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At this place students find the answer of their professional course syllabus. We have find lots of issues related to their exams in an easy language.

Professional Shiksha is for all Professional student. We are working on every aspect of theoritcal work of those student gradually and very soon they will get most out of their syllabus.

Friday 21 September 2018

Group Dynamics & Consumer Reference Groups

Meaning and Definition:
Group dynamics means how individuals form groups, and how one persons purchasing influences the other individual’s actions. Now-a-days marketers use the concept of group dynamics or personal influence often as this exceeds the power of company’s promotional efforts. “A group may be defined as two or more people who interact to accomplish either individual or mutual goals”.

Types of Groups:
Groups can be classified in a number of ways like by structure, by regularity of contact, by size, by membership. Sometimes groups are differentiated in terms of size or complexity but it is very difficult to state which group to be considered as large or small.

A. Primary Group and Secondary Group:

If a person interacts on regular basis with other individuals, then these individuals can be considered a primary group. Interaction can be with members of the family, with the colleagues, with neighbours etc., this means whose opinions are valued by that person, on the other hand, if a person interacts only occasionally with others, or whose opinions are not important, then this type of group is called secondary.
Difference:
Primary and secondary groups can be distinguished on the basis of perceived importance of the group to the individual and the frequency with which the individual interacts with them.
Formal Group and Informal Group:
This is the second useful way to classify groups on the basis of their formal nature. If a group has a highly defined structure, specific roles and authority levels and specific goals then this is called a formal group. For example, in an organization, a list of all employees (defined structure), Managing Director, Manager, Assistants etc., (specific roles and authority levels), this shows a formal group.
On the other hand, if a group is more loosely defined, then it is an informal group. For example, four five girls who become friends in the school and now meet only once a month. For the marketer, informal social groups are more important because of loosely defined structure a more conducive environment is available for exchange of information to the members.

B. Membership Group and Symbolic Group:

Membership Group is a group to which a person belongs or would qualify for membership. For example, college alumni association, IMA, association of doctors, tennis club etc. Symbolic group is a group in which an individual is not likely to receive membership even if he/ she acts like a member by adopting that group’s values, behaviour and attitude. For example, for youngsters cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly etc. may constitute a symbolic group. They try to identify with these players by imitating their behaviour like the style or sometimes by purchasing specific brand of bat, gloves, dress, ball etc.

C. Consumer Relevant/Reference Groups:

To understand in detail the kind of impact specific groups has on individuals, let us study six basic consumer relevant groups:
1.      The Family:
It is seen, that from childhood an individual needs and consumption decisions are influenced by his/her family. Importance of the family in various decisions is based on the frequency of contact that individual has with other family members. Moreover, it is in the family an individual establishes a wide range of values, attitudes and behaviors.
2.      Friendship Groups:
The immediate group which an individual forms after he/she moves out from the house is friendship group. Friendships are also sign of maturity and independence as they represent a breaking away from the family and forming of social ties with the outside world. They are classified as informal groups as they are unstructured and usually lack specific authority levels.
After family an individual’s purchase decisions are most likely influenced by friends. Friends fulfill a wide range of needs like they provide companionship, security and opportunity to discuss the matter which they can’t with the family members.
3.      Formal social Groups:
Formal social groups, as the name says, lack intimate relationship and they serve different function for an individual. A person joins this group to fulfill goals like making new friends, pursuing a special interest, meeting important’ people specially for career advancement or also sometimes promoting a specific cause (working for the welfare of orphans).
This type of group interests marketers because members often consume products together, can discuss products or services or stores informally with other members and sometimes can even copy the consumption behaviour of other members whom they admire.
4.      Shopping Groups:
Two or more people who shop together this can be either for food, for clothing or simply to pass the time-can be called a shopping group; people like to shop with others who are pleasant company or who they feel have more experience or knowledge about a desired product or service. Shopping with others reduces the risk that a purchase decision will be socially unacceptable, collective decision is the best in which none of the members knows about the product to be purchased.
5.      Consumer-Action Groups:
Consumer-action groups can be divided into two broad categories: those that organize to correct a specific consumer abuse and then disband, and those that organize to address broader, more pervasive problem areas and operate over an extended or indefinite period of time.
6.      Work Groups:
This type of group also serves as a major influence on the consumption behaviour of members as they spend a sheer amount of time at their jobs (around 48 hours per week). Formal work group consists of those individuals who work together as a team.
Their direct and sustained work relationship offers substantial opportunity for one or more members to influence the consumption related attitudes and activities of other team members. Informal friendship/work groups consists of people who have become friends as a result of working for the same firm, they may/ may not work together as a team. Marketers have recognized that work group’s influences consumers brand choices and sometimes even the store choice, so now they are redirecting their sales efforts to offices and plants during lunch-hour visits.

