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CHAPTER 3
Consumer Learning Starts Here: Perception
What Do You Think Polling Question
My perceptions of advertisements are usually accurate.
_____ Strongly Disagree
_____ Disagree
_____ Somewhat Disagree
_____ Neither Agree nor Disagree
_____ Somewhat Agree
_____ Agree
_____ Strongly Agree
Have students access Course Mate at www.cengagebrain.com to answer the polling questions for
each chapter of CB. Ask them to take the online poll to see how their answers compare with
other students taking a consumer behavior course across the country. Then turn to the last page
of the chapter to find the “What Others Have Thought” box feature. This graph is a snapshot of
how other consumer behavior students have answered this polling question so far.
Learning Objectives
After studying this chapter, the student should be able to:
3-1
3-2
3-3
3-4
3-5
3-6
Define learning and perception and how the two are connected.
List and define phases of the consumer perception process.
Apply the concept of the just noticeable difference.
Contrast the concepts of implicit and explicit memory.
Know ways to help get a consumer’s attention in a crowded information environment.
Understand key differences between intentional and unintentional learning.
Lecture Example
Food safety remains a primary area of concern for consumers who have become increasingly
conscious of the food they eat at home or in restaurants. Topping the list of consumer concern is
the level of mercury found in fish and other seafood. Import alerts generated by the FDA for
mercury in fish are enough to make consumers anxious about the safety of what they consume.
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Consumers are believed to have a better understanding of the food safety issue facing them, and
their perception often becomes the reality. Retailers and restaurateurs must therefore act
proactively, to help regain consumer confidence that is already on a steep decline.
Source: “Today’s Consumers—Perception is Reality,” Huff Post, September 09, 2010,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/malcolm-wittenberg/todays-consumers-percepti_b_706712.html
Lecture Outline with PowerPoint® Slides
LO 3-1: Define learning and perception and how the two are connected.
I. Defining Learning and Perception
Marketers cannot help create value for consumers unless they can effectively communicate the
value proposition to consumers in a way that they perceive and learn about the potential benefits.
Learning refers to a change in behavior resulting from the interaction between a person and a
stimulus. Perception refers to a consumer’s awareness and interpretation of reality. Sometimes,
consumers set out to intentionally learn marketing-related information. Other times, consumers
learn unintentionally (or incidentally) by simply being exposed to stimuli and by forming some
kind of response to it.
[Instructor PPT Slide 4]
A. Consumer Perception
Are perception and reality two different things? Consumer researchers expend a great deal of
effort trying to understand consumer perception, because one way or another, consumer
perception shapes learning and thus behavior. Perception and reality are distinct concepts
because the perceptions that consumers develop do not always match the real world.
Perception simply doesn’t always match reality. Perception can also be ambiguous. Exhibit
3.1 illustrates this point.
Perception represents a subjective reality, whereas what actually exists in the environment
determines objective reality. Exhibit 3.2 illustrates this effect by showing what the same
amount of beverage in three different glasses looks like. Research shows that consumers will
perceive the taller, thinner glass as containing more, but will drink more from the rounder
glass.
B. Exposure, Attention, and Comprehension
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During the perceptual process, consumers are exposed to stimuli, devote attention to stimuli,
and attempt to comprehend stimuli. Exposure refers to 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.
The term sensation describes a consumer’s immediately response to this information.
Increasingly, marketers practice sensory marketing by actively seeking to engage customers’
senses as the primary aspect of value proposition. Marketers expose consumers to many
messages, but that does not guarantee that consumers will pay attention. Attention is the
purposeful allocation of information-processing capacity toward developing an understanding
of some stimulus.
Comprehension occurs when consumers attempt to derive meaning from the information they
receive. Of course, marketers hope that consumers comprehend and interpret information in
the intended way, but this is not always the case.
Q: Ask students to explain the phases of exposure, attention and comprehension that
occur when an individual is shown a particular ad.
A: Students’ answers will vary depending on the ad. Exposure occurs when the
individual sees the ad or hears it. If the ad is accompanied with catchy music or vibrant
imagery, it captures the attention of the audience. Comprehension occurs when the
individual tries to interpret information from the ad.
LO 3-2: List and define phases of the consumer perception process.
II. Consumer Perception Process
In its most basic form, perception describes how consumers become aware of and interpret the
environment. Accordingly, one can view consumer perception as including three phases. These
phases, sensing, organizing, and reacting are shown in Exhibit 3.3.
