1. Chapter 3 Consumer Learning Starts Here: Perception
Babin/Harris
© 2009 South-Western, a division of Cengage Learning.

2. © 2009 South-Western, a division of Cengage Learning.
Learning Outcomes
Understand the elements of consumer perception.
Know the phases in the consumer perception process.
Be able to apply the concept of the JND.
Apply the concepts of implicit and explicit memory.
Know the ways in which a consumer’s attention can be enhanced.
Know the difference between intentional and unintentional learning.
© 2009 South-Western, a division of Cengage Learning.

3. Learning and Perception
Learning – a change in behavior resulting from the interaction between a person and a stimulus.
Perception – a consumer’s awareness and interpretation of reality.
Value involves learning, and consumer learning begins with perception.
Learning can be intentional or unintentional.
LO1
© 2009 South-Western, a division of Cengage Learning.

4. Elements of Consumer Perception
Exposure – the process of bringing some stimulus within the proximity of a consumer so that it can be sensed by one of the five human senses.
Attention – purposeful allocation of information processing capacity toward developing an understanding of some stimulus.
Comprehension – consumer attempts to derive meaning from information that is received.
LO1
© 2009 South-Western, a division of Cengage Learning.

5. Consumer Perception Phases
Sensing
Organizing
Reacting
LO2
© 2009 South-Western, a division of Cengage Learning.

6. Consumer Perception Phase: Sensing
Occurs when one of the consumer’s senses is exposed to an object.
LO2
© 2009 South-Western, a division of Cengage Learning.

7. Consumer Perception Phase: Organizing
Cognitive organization – process by which the human brain assembles the sensory evidence into something recognizable.
Assimilation – occurs when a stimulus has characteristics that allow for easy recognition as an example of some category.
Accommodation – occurs when a stimulus shares some, but not all, of the characteristics that would lead it to fit neatly in an existing category.
Contrast – occurs when a stimulus does not share enough in common with existing categories to allow categorization.
LO2
© 2009 South-Western, a division of Cengage Learning.

8. Consumer Perception Phase: Reacting
Physical and mental responses to the stimulus encountered.
LO2
© 2009 South-Western, a division of Cengage Learning.

9. © 2009 South-Western, a division of Cengage Learning.
Selective Perception
Selective exposure – screening out most stimuli and exposing oneself to only a small portion of stimuli present.
Selective attention – paying attention to only certain stimuli.
Selective distortion – process by which consumers interpret information in ways that are biased by their previously held beliefs.
LO2
© 2009 South-Western, a division of Cengage Learning.

10. Subliminal Processing
Refers to the way in which the human brain senses very low-strength stimuli (i.e., below the level of conscious awareness).
Stimuli are below the absolute threshold of perception.
LO2
© 2009 South-Western, a division of Cengage Learning.

11. JND (Just Noticeable Difference)
Represents how much stronger one stimulus has to be relative to another so that someone can notice that the two are not the same.
Weber’s Law – the ability to detect differences between two levels of a stimulus is affected by the original intensity of the stimulus.
LO3
© 2009 South-Western, a division of Cengage Learning.

12. JND: Marketing Implications
Pricing
Quantity
Quality
Add-on Purchases
LO3
© 2009 South-Western, a division of Cengage Learning.

13. JMD (Just Meaningful Difference)
Represents the smallest amount of change in a stimulus that would influence consumer consumption and choice.
LO3
© 2009 South-Western, a division of Cengage Learning.

14. © 2009 South-Western, a division of Cengage Learning.
Mere Exposure Effect
Consumers will prefer an object to which they have been exposed.
Relevant points:
preattentive
easy to elicit
greatest effect on novel objects
weak effect
best when consumer has lower involvement
LO3
© 2009 South-Western, a division of Cengage Learning.

15. Implicit and Explicit Memory
Implicit memory – memory for things that a person did not try to remember.
Unintentional learning
Explicit memory – occurs when a person is trying to remember the stimuli.
Intentional learning
LO4
© 2009 South-Western, a division of Cengage Learning.

16. © 2009 South-Western, a division of Cengage Learning.
Attention
The purposeful allocation of cognitive capacity toward understanding some stimulus.
Types:
Preattention
Selective
Involuntary
Orientation reflex – a natural reflex that occurs as a response to a threat.
LO4
© 2009 South-Western, a division of Cengage Learning.

17. Ways to Enhance Attention
Intensity of stimuli
Contrast
Movement
Surprising stimuli
Size of stimuli
Involvement
LO5
© 2009 South-Western, a division of Cengage Learning.

18. Intentional and Unintentional Learning
Intentional learning – consumers set out to specifically learn information devoted to a certain subject.
Unintentional learning – consumers simply sense and react (or respond) to the environment.
LO6
© 2009 South-Western, a division of Cengage Learning.

19. Behaviorism and Cognitive Learning Theories
Behaviorism approach – focuses on changes in behavior without concern for the cognitive mechanics of the process.
Information processing perspective – focuses on changes in thought and knowledge and how these precipitate behavioral changes.
LO6
© 2009 South-Western, a division of Cengage Learning.

20. Unintentional Learning and Behavioral Learning
Classical conditioning - refers to a change in behavior that occurs simply through associating some stimulus with another stimulus that naturally causes a reaction.
Instrumental conditioning – behavior is conditioned through reinforcement.
LO6
© 2009 South-Western, a division of Cengage Learning.