Wednesday 19 September 2018

Models of Attitude

1. Tri-Component Model
According to tri-component attitude model, attitudes consist of three major components, a cognitive component, an affective component, and a behavioral component. These three components are illustrated in Figure and discussed as follows:
Initiator
Component
Component Manifestation
Attitude
Stimuli : Products situations, retail outlets, sales personnel, advertisement and other attitude objects
Affective
Emotions or feelings about specific attributes or overall object
Overall orientation towards object
Cognitive
Belief about specific attributes or overall object
Behavioral
Behavioral intentions with respect to specific attributes or overall
Source : Del I. Hawkins, Roger J Best and Kenneth A Coney, “Consumer Behavior, “Seventh Edition, McGraw Hill Company, 1998

  • Affective Component: A consumers‟ emotions or feelings about a particular product or brand constitute the affective component of an attitude. These emotions and feelings are evaluative in nature, because of this nature, an individual rate an object either “favorable” or “unfavorable”. When a consumer „likes‟ or „dislikes‟ a product, it is an evaluation based on a vague, general feeling without cognitive information or beliefs about the product. Or, it may be the result of several evaluations of the product’s performance on each of several attributes. Affect laden experiences also manifest themselves as emotionally charged states (e.g., happiness, sadness, shame, disgust, anger, distress, and guilt). Such emotional states may enhance or amplify positive or negative experiences. A consumer’s affective reaction to a product may change as the situation changes. Due to unique motivations and personalities, past experiences, reference groups, and physical conditions, the individuals may evaluate the same belief differently.
  • Cognitive Component: The cognitive component consists of a consumer’s beliefs about an object. It includes the knowledge and perceptions that are acquired by a combination of direct experience with the attitude object and related information from various sources. This knowledge and resulting perceptions commonly take the form of beliefs. The total configuration of beliefs about a brand represents the cognitive component of an attitude towards as product.
  • Behavioral / Conations Component: This represents one’s tendency to respond in a certain manner toward an object or activity. According to some interpretations, the cognitive component may include the actual behavior itself. In pure marketing terms it relates to the consumer’s intention to buy. That is, behavioral intentions. A series of decisions to purchase or other brand to friends would reflect the behavioral component of an attitude.

 

2. Multi – Attribute Attitude Model:
Multi – attribute attitude model examines attitudes in terms of selected product attributes or beliefs. There are many variations of this model but Martin Fishbein and his associates has done great amount of research on it.


It is important for businesses to know whether consumers have favourable or unfavourable attitudes toward their products, it is also important to understand the reason for these attitudes. Traditionally, to understand this, the cognitive component of attitude is studied.
Now, more emphasis is aid upon the important beliefs a person holds about the attitude object. This is explained by Fishbein in the various models, we will study attitude toward – object model, the attitude – toward – behaviour model and the theory – of – reasoned – action model.

3. Attitude-Toward-the-Ad Models:
In today’s scenario, where half of the business is fetched alone through advertising, the need for understanding the impact of advertising on consumer attitudes toward particular products or brands has increased. Advertisers have paid a considerable attention in developing attitude – toward – the – ad models.
The consumer forms various judgments and feelings as and when exposed to an ad. These judgments and feelings in turn affect the consumer’s attitude toward the ad and beliefs about the brand acquired from exposure to the ad.

This model says that to assess consumers attitudes toward an ad it is important to distinguish between cognitive evaluations of the ad (i.e., whether it is informative or humorous) and affective responses toward the ad (feelings like sense of fear, or smile or laughter etc.) and also measures them separately.
According to this model, researcher suggests that the feelings conveyed by an ad not only influences the attitude toward the ad but also affect the consumers evaluations of the brand and also the attitude towards the brand.