A. Sensing
Sensing is an immediate response to stimuli that have come into contact with one of the
consumer’s five senses. However, sensing alone does not allow a consumer to make sense out
of something. This leads to the second stage of the perceptual process.
B. Organizing
Cognitive organization refers to the process by which the human brain assembles the sensory
©2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
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evidence into something recognizable. This is an important part of perception. Exhibit 3.3
may help visualize the process. Consumers develop an interpretation during this stage of the
perceptual process and begin to comprehend what the stimulus is. This interpretation provides
an initial cognitive and affective meaning. The term cognitive refers to a mental or thinking
process.
Consumers cannot organize everything they sense so easily. When a consumer encounters a
stimulus that is difficult to categorize, the brain instinctively continues processing as a way of
reconciling inconsistencies. When event this extra effort leaves the consumer uncertain, he or
she will generally avoid the stimulus. In general, depending on the extent to which a stimulus
can be categorized, the following reactions may occur (Exhibit 3.4).
 Assimilation occurs when a stimulus has characteristics such that individuals readily
recognize it as an example of a specific category.
 Accommodation occurs when a stimulus shares some, but not all, of the characteristics
that allow 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.
C. Reacting
The perceptual process ends with a reaction. If an object is successfully recognized, chances
are some nearly automatic reaction takes place.
[Instructor PPT Slides 5, 6]
Applications to Consumer Behavior
The perceptual process has many implications for consumer behavior. Subtle cues work to
facilitate the perception process. Even subtle cues influence perception. The term
anthropomorphism refers to a design that gives humanlike characteristics to inanimate
objects.
D. Selective Perception
Consumers encounter thousands of stimuli each day. If all stimuli were consciously
processed, their minds would truly be overloaded. Rather than processing all stimuli,
consumers practice selective perception. Selective perception includes selective exposure,
selective attention, and selective distortion. That is, consumers are selective in what they
expose themselves to, what they attend to, and what (and how) they comprehend.
 Selective exposure involves screening out most stimuli and exposing oneself to only a
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

small portion of stimuli.
Selective attention involves paying attention to only certain stimuli.
Selective distortion is a process by which consumers interpret information in ways that
are biased by their previously held beliefs.
Exposure
Exposure occurs when some stimulus is brought within the proximity of a consumer so that
it can be sensed. As such, exposure represents a first and necessary step to learning.
E. Subliminal Processing
Subliminal processing refers to the way in which the human brain senses low-strength
stimuli, that is, stimuli that occur below the level of conscious awareness. Such stimuli have a
strength that is lower than the absolute threshold of perception, the minimum strength
needed for a consumer to perceive a stimulus. This type of “learning” is unintentional,
because the stimuli fall below the absolute threshold.
Subliminal persuasion is behavior change induced or brought about based on subliminally
processing a message. Popular conceptions about subliminal persuasion have fueled interest in
it for many years. The belief is that communication can influence consumers through mere
exposure to subliminal stimuli. Exhibit 3.5 illustrates the way this process reportedly took
place.
Q: Ask students to give examples of advertisements they have seen that have used
anthropomorphism to sell products. How did they react to such ads? Ask students to
give their opinion of how effective these ads have been in capturing their attention.
A: Students’ answers will vary. Students can give a general opinion about the
effectiveness of such ads based on the popularity, recall the elements of the ads that
caught their attention, and analyze the personality attributed to the product being sold.
LO 3-3: Apply the concept of the just noticeable difference.
III. Applying the JND Concept
The concept of the absolute threshold as representing a level of strength a stimulus must have or
surpass to activate the perceptual process. A closely related concept deals with changes in the
strength of stimuli. The 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.
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In general, the ability to detect differences between two levels of a stimulus is affected by the
original intensity of the stimulus. This is known as Weber’s Law. The law states that as the
intensity of the initial stimulus increases, a consumer’s ability to detect differences between two
levels of the stimulus decreases. The JND has numerous implications for marketers who attempt
to provide value for consumers, including:
 Pricing—consumers do not perceive very small differences in price as truly different.
Conversely, a price reduction needs to be large enough so that consumers truly perceive the
new price as representing significant savings.
 Quantity—small differences in quantity are often not perceived as being different.
 Quality—small improvements in quality may not have any impact on consumers.
 Add-on purchases—a small additional purchase tacked onto a large purchase may not
create the perception of increased spending.
 Change in Product Design—small changes in product design also are not likely to be
noticed.
