive sensory

inputs (the eye, ears, nose, mouth, skin)
 2. The Absolute Threshold
Absolute threshold is the lowest level at which an individual can
experience a sensation.

In other words, the point when a person can detect a difference

between something and nothing.

Example driving before reaching one billboard versus walking

through a corridor of billboards.

The more our exposure to the stimuli increases, we tend to notice it

less.
Sensory adaptation is “getting used to certain sensations”, that is becoming
accommodated to a certain level of stimulation and becoming less able to notice a
particular stimuli.

Sensory adaptation is a serious challenge for advertisers, which explains the

regular change in their campaign.

-Ambush marketing: placing ads where consumers do not expect to see them and
cannot readily avoid them. i.e. placing giant fake advertised sushi in an airport’s
checkpoints.

-Experiential marketing: allows consumers to engage and interacts with the brand
in sensory ways in order to create emotional bonds between consumers and
marketing offerings.
 Example: To drive awareness and encourage people to try
Mountain Dew Energy the marketing team designed a 43-day
‘guerrilla tour’ that targeted consumers at festivals, transport
hubs and in city centres. A team of 15 brand ambassadors
drove around the UK in a Mountain Dew truck, hosting
various competitions and giveaways. They also dished out free
samples.
 3. The Diffrential Threshold

The minimal difference that can be detected between

two similar stimuli is called the differential threshold, or
the just noticeable difference JND. (Weber’s Law)

The branch of experimental psychology focused on

sensation and perception, a just-noticeable difference or
JND is the amount that must be changed in order for a
difference to be noticeable.
'JND' is a fixed proportion of the reference sensory
level, and so the ratio of the JND is roughly constant
(that is the JND is a constant percentage.

The JND is a statistical, rather than an exact

quantity: from trial to trial, the difference that a
given person notices will vary somewhat, and it
is therefore necessary to conduct many trials in
order to determine the threshold
Weber’s law has important applications in marketing.

Manufacturers and marketers endeavour to determine the relevant JND

for their products for two very different reasons:

a)so that negative changes (e.g. reductions in product size or quality, or

increase in product price) are not visible to the public (i.e. remain below
JND)

b) So that product improvements (e.g. improved or updated

packaging, larger size or lower price) are very apparent to consumers
without being wastefully extravagant (i.e. they are at or just above
the JND).
When it comes to product improvements, marketers very much want to
meet or exceed the consumer’s differential threshold; that is, they want
consumers to readily perceive any improvements made in the
original products.

Marketers use the JND to determine the amount of improvement they

should make in their products.

Less than the JND is wasted effort because the improvement will not be
perceived.

On the other hand, when it comes to price increases, less than the JND
is desirable because consumers are unlikely to notice it.
 Example: if a marketer of a 16 ounce bag of pasta raises the
price from $3 to $4, most consumers will notice. Therefore,
instead of raising the price, the marketer lowers the quantity to
13 ounce per bag. This change is relatively slow, in other
words, below the JND, most consumers will not notice unless
they look at the package carefully.
 4. Subliminal Perception

People can be stimulated below the level of their consciousness.

They can perceive stimuli without being consciously aware of this

exposure.

Stimuli that are too weak or too brief to be consciously seen or heard
may nevertheless be strong enough to be perceived by one or more
reporter cells.

This process is called subliminal perception, because the stimulus is

beneath the threshold of consciousness.
 Example1. subliminal messages were admittedly placed on the set of
the hit TV series "Friends," when the camera was directed at a
recycling symbol on the refrigerator for a brief moment.

Sometimes subliminal messages can be used to foster morality,

and sometimes to persuade consumers. Not all subliminal
messages have been used to improve moral, though.

Example2. In the 2000 election, the Republican Party was

accused of inserting a subliminal message into an ad for the
Bush campaign. According to the Democrats, there was a split-
second scene in which the word "RATS" could be "clearly" seen.
Perceptual Organizing
- People don’t perceive the numerous stimuli they select
from the environment as separate sensations. They
organize them into groups and perceive them as
unified wholes.