However, if the gap appears after exposure of an ad (around one weak) the positive effect of a liked ad on the attitude towards a brand may change. This usually happens when the purchase action is postponed or delayed by the consumer after an exposure of ad.

Attitude

DEFINITION OF ATTITUDE
Cognitively oriented social psychologists defined an attitude as "an enduring organization of motivational, emotional, perceptual, and cognitive processes with respect to some aspect of an individual's world." In simple terms an attitude is the way we think, feel and act toward some aspect of our environment such as a retail store, television program, or product.
In Consumer Behavior contest, “an attitude is a learned predisposition to behave in a consistently favorable or unfavorable way with respect to a given object.”
Louis L. Thurstone defines attitude is - “the sum total of a man‟s inclinations and feelings, prejudice, or bias, preconceived notions, ideas, fears, threats and convictions about a specific topic”.
Katz D. defines – “attitude is the predisposition of the individual to evaluate some symbol or aspect of his work in a favorable or unfavorable manner.”
Krech D. R. S. Crutchfield and E.L. Ballachey define – “an endouring system of positive or negative evaluation, emotional feelings, and pro and con action tendencies with respect to a social object”.
 Robyn M. Dawes defines – “attitude is the response of an individual to a social object or phenomenon, and the response will have affective or evaluations connotations”



Properties of Attitudes:
Attitudes can vary along a number of dimensions or properties. They are:
(i) Favourability:
A person may like Coke or Pepsi and dislike others like Fanta, Mirinda, Canada Dry etc.
(ii) Intensity:
This means, the strength of liking or disliking. For example, consumer may be liking two brands at a time but he/she may be more positive towards one.
(iii) Confidence:
This means, attitude is the confidence with which they are held. Intercity and confidence differ slightly. For example, a person may be equally confident that he/she really likes Pepsi but may be slightly favourable toward Coke.
It is important for a marketer to study the degree of confidence associated with an attitude because:
(a) It can affect the strength of the relationship between attitudes and behaviour.
(b) It can affect an attitudes susceptibility to change. That means, more strongly held attitude is more resistant to change.
(iv) Stability:
Some attitudes are stable over an extended period of time, others will change. This dynamic nature of attitudes is largely responsible for the changes in consumer’s lifestyles. For exam­ple, people attitude towards fashion is changing. Also they are changing in health attitudes this means, it is a great news for fitness clubs, sporting equipment and clothing companies.

How Attitude is developed?
To understand the role of attitudes in consumer behaviour, we must understand how they develop and what are the functions they perform. The attitudes that consumers hold are, a result of their prior experiences. Attitudes develop over time through a learning process and are affected and also formed by family influences, peer group influences, personality, experience and information (from environment). Environmental factors have a strong influence on attitudes formation by shaping the type, amount, and quality of information and experience available to consumers.
Family Influences:
Family is an important influence on purchase decisions. Bennet and Kassarjian say, “Attitudes toward personal hygiene, preferences for food items etc. are acquired from parents.”
Peer Group Influences:
Researchers say that peer groups are much more likely than advertising to influence attitudes and purchasing behaviour.
Personality:
Personality also affects consumer’s attitudes. Traits such as aggression, extrover­sion, submissiveness or authoritarianism may influence attitudes toward brands and products.
Information and experience:
According to learning theory, consumer’s past experiences influ­ence their brand attitude and condition their future behaviour. It is seen that band loyalty will quickly end if the brand does not perform well. Therefore, information and experience also determines attitude.

Functions of Attitude:
Daniel Katz has proposed four functions of attitudes that explains how they serve the individu­als.

(a) Utilitarian Function:

This helps the consumers in achieving desired benefits. For example, in small car segments, marketers usually reflects the utilitarian function of attitudes in the ad. likeby featuring performance characteristics, mileage etc. Similarly, in the ad. of toothbrushes, they reflect utility of cleaning the teeth and giving them whiter look etc.