A. Just Meaningful Difference
A topic closely related to JND is JMD (just meaningful difference). The JMD represents the
smallest amount of change in a stimulus that would influence consumer consumption and
choice. For instance, how much of a change in price is really needed to influence consumer
behavior and learning. Retailers generally follow a rule that states than an effective price drop
need to be at least 20%.
[Instructor PPT Slides 8–10]
Q: T@E Inc., a software company, released a new version of its statistical software tool
for students called Celtics 9.0. The difference between version 9.0 and 8.0 was that 9.0
included a scientific calculator function in the tools menu. A few months after the
release, the company found that there were not many takers for 9.0. Research showed
that most customers were satisfied with version 8.0. Explain this outcome using the
concept of the JND.
A: The concept that relates to this problem is JND (just noticeable difference). The
minor change in the software sis not attract consumer attention, and hence sales of the
new version were low.
LO 3-4: Contrast the concepts of implicit and explicit memory.
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IV. Implicit and Explicit Memory
When one thinks about learning, he or she thinks of people studying and paying close attention,
like when one reads a book! The knowledge one obtains from this type of experience is stored in
explicit memory, that is, memory for information one is exposed to, attends to, and applies
effort to remember. However, this is not the only kind of memory we develop. Implicit memory
represents stored information concerning stimuli one is exposed to but does not pay attention to.
Implicit memory creates preattentive effects, learning that is developed in the absence of
attention.
[Instructor PPT Slide 11]
A. Mere Exposure Effect
The mere exposure effect represents another way that consumers can learn unintentionally.
The mere exposure effect is the idea that consumers will prefer stimuli they have been
previously exposed to over stimuli they have not seen before. This effect occurs even when
there is no recall of the previous stimulus! Exhibit 3.6 illustrates a classical approach to
studying the mere exposure effect.
Familiarity
All things equal, consumers prefer the familiar to the unfamiliar. Once exposed to an
object, a consumer exhibits a preference for the familiar object over something unfamiliar.
An interesting application involves political campaigns. The rationale is that the addition of
characteristics, even below the JND, increases the perceived familiarity between the voter
and the candidate. Several relevant points can be made about the mere exposure effect.
 The mere exposure effect is created in the absence of attention.
 Preferences associated with the mere exposure effect are easy to elicit.
 The mere exposure effect has the greatest effect on novel (previously unfamiliar)
objects.
 The size of the effect (increased liking) is not very strong relative to an effect created
by a strong cohesive argument.
 The mere exposure effect works best when the consumer has a low involvement in
processing the object, and indeed when a consumer is distracted from processing the
focal stimulus.
Note on Subliminal and Mere Exposure Effects
A subliminal message is one presented below the threshold of perception. With the mere
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exposure effect, the stimulus is evident and people could pay attention to it if they wanted
to.
Mere Association
Sometimes, consumers’ judgments are influenced by mechanisms that have little to do
with reasoning. One effect closely related to the mere exposure effect is the mere
association effect. This effect occurs when meaning transfers between two unrelated
stimuli that a consumer gets exposed to simultaneously.
Product Placements
Product placements represent another way that promotions can impart implicit memory
among consumers. Product placements involve branded products placed conspicuously in
movies or television shows. These placements can result in implicit memory formation.
B. Attention
Attention plays a key role in distinguishing implicit and explicit memory. Attention is the
purposeful allocation of cognitive capacity toward understanding some stimulus. Intentional
learning depends on attentive consumers. However, consumers don’t pay attention only to
things they wish to. Involuntary attention is automatic, meaning that it is beyond the
conscious control of the consumer and occurs as the result of exposure to surprising or novel
stimuli. When attention is devoted to a stimulus in this way, an orientation reflex occurs. An
orientation reflex is a natural reflex that occurs as a response to a threat from the environment.
In this way, the orientation reflex represents a protective behavior.
Q: Students can be asked to give examples of advertisements that have involuntarily
caught their attention. Which aspect of the advertisement attracted their attention?
A: Students’ answers will vary. Attention may be attracted by eye-catching visuals,
striking sound effects or music, an innovative or subversive concept, etc.
LO 3-5: Know ways to help get consumers’ attention in a crowded information
environment.
V. Enhancing Consumers’ Attention
Consumers face a difficult challenge in penetrating the clutter to pay attention to an intended
message. Getting a consumer’s attention directed toward specific information, voluntarily or
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involuntarily, is increasingly difficult, but that’s a goal of effective marketing communication.
These factors can help create attention:
 Intensity of Stimuli—all things equal, a consumer is more likely to pay attention to
stronger stimuli than to weaker stimuli.
 Contrast—contrasting stimuli are extremely effective in getting attention.