- Perceptual organizing is based on the Gestalt’s Laws of

perceptions:

-Gestalt Laws of Perceptual Organization include:

 - Three of the basic principles of perceptual organization were based on
these laws. They are figure and ground, grouping, and closure.

1.Figure and ground: the term refers to the interrelationship between the
stimuli itself and the environment or context within which it appears (i.e. the
ground)
A figure is received more clearly because it is solid, defined, and forefront.

The background is usually perceived as indefinite, hazy, and

supplementary.

Here comes the art of advertisements in selecting a complementing ground

that does not overwhelm the core product
2. Grouping: refers to people’s instinctive tendency to group stimuli
together so that they become a unified picture or impression.

-The perception of stimuli as groups of chunks of information, rather

than discrete bits of information facilitates memory recall.

Marketers use grouping to imply certain desired meanings in connection

with their products.

-For example, an advertisement for tea may show a person sipping tea in
a beautifully appointed room before a fire place. The overall mood
implies by the grouping of stimuli leads the consumer to associate the
drinking of tea with relaxation, fine living, winter warmth.
3.Closure: People’s instinct to organize pieces of sensory input into
a complete image or feeling.

•Individuals need closure. This means when they receive stimuli as

incomplete, they are compelled to figure out its complete meaning.
If a message is received incomplete, they subconsciously or unconsciously
fill in the missing pieces.

The need for closure has interesting implications for marketers.

Promotional messages in which viewers are required to fill in information

beg for completion by consumers, and the very act of completion serves to
involve consumers more deeply in the message.
 Just as selection of stimuli is personal, interpretation is also
uniquely individual, because it depends on what the individuals
expect to see in light of:
- their previous experiences,
- the number of plausible explanations they can envision,
- their motives,
- their interests at the time of perception.

When stimuli are highly ambiguous, individuals will interpret

them as they wish in a way that serves their personal needs.
(filling incomplete sentences or continuing unfinished paintings,
etc)
 How a person interpret a vague stimuli is a reflection not of the
stimuli itself, but of the subject’s own needs, wants, and desires.

Through the interpretation of ambiguous stimuli, respondents

reveal a great deal about themselves.

Individuals carry biased pictures in their minds of the meanings

of various stimuli, which are stereotypes.

Sometimes, when presented with sensory stimuli, people add these

biases to what they see or hear and thus from distorted impressions.
 Example, an ad for United Colors of Benetton
portrayed racial harmony. Public observed it as a white
man arresting a black man handcuffed together. There
was no indication of the white man arresting the black
man whatsoever. But this interpretation was a reflection
of stereotypes.

It is observed that people resort to stereotyping

because it makes the processing of sensory inputs quick
and easy.
Consumer Imagery

Consumer imagery refers to consumer’s perceptions

of all the components of products, services, and brands,
and how consumers evaluate the quality of marketer’s
offerings.

Products and brand have images and symbolic values

for consumers based on the unique benefits that these
products claim they provide.
Brand image:
- The desired outcome of effective positioning is a

distinct position (or image) that a brand occupies in

consumers’ minds.

- This mental image must be unique and represent the

core benefit the brand provides.
 Most new products fail because they are perceived as “me
too” offerings that do not offer consumers any advantages
or unique benefits.

- For example, Benetton positions itself as the “ United

colors of Benetton” as a brand concerned with the unity of
humankind.

- It is argued however; in today’s highly competitive world

it is difficult to maintain a unique image. This is why
marketers attempt to constantly reposition their image.
 Package Image

- Packaging is the activity of designing and producing

containers or wrappers for a product.
- Packaging must achieve a number of objectives:
- identify the brand
- Convey descriptive and persuasive information
 Facilitate product transportation and protection

- Packaging conveys the brand image through fonts,

colors, and information.