(b) Value – Expressive Function:

Attitudes can express consumers self – images and value systems. This specially holds true for high involvement products that is, costly products. Advertisers usually try to appeal to the value – expressive nature of attitudes by implying that use or purchase of a certain item will lead to self-enhancement. In this way, they appeal to large segment who value these self expressive traits.
The self – image of an individual purchasing a motorbike, for example, may be of strong, domineering and hard – driving person who likes to gain the upper hand. Like for Kinetic Honda & Kawasaki Bajaj two different types of self images are attached. In the former, the person with strong built up will be best suited and in the later, the person with not so good physique.
Another example can be Revlon Cologne ad. that suggests user is a confident, self-award, warm individual.

(c) Ego – Defensive Function:

Attitudes protect the ego from anxieties and threats. Consumers purchase many products, like mouthwashes to avoid bad breath or dandruff shampoo etc. these are basically anxiety – producing situations. This means consumers develop positive attitudes towards brands associated with social acceptance, confidence etc. For example. Head & Shoulders avoid embarrassment of flaking from dry scalp.


(d) Knowledge Function:

Consumers are exposed to the environment full of information. Consumers sort all of the messages, ignoring the less – relevant information. They have confusion and uncertainty while purchasing any product (Specially high involvement) but this function reduces all the uncertainties. Advertisements provide the valuable information about new brands or new charac­teristics of existing brands.

From the above functions, we have learnt that they affect the individual’s overall evaluation of an object. For example, two individuals having equally favourable attitudes toward mouthwash will vary in the nature of these attitudes. This will depend on whether they purchase because of utilitarian function (i.e. for freshness) or an ego – defensive function (i,e., to avoid bad breath). So both the individuals should be approached in the similar manner.

Tuesday 18 September 2018

Learning

According to Kotler’s Definition, learning involves changes in an individual’s behavior arising out of the experience. Most of the human behavior is learned over time, out of the experience.
Following are the features of consumer learning
·        Consumer learning is a process. A process which continually changes and acquires new knowledge.
·        This knowledge can be obtained from reading, discussing, observing, thinking, etc.
·        Newly acquired knowledge or personal experience, both serve as feedback.


Elements of Consumer Learning
Motivation is the driving force of all important things to be learnt. Motives allow individuals to increase their readiness to respond to learning. It also helps in activating the energy to do so. Thus the degree of involvement usually determines the motivation to search information about a product.
For example, showing advertisements for summer products just before summer season or for winter clothes before winters.
Motives encourage learning and cues stimulate the direction to these motives. Cues are not strong as motives, but their influence in which the consumer responds to these motives.
For example, in a market, the styling, packaging, the store display, prices all serve as cues to help consumers to decide on a particular product, but this can happen only if the consumer has the motive to buy. Thus, marketers need to be careful while providing cues, especially to consumers who have expectations driven by motives.
Response signifies how a consumer reacts to the motives or even cues. The response can be shown or hidden, but in either of the cases learning takes place. Often marketers may not succeed in stimulating a purchase but the learning takes place over a period of time and then they may succeed in forming a particular image of the brand or product in the consumer’s mind.
Reinforcement is very important as it increases the probability of a particular response in the future driven by motives and cues.

Elements of Consumer Learning
MOTIVATION:
“It is the processes that lead people to behave as they do”.
It occurs when a need arises that a consumer wishes to satisfy. Motivation is based on needs and goals. It acts as a spur of learning. Uncovering consumer motives is one of the prime tasks of marketers, who then try to teach motivated consumer segments why and how their products will fulfill the consumer’s needs.
CUES:
“It is a stimulus that suggests a specific way to satisfy a silent motive”.
If motives serve to stimulate learning, cues are the stimuli that give direction to these motives. In the marketplace, price, styling, packaging, advertising and store displays all serve as cues to help consumers fulfil their needs in product-specific ways. Cues serve to direct consumer drives when they are consistent with consumer expectations. Marketers must be careful to provide cues that do not upset those expectations.
RESPONSE:
“Response means how individuals react to a drive or cue or how they behave”.
Learning can occur even when responses are not overt. The automobile manufacturer that provides consistent cues to a consumer may not always succeed in stimulating a purchase. A response is not tied to a need in a one-to-one fashion. If the manufacturer succeeds in forming a favorable image of a particular automobile model in the consumer’s mind, when the consumer is ready to buy, it is likely that he or she will consider that make or model.
REINFORCEMENT:
“A positive or negative outcome that influences the likelihood that a specific behavior will be repeated in the future in response to a particular cue or stimulus”.