 Movement—items in movement simply gain attention.
 Surprising stimuli—unexpected stimuli gain consumer’s attention.
 Size of stimuli—all these equal, larger items garner more attention than smaller ones.
 Involvement—involvement refers to the personal relevance a consumer feels toward a
particular product.
[Instructor PPT Slides 12, 13]
Q: Give students a product and ask them to come up with an advertisement (print,
television, or online) that uses some surprising stimulus to gain consumer attention.
A: Students’ answers will vary. Determine why surprising stimuli gain consumer
attention. How surprising do stimuli have to be in order to sustain the customers’
attention span?
LO 3-6: Understand key differences between intentional and unintentional learning.
VI. The Difference between Intentional and Unintentional Learning
There are two types of learning—intentional and unintentional learning. Both types of learning
concern what cognitive psychologists refer to as perceptual processes; however, with
unintentional learning, consumers simply sense and react (or respond) to the environment.
They do not attempt to comprehend the information presented. They are exposed to stimuli and
respond to them in some way. With intentional learning, consumers set out to specifically learn
information devoted to a certain subject.
[Instructor PPT Slides 14, 15]
A. Behaviorism and Cognitive Learning Theories
Psychologists generally follow one of two basic theories of learning. One theory focuses on
changes in behavior occurring as conditioned responses to stimuli, without concern for the
cognitive mechanics of the process. The other theory focuses on how changes in thought and
knowledge precipitate behavior modification. Those in the first camp follow a behaviorist
approach to learning (also referred to as the behavioral learning perspective). This approach
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suggests that because the brain is a “black box,” the focus of inquiry should be on the
behavior itself.
The second theory of learning involves an information processing (or cognitive)
perspective. With this approach, the focus is on the cognitive processes associated with
comprehension, including those leading to consumer learning. The information processing
perspective considers the mind acting much like a computer. Bits of knowledge are processed
electronically to form meaning.
B. Unintentional Learning
Unintentional learning occurs when behavior is modified through a consumer-stimulus
interaction without cognitive effort to understand a stimulus. With this type of learning,
consumers respond to stimuli to which they are exposed without thinking about the
information. The focus is on reacting, not on cognitive processing. Unintentional learning can
be approached from two behavioral learning theory perspectives: classical conditioning and
instrumental conditioning.
Classical Conditioning
Classical conditioning refers to a change in behavior that occurs simply through
associating some stimulus with another stimulus that naturally causes a reaction. The most
famous classical conditioning experiment was performed by the behavioral psychologist
Ivan Pavlov. Pavlov conducted experiments using dogs, meat powder (an unconditioned
stimulus that naturally led to a salivation response), and a bell (a conditioned stimulus
that did not lead to the response before it was paired with the powder). The experiment
reveals that the bell eventually evoked the same behavior that the meat powder naturally
caused.
In the experiment, Pavlov began ringing the bell every time the meat powder was provided
to the dogs. Thus, the bell became associated with the meat powder. The salivation was
called an unconditioned response, which occurred naturally as a result of exposure to the
unconditioned stimulus (the meat powder). The dogs eventually would respond in the same
way to the exposure to the bell. This response became known as the conditioned response.
The response became conditioned by the consistent pairing of the unconditioned and
conditioned stimuli. To be effective, the conditioned stimulus is presented to people before
the unconditioned stimuli, and the pairing of the two should be done consistently (and with
repetition).
Instrumental Conditioning
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Much of what people know about instrumental (or operant) conditioning comes from the
work of Skinner. With instrumental conditioning, behavior is conditioned through
reinforcement. Reinforcers are stimuli that strengthen a desired response. The reinforcers
are presented after the initial behavior occurs.
Positive reinforcers come in many forms in the consumer environment and often take the
form of some type of reward. The effects can be seen in marketing efforts that encourage
repeat purchase behavior.
Discriminative stimuli differentiate one stimulus from other stimuli because they signal
the presence of a reinforcer. These stimuli essentially signal that a type of reward will
occur if the consumer performs a specific behavior.
Shaping Behavior
Shaping is a process through which the desired behavior is altered over time, in small
increments. Here, the focus is on rewarding small behaviors that lead to the big behavior
ultimately desired.
Punishers represent stimuli that decrease the likelihood that a behavior will occur again.
When consumers make poor decisions and purchase products that deliver less value than
expected, they are punished. Chances are they won’t buy those same products again!
Behaviors often cease when reinforcers are no longer present. This represents the concept
of extinction.