- Example: Tide detergent version that promises stain

removes comes in an orange plastic container with a
large handle on its side and conveys the heaviness of
the product. Consumers associate heaviness with
strength of removing stains.
 Service Image

- Service marketers face several problems in positioning and

promoting their products.

- Services are intangible; image becomes a key factor in

differentiation. Thus, the objective is to enable the consumer to
link a specific image with the brand.

- Here comes the importance of physical evidence to associate the

brand with positive images. Also post purchase services are highly
recommended in the service sector to generate positive perception.
 Perceived Price

- Is the customer’s view of the value that he or she

receives from the purchase positive?

- How a consumer perceives a price as low or fair

influences purchase intentions and post purchase
satisfaction.
- Products advertised “on sale” tend to create enhanced customer
perceptions of savings and value.

- Different formats used in sales advertisements have differing impacts,

based on consumer’s reference prices.

A reference price is any price that a consumer uses as a basis for comparison
in judging another price.

- Sometimes, an advertiser may use external reference prices “sold

elsewhere at…” for the sake of persuasion.

- Internal reference prices are retrieved within the memory of the

consumer. They are a major role in determining price perception.
 Perceived Risk:

- Consumer's level of uncertainty regarding the

outcome of a purchase decision, especially in case of
high priced item such as a car, or a complex item like a
computer.

- Consumers attempt to reduce their anxiety by collecting

more information and by seeking the
recommendations of a peer group or an expert on the
subject matter.
- Manufacturers and marketers try to reduce this risk with
reassuring guaranties, by obtaining the backing or recognized
groups or opinion leaders, or by hiring a well-known and
respected spokesperson.

- Classifying customers in the context of risk:

- Narrow categorizers: high risk perceivers who limit their choices

to a few safe alternatives.

- Broad categorizers: low risk perceivers who make their choices

from a broad set of alternatives.
 Perceived Quality
- “Quality can be defined as a dynamic state associated
with products, services, people, processes, and
environments that meets or exceeds expectations and
helps produce superior value.”

- The perception of quality depends on intrinsic and

extrinsic cues of the products.

- Such cues can provide the basis for perceptions of goods

and service quality.
 Product quality:
- Intrinsic cues are physical attributes of the product
itself such as size, color, texture, material, etc.

- Consumers believe that intrinsic cues are the major

judgment for product objective or reasonable
evaluation

- Extrinsic cues: are characteristics that are not inherent

in the product, for instance cues such as brand image and
personality. i.e. elegant
Gap Model

-GAP 1: Gap between consumer expectation and management

perception: arises when the management or service provider does
not correctly perceive what the customers wants or needs.

- GAP 2 : Gap between management perception and service quality

specification: this is when the management or service provider might
correctly perceive what the customer wants, but may not set a
performance standard.

- GAP 3: Gap between service quality specification and service

delivery: may arise pertaining to the service personnel. This could
arise due to there being poor training, incapability or unwillingness to
meet the set service standard.
 GAP 4 : Gap between service delivery and external
communication: consumer expectations are highly
influenced by statements made by company
representatives and advertisements. The gap arises
when these assumed expectations are not fulfilled at the
time of service delivery.

- GAP 5: Gap between expected service and

experienced service: this gap arises when the
consumer misinterprets the service quality.
SERVQUAL is a multi-item scale developed to assess
customer perceptions of service quality in service
and retail businesses.

The scale decomposes the notion of service quality into

five constructs as follows:
 SERVQUAL represents service quality as the
discrepancy between a customer's
expectations for a service offering and the
customer's perceptions of the service
received, requiring respondents to answer
questions about both their expectations and
their perceptions.
Tangibles - physical facilities, equipment, staff appearance, etc.

Reliability - ability to perform service dependably and

accurately

Responsiveness - willingness to help and respond to customer

need

Assurance - ability of staff to inspire confidence and trust

Empathy - the extent to which caring individualized service is

given