It increases the likelihood that a specific response will occur in the future as the result of particular cues or stimuli. Through positive reinforcement, learning has taken place.

Consumer Behavioral Learning Theories

There are various theories which are developed to explain the learning theories. The below are the major theories related to consumer behavior.
Behavioral Theories:  behavioral theory is based on observable behaviors (responses) that occur as the result of exposure to stimuli.
Cognitive Theories: Learning is based on mental information processing, it is also often in response to problem solving.


BEHAVIORAL LEARNING THEORIES:
Behavioral learning theories are sometimes referred to as stimulus-response theories because they are based on the premise that observable responses to specific external stimuli signal that learning has taken place.


1.    CLASSICAL CONDITIONING (Stimulus-Response):

Classical conditioning is the association of one event with another desired event resulting in a behaviour. The most well known experiments on classical conditioning were conducted by Ivan Pavlov, the Russian psychologist, who won the Nobel Prize for his experiments on this subject. Pavlov conducted an experiment on dogs and tried to establish a Stimulus-Response (S-R) connection. He tried to relate the dog’s salivation and the ringing of the bell. In his experiments, he put some meat in front of dogs.
The dogs responded to this stimulus by salivating. This response was instinctive or unconditioned. Pavlov next began to ring a bell at the same time as the meat was presented. Ringing the bell in itself, without the presentation of meat, was not connected to any responses. But by ringing the bell at the same time as presentation of meat, Pavlov established a relationship between the two stimuli-the bell and the meat- in the mind of the dogs. By continuing this process, the ringing of bell alone was sufficient stimulus to elicit a response of salivating, even when no meat was presented. Thus, the bell became a conditioned stimulus, resulting in conditioned or learned response.
•    Ivan Pavlov’s Dogs Experiment:
Unconditioned stimulus (UCS) – Naturally capable of causing a response.
Conditioned stimulus (CS) – Does not initially cause a response
Conditioned response (CR) – Response generated by repeated paired exposures to UCS and CS.  Eventually, through learned association and repetition, the CS will cause the CR.
Examples: 
Pairing a likeable celebrity with a new product in advertising or associating a likeable song with a particular product. 
Pairing product purchase with the use of a credit card.
Researcher’s Argumentation:
Researchers have argued that the examples given are really nothing more than mood encoding, and that the positive affect tag is the effective mechanism.

2.    Cognitive Associative Learning (Memory/Trial-Error based) :

The pioneer of cognitive learning theory is Edward Tolman. He developed and tested this theory through controlled experiments. Using rats in his laboratory, he showed that they learnt to run through a complicated maze towards their goal of food. It was observed that rats developed expectations at every choice point in the maze. Thus, they learnt to expect that certain cognitive cues related to the choice point could ultimately lead to food. The learning took place when the relationship between the cues and expectancy was strengthened because the cues led to expected goals.
Cognitive learning is achieved by thinking about the perceived relationship between events and individual goals and expectations. Cognitive theory of learning assumes that the organism learns the meaning of various objects and events and learned responses depend upon the meaning assigned to stimuli.
HOW CONSUMER STORE, RETAIN, AND RETRIEVE INFORMATION:
Of central importance to the processing of information is the human memory. A basic research concern of most cognitive scientists is discovering how information gets stored in memory, how it is retained, and how it is retrieved.

Structure of Memory: Because information processing is kept temporarily before further processing: a sensory store, a short term store, and a long-term store.

3.     INSTRUMENTAL (OPERANT) CONDITIONING (Result/Reinforcement based):
 “A behavioural theory of learning based on a trial-and-error process, with habits forced as the result of positive experiences (reinforcement) resulting from certain responses or behaviours”.
Operant is defined as behaviour that produces effect. Operant conditioning is based on the work of B.F. Skinner who advocated that individuals emit responses that are rewarded and will not emit responses that are either not rewarded or are punished. Operant conditioning argues that behaviour is a function of its consequences. Behaviour is likely to be repeated if the consequences are favourable. Behaviour is not likely to be repeated if the consequences are unfavorable. Thus the relationship between behaviour and consequences is the essence of the operant conditioning.
It occurs as the individual learns to perform behaviours that produce positive outcomes and avoid behaviours that yield negative outcomes.
This learning process is most closely associated with psychologist B.F. Skinner, who demonstrated the effects of instrumental conditioning by training pigeons to dance and play Ping-Pong.  
Operant conditioning is the process in which the frequency of occurrence of behaviour is modified by the consequences of the behaviour.  That is, the consequences of a purchase will affect the probability of a re-purchase.  