Final Thought on Behavioral Conditioning
Conditioning effects do modify behavior and thus represent learning. These effects can be
subtly transferred. Researchers demonstrate that even casual association between morally
repugnant behavior and a product can reduce consumption. The reduction in consumption
occurred without any thought about the product, that is, it occurred unintentionally.
Conditioning represents a type of learning because it focuses on behavioral change that
occurs through a consumer’s interaction with the environment. Through the behavioral
approach, consumers are exposed to stimuli and react in some way. Consumer learning
through behavioral conditioning occurs without a conscious attempt to learn anything new.
Q: Ask students to identify a behavior problem common in their school or university.
How can they use instrumental conditioning to correct this behavior?
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A: Students’ answers will vary. For instance, if students being late to class is a common
occurrence, a punisher to correct this may be imposing an extra assignment for all
students who are late more than three times. A negative reinforcer may be one less
assignment for students who are in class on time.
[Instructor PPT Slide 40]
Video material for this chapter is starting on page 20 of the IM
End of Chapter Material
Review Questions
(*) Indicates material on prep cards.
1.
Define learning. Explain how learning can contribute to the lower than expected
performance of a business like Webvan.
Answer: Learning refers to a change in behavior resulting from some interaction between a
person and a stimulus. The managers who create a business like Webvan may believe it
will create a certain reaction among consumers that never materializes among a large
segment of consumers. Webvan believed the perceived convenience would be what the
consumers would learn. However, other concerns about buying groceries and the fact that
one has to be at home for delivery contribute to consumers learning things that
management never envisioned.
BUSPROG: Reflective Thinking
DISC: Customer
LO: 3-1
Topic: A-head: Defining Learning and Perception
Bloom’s: Comprehension
Difficulty: Moderate
2.
*What does consumer perception mean?
Answer: Consumer perception represents a consumer’s awareness and interpretation of
reality—in that sense, it is a subjective reality.
BUSPROG: Analytic
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DISC: Customer
LO: 3-1
Topic: A-head: Defining Learning and Perception
Bloom’s: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
3.
In what ways can a consumer be exposed to a marketing stimulus?
Answer: Proximity to any of the senses creates an opportunity for exposure: Sight, smell,
taste, touch, or sound.
BUSPROG: Analytic
DISC: Customer
LO: 3-1
Topic: A-head: Defining Learning and Perception
Bloom’s: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
4.
List the stages in the consumer perception process.
Answer: i. Sensing
ii. Organizing
iii. Reacting
BUSPROG: Analytic
DISC: Customer
LO: 3-2
Topic: A-head: Consumer Perception Process
Bloom’s: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
5.
In what stage do consumers develop an interpretation of a stimulus?
Answer: Organizing (comprehension would also be a valid response) is where the person
puts the bits of pieces of a stimulus into a category. Sensing does not involve developing
meaning. It only involves the basic recognition of physical cues through physical senses.
Reaction is an application of already known rules. Come back to this concept after
studying memory in the next chapter.
BUSPROG: Analytic
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DISC: Customer
LO: 3-2
Topic: A-head: Consumer Perception Process
Bloom’s: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
6.
*What are the three possible results from the cognitive organization process? Give
examples of each.
Answer:
 Assimilation—a new food product offered by Wendy’s is easily recognized as some
type of hamburger.
 Accommodation—a new food product offered by Wendy’s (a wrap type product) is
still categorized as fast food as the consumer creates an exception to the fact that
Wendy’s fast food must be on a bun.
 Reaction—a mental and behavioral response to categorization. If the new food
product is really a yogurt based product, consumers may have difficulty perceiving it
as something Wendy’s should offer.
BUSPROG: Reflective Thinking
DISC: Customer
LO: 3-2
Topic: A-head: Consumer Perception Process
Bloom’s: Application
Difficulty: Easy
7.
What is the difference between an absolute threshold and a just noticeable difference?
Answer: An absolute threshold is the minimum strength a stimulus must be to get noticed.
The just noticeable difference is how much different one stimulus must be from another to
get noticed.
BUSPROG: Analytic
DISC: Customer
LO: 3-2 | 3-3
Topic: A-head: Consumer Perception Process | Applying the JND Concept
Bloom’s: Comprehension
Difficulty: Moderate
8.
Define anthropomorphism. How can it be used in trying to sell a product like an
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automobile or bottled beverage?
Answer: Anthropomorphism is the design of a stimulus in a way that gives it human like
properties. An automobile can be designed so that the front grill has a facial expression
such as a smile or frown. Likewise, a bottle can take on a human shape. In advertisements,
products can be made to talk to the consumer.
BUSPROG: Reflective Thinking
DISC: Product | Promotion
LO: 3-2
Topic: A-head: Consumer Perception Process
Bloom’s: Moderate
Difficulty: Comprehension
9.
What do you think of the ethics of subliminal advertising attempts or sexually embedded
advertising? Why do you believe that there have been so few legal actions aimed at
stopping subliminal advertising?
Answer: This is primarily an opinion question. Students generally develop the opinion that
it is better to use a stronger, overt appeal than a weaker, less overt appeal. The question of
whether subliminal advertising should be illegal is mute because of its limited
effectiveness. Also, demonstrating intent to deceive would be difficult.
BUSPROG: Reflective Thinking
DISC: Customer | Promotion
LO: 3-2
Topic: A-head: Consumer Perception Process
Bloom’s: Comprehension
Difficulty: Moderate
10. Provide three examples each of how consumers might learn through explicit and implicit
memory.
Answer: Explicit memory—using the Internet to find product information, consulting with
a friend before a big weekend to find good places to go (developing knowledge), and
learning from a product that performs poorly that you should not buy that brand again.
Implicit memory—classical conditioning efforts such as those used in advertisements,
mere exposure effects as shown in ads or other media, and product placements.
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BUSPROG: Reflective Thinking
DISC: Customer
LO: 3-3
Topic: A-head: Applying the JND Concept
Bloom’s: Application
Difficulty: Moderate
11. Explain under what conditions a marketer might believe that an advertising execution
involving mere exposure might effectively cause consumers to “learn” to like a product.
How would a researcher test to see whether the mere exposure effect held for brand logos?
Answer: A marketer might use mere exposure when the brand is unfamiliar or perhaps
new and the consumer has little prior knowledge. To test mere exposure with brand logos,
the researcher could develop 10 pictures of new logos and show them to subjects when
embedded with 50 other logos. During the next week (or month), the researcher could
show another grouping of 50 logos to the same subjects that contains the same 10 logos to
which the subjects were previously exposed. Subjects should like the 10 original logos
better, on average, than the newer logos based on the mere exposure effect.
BUSPROG: Reflective Thinking
DISC: Customer | Promotion
LO: 3-4
Topic: A-head: Implicit and Explicit Memory
Bloom’s: Application
Difficulty: Challenging
12. *Define attention. What are ways that consumer attention can be enhanced?
Answer: Attention is the purposeful allocation of information-processing capacity toward
understanding some stimulus. Consumer attention can be enhanced in the following ways:
 Stronger stimuli—with all things being equal, a consumer is more likely to pay
attention to a stronger stimulus. Thus, a loud sound captures more attention than a
quieter sound. A television commercial with louder volume than the rest of the
programming will draw attention.
 Learned responses—consumers have hard-wired responses to many sights and
sounds. For instance, one may reach for his or her phone when he or she hears a ring
tone even though that ring tone was not available on his or her phone? Or, one may
have reached for his or her phone when the sound of a phone ringing was played on a
radio commercial. This is a learned response to a phone ringing.
 Nudity—partially nude or suggestive photographs are effective in getting consumers’
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


attention in most mainstream publications. Now, if the entire magazine contains
photos of nudes, this type of attention may not be very effective. Bare skin will
typically make a consumer pause momentarily.
Contrast—contrasting stimuli are extremely effective in grabbing attention.
In the past, a color photo in a newspaper was extremely effective in drawing
attention. However, a color advertisement stands out less in today’s newspapers. A
black and white image in a magazine filled with color can also stand out. A period of
silence in an otherwise noisy environment can attract attention. Social outcasts also
create attention because of the contrast with established social norms.
Consumers with strange hairstyles or who are dressed inappropriately for a given
situation create attention.
BUSPROG: Reflective Thinking
DISC: Customer | Promotion
LO: 3-4 | 3-5
Topic: A-head: Implicit and Explicit Memory | Enhancing Consumers’ Attention
Bloom’s: Application
Difficulty: Challenging
13. What are some of the key behavioral learning principles of CB?
Answer: Classical conditioning and instrumental conditioning.
BUSPROG: Analytic
DISC: Customer
LO: 3-6
Topic: A-head: The Difference between Intentional and Unintentional Learning
Bloom’s: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
14. What is the key difference between intentional and unintentional learning?
Answer: Intentional learning requires effort and involves the perception process discussed
early in the chapter. Unintentional learning may develop implicit memory, but the
functioning is usually explained by association more than any deliberative processing.