Reinforcement of behaviour:

Positive Reinforcement:
“Positive outcomes, which strengthen the likelihood of a specific response”.
Negative Reinforcement:
“Unpleasant or negative outcomes that serve to encourage a specific behaviour”.

Skinner distinguished two types of reinforcement (or reward) that influence the likelihood that a response will be repeated. The first type, positive reinforcement, consists of events that strengthen the likelihood of a specific response. E.g., using a shampoo that leaves your hairs, feeling silky and clean is likely to result in a repeated purchase of the shampoo. Negative reinforcement is an unpleasant or negative outcome that also serves to encourage a specific behaviour. E.g. buying an antivirus software for your computer. Fear appeals in ad messages are examples of negative reinforcement such as life insurance commercials rely on negative reinforcement to encourage consumers to encourage the purchase.
Punishment:
   “Choose reinforcement rather than punishment”.
Forgetting and Extinction:
- Forgetting “Combat with repetition”.
- Extinction “Combat with consumer satisfaction”.

Factors Involving Forgetting:
Time:  Forgetting is rapid at first and then levels off
Interference: Old information in memory interferes with learning similar, new material. 

4.     Social Learning Theory
People learn through observing others’ behavior, attitudes, and outcomes of those behaviors. “Most human behavior is learned observationally through modeling: from observing others, one forms an idea of how new behaviors are performed, and on later occasions this coded information serves as a guide for action.” (Bandura). Social learning theory explains human behavior in terms of continuous reciprocal interaction between cognitive, behavioral, and environmental influences.

 

NECESSARY CONDITIONS FOR EFFECTIVE MODELING

Attention- various factors increase or decrease the amount of attention paid. It includes distinctiveness, affective valence, prevalence, complexity, functional value. One’s characteristics (e.g. sensory capacities, arousal level, and perceptual set, past reinforcement) affect attention.
Retention- remembering what you paid attention to. Includes symbolic coding, mental images, cognitive organization, symbolic rehearsal, motor rehearsal
Reproduction- reproducing the image. It is including physical capabilities, and self-observation of reproduction.
Motivation- having a good reason to imitate. Includes motives such as past (i.e. traditional behaviorism), promised (imagined incentives) and vicarious (seeing and recalling the reinforced model)


Monday 17 September 2018

Perception and Perceptual Process

BASICS OF PERCEPTION AND MARKETING IMPLICATIONS 
Individuals act and recent on the basis of their perceptions, not on the basis of objective reality. in reality is a totally personal phenomenon, based on that persons need , want s, values, and personal experiences. But for the marketer’s consumer perception is more than the knowledge.

ELEMENTS OF PERCEPTION
Sensation
Sensation is the immediate and direct response of the sensory organs to stimuli. A stimulus may be any unit of input to any of these senses. Examples of stimuli include products, packages, brand names, advertisements and commercials. Sensory receptors are the human organs that receive sensory inputs. Their sensory functions are to see, hear, smell, taste and feel. All of these functions are called into play, either singly or in combinations, in the evaluation and use of most consumer products.
The absolute threshold
The lowest level at which an individual can experience a sensation is called the absolute threshold. The point at which a person can detect a difference between “something” and “nothing” is that person’s absolute threshold for that stimulus.
The differential threshold
The minimal difference that can be detected between two similar stimuli is called the differential threshold or the just noticeable difference.
Subliminal perception
People are motivated below their level of conscious awareness. People are also stimulated below their level of conscious awareness; that is, they can perceive stimuli without being consciously aware that they are doing so. 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 receptor cells. This process is called subliminal perception because the stimulus is beneath the threshold, or “limen” of conscious awareness, though obviously not beneath the absolute threshold of the receptors involved.
Dynamics of perception
Human beings are constantly bombarded with stimuli during every minute and every hour of every day. The sensory world is made up of an almost infinite number of discrete sensations that are constantly and subtly changing. According to the principles of sensation, intensive stimulation “bounces off” most individuals, who sub consciously block a heavy bombardment of stimuli.
One type of input is physical stimuli from the outside environment; the other type of input is provided by individuals themselves in the form of certain predispositions based on previous experience. The combination of these two very different kinds of inputs produces for each of us a very private, very personal picture of the world. Because each person is a unique individual, with unique experiences, needs, wants and desires, and expectations, it follows that each individual’s perceptions are also unique.