BUSPROG: Analytic
DISC: Customer
LO: 3-6
Topic: A-head: The Difference between Intentional and Unintentional Learning
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18
Bloom’s: Comprehension
Difficulty: Moderate
Group Activity
*Write a 100-word short story about your professor’s Saturday morning (as you imagine it—you
do not need to actually interview him or her about Saturday). What do you imagine that your
professor does on Saturday morning? Make sure you include at least three brand names in the
story. Write the story down; then, in class or with some other group of at least 20 people, have
one person in the group first read the story and then quietly tell the story to the next person (the
person behind him or her) without referring to the written version. Have the story passed only
verbally from one to another until it finally reaches the last person in the class. Then, have that
person tell the story to the entire class. How did the class do and what makes remembering such
a short story so difficult?
Answer: This is a lot of fun to do in class. The story inevitably grows new aspects and loses
aspects as it is passed from person to person. Instructors can use this exercise to illustrate how
difficult the learning process can be—even amongst intelligent people. Did any of the brand
names survive the story? If so, why do you think they did?
Assignments
1.
*Ask a friend who has never studied marketing or consumer behavior to flip through a
popular magazine, such as Sports Illustrated or People. Ask them to find examples of
attempted subliminal persuasion. Have them discuss the ads and explain their choices.
What do you think of their opinions?
Answer: The main focus here is to see whether students can identify any examples at all.
Have students detail their friend’s discussion. Did they succumb to the urban legends
surrounding such effects?
BUSPROG: Reflective Thinking
DISC: Customer | Promotion
LO: 3-2
Topic: A-head: Consumer Perception Process
Bloom’s: Evaluation
Difficulty: Challenging
2.
Given the way that mere exposure can influence likeability, are attempts to use the mere
exposure effect through advertising or product placements in television shows and movies
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19
ethical? Explain your choice.
Answer: The difference between mere exposure and alleged subliminal persuasion is that
there is no attempt to deceive when using mere exposure effects. In fact, brand logos or
products can actually be seen by an attentive consumer. Because the consumer is always in
control, no ethical problem is obvious when using mere exposure techniques.
BUSPROG: Reflective Thinking
DISC: Customer | Promotion
LO: 3-4
Topic: A-head: Implicit and Explicit Memory
Bloom’s: Evaluation
Difficulty: Challenging
3.
Mix a concoction of 10 percent 7-Up or Sprite (or similar clear beverage) and 90 percent
apple juice. Have two different consumers try the concoction. For one, ask them to try this
new “soft drink.” For the other, ask them to try this new “fruit drink.” Do you get the same
reaction? Explain using material on cognitive categorization.
Answer: This exercise is a good way to demonstrate the consumer perception process. The
person who gets the “soft drink” will typically not like the mixed drink, but the person who
gets the “fruit drink” will often like the concoction. In fact, a product named Slice was
based on a small amount of fruit juice combined with lemon-lime soda.
BUSPROG: Reflective Thinking
DISC: Customer
LO: 3-1 | 3-4
Topic: A-head: Defining Learning and Perception | Implicit and Explicit Memory
Bloom’s: Evaluation
Difficulty: Challenging
Chapter Video Summary
To view the PowerPoint Clip from Culver’s Restaurants, go to the CB companion website
login.cengage.com to select this video.
Culver’s Restaurants
Specializing in quick service in a fast-paced environment, Culver’s is not the average American
fast-food restaurant. What differentiates Culver’s from other sandwich-and-hamburger-serving
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20
restaurants is its strong focus on the customer. That each customer leaves happy is the creed of
Culver’s. As much as in 1984 when Culver’s was started, this unwavering focus on customers is
still closely tied to its current marketing strategy. Culver’s treats its customers with great respect
and personal care, and they, in turn, come back for the good food and great experience they have
at the restaurant.
Ask your students:
1.
What distinguishes Culver’s from the average American fast-food restaurants?
Answer: Students’ answers might vary. Culver’s marketing strategies mainly aims at
enhancing customer satisfaction. This differentiates it from the other American fast-food
restaurants. Culver’s ensures that all their customers are treated well. They do so by
providing quick service, good food and an overall enjoyable experience to every
customer. They also serve fresh, non-frozen food, unlike other fast-food restaurants,
which is prepared after the customer places the order. These details about the restaurant’s
services are stored in a customer’s implicit memory and this makes them want to return to
Culver’s.
BUSPROG: Analytic
DISC: Customer
LO: 3-4
Topic: A-head: Implicit and Explicit Memory
Bloom’s: Comprehension
Difficulty: Moderate
2.
What factors have contributed to Culver’s phenomenal growth since 1984?
Answer: Students’ answers might vary. There were many factors that contributed to
Culver’s growth since 1984, such as:
 Culver’s opted for a price strategy which aimed at fixing profitable and justifiable
prices. The company raised prices when the prices of raw materials rose as they
didn’t want to compromise on quality. As customers were willing to spend more in
return for higher quality food and services, the just noticeable difference (JND) in
prices ended up contributing to Culver’s growth.
 The franchise owners and the local store operators of these restaurants were engaged
in the business sincerely and were involved in building relations with the community.
 Their customer service was tied to their marketing strategy and focused majorly on
developing long-term relationships with customers.
 They provided the same service in all of their restaurants.
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21

They provided fresh and non-frozen food unlike the other fast-food restaurants.
These strategies had a mere exposure effect on consumers as they became familiar and
began to prefer dining at Culver’s.
BUSPROG: Analytic
DISC: Customer
LO: 3-3 | 3-4
Topic: A-head: Applying the JND Concept | Implicit and Explicit Memory
Bloom’s: Comprehension
Difficulty: Moderate
3.
What advertising strategy did Culver’s adopt in its early days? Was it successful?
Answer: Students’ answers might vary. The consumer perception process can be used to
answer this question.
Sensing: When customers entered Culver’s they were greeted by the employees with a
smile. Every customer, young or old, was treated with respect.
Organizing:
 Assimilation: Culver’s mainly sold Butterburgers and frozen custards. Consumers
readily recognized these as fast-foods.
 Accommodation: Culver’s advertised that their fast foods were fresh, made daily and
never frozen. This caught the attention of customers as they compared Culver’s to
other fast-food restaurants that use frozen items. It made customers realize that
Culver’s was different from the other fast-food restaurants.
 Contrast: Culver’s also made it known to their customers that food was prepared only
after the order was placed and not before. Their marketing strategies were also
focused on retaining hometown values of quality and customer service.
Reacting: Customers enjoyed their dining experience at the restaurant and spread the word
about Culver’s to their friends and relatives.
BUSPROG: Reflective Thinking
DISC: Customer
LO: 3-1
Topic: A-head: Defining Learning and Perception
Bloom’s: Application
Difficulty: Challenging
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22
CB Scenario Video
Consumers at a store are surprised to discover that the delicious aromas of fruit and chocolate
aren’t all from the products on the shelves. The store uses “scent air machines” to make
customers hungry and encourage them to buy more. The aromas trigger the associations
hardwired into our brains and stimulate consumer wants. The staff in the store noted that sales in
the produce department at the store increased after the introduction of the machines.
Ask your students:
1.
Describe the impact of scented air machines on the perceptions of customers visiting the
store. Use the phases of consumer perception process to explain customer reactions to the
scents given out by the machines.
Answer: Students’ answers might vary.
 Sensing—when a customer smells chocolate in the candy isle, his/her perceptual
process goes into action.
 Organizing—after the perceptual process goes into action, the customer organizes or
arranges information. The human brain usually reconciles information in three
possible different ways:
o Assimilation occurs if the customer readily recognizes the scent of chocolate.
o Accommodation occurs if the customer is unable to categorize the chocolate
scent without making changes in his/her existing expectations about the scent
of chocolate.
o Contrast occurs if the customer is unable to recognize the scent of chocolate
completely.
 Reacting—this occurs after the customer identifies the chocolate scent from the scent
air machines, feels like eating and thus, ends up buying a bar of chocolate.
BUSPROG: Reflective Thinking
DISC: Customer
LO: 3-2
Topic: A-head: Consumer Perception Process
Bloom’s: Application
Difficulty: Moderate
2.
When a customer visits the store in Brooklyn, the scent air machines impact the customer’s
purchase decision by storing information in his/her _____.
a. implicit memory
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23
b. explicit memory
Students can be asked to justify their choice.
Answer: The scents given out by these machines store information in the customer’s
implicit memory. These scents are the stimuli that the customer is exposed to but does not
pay attention to.
Explicit memory is the memory for information that a person is exposed to, attends to, and
applies effort to remember. If the customer reads about the scented air machines from a
technical magazine, then the information is stored in his/her explicit memory.
BUSPROG: Reflective Thinking
DISC: Customer
LO: 3-4
Topic: A-head: Implicit and Explicit Memory
Bloom’s: Application
Difficulty: Moderate
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