Perceptual Process

1. Perceptional Selection
Consumers subconsciously exercise a great deal of selectivity as to which aspects of the environment they perceive. An individual may look at some things, ignore others, and turn away from still others. In actually, people receive only a small fraction of the stimuli to which they were exposed.
Which stimuli get selected depends on two major factors in addition to the nature of the stimulus itself. (1) Consumers previous experience as it affects their expectations. And (2) their motives at the time. Ease of these factors can serve to increase or decrease the probability that a stimulus will be perceived.
Nature of the stimulus
Marketing stimuli include an enormous number of variables that affect the consumers perception, such as nature of the product, its physical attributes,  the package design, the brand name, the advertisements and commercials including copy claims, choice and sex of model, size of ad, topography, the position of print ad or a commercial, and the editorial environment.
Expectations
People usually see what they expect to see, and what they expect to see is usually based on familiarity, . Previous experience, or preconditioned set. In a marketing context, people tend to perceive products and product attributes according to their own expectations.
Motives
People tend to perceive the things they need or want; the stronger the need the greater the tendency to ignore unrelated stimuli in the environment. In general, there is heightened awareness of stimuli that are relevant to ones needs and interests and a decreased awareness of stimuli that are irrelevant to those needs. 
Selective perception
The consumers “selection” of stimuli from the environment is based on the interactions of expectations and motives with the stimulus itself. These factors give rise to four important concepts concerning perception.
 Selective Exposure
Consumers actively seek out messages that they find pleasant or with which they are sympathetic. And they actively avoid painful or threatening ones. They also selectively expose themselves to advertisements that reassure them of the wisdom of their purchase decisions.

Selective attention
Consumers exercise a great deal of selectivity in terms of the attention they give to commercial stimuli. They have a heightened awareness of stimuli that meet their needs or interests and minimal awareness of stimuli irrelevant to their needs. Thus, consumers are likely to note ads for products that would satisfy their needs and disregard those in which they have no interest.
Perceptual Defense
Consumers subconsciously screen out stimuli that they find psychologically threatening, even though exposure has already taken place. Thus, threatening or otherwise damaging stimuli are less likely to be consciously perceived than are neutral stimuli at the same level of exposure.
Perceptual Blocking
Consumers protect themselves from being bombarded with stimuli by simply “tuning out” – blocking such stimuli from conscious awareness. They do so out of self – protecting because of the visually overwhelming nature of the world in which we live. The popularity of such devices as TiVo and Replay TV, which enable viewers to skip over TV commercials with great ease, is, in part, a result of perceptual blocking.

2. Perceptual Organization
People do not experience a numerous stimuli they select from the environment as separate and discrete sensations rather they tend to organize them into groups and perceive them as unified wholes.
Figure and Grounds
People have tendency to organize their perceptions into figure and ground relationship. How a figure- ground pattern is perceived can be influenced by prior pleasant or painful associations with one or the other element in isolation.
Grouping
Individuals tend to group stimuli so that they form a unified picture or impression. The perception of stimuli as groups or chunks of information, rather than as discrete bits of information, facilitates their memory and recall. Grouping can be used advantageously by marketers to simply certain desired meanings in connection with their products.
Closure
Individuals have a need for closure. They express this need by organizing their perceptions so that they form a complete picture. If the pattern of stimuli to which they are exposed is incomplete, they tend to perceive it, nevertheless, as complete; that is, they consciously or subconsciously fill in the missing pieces.

3.  Perceptual interpretation
Stimuli are often highly ambiguous. Some stimuli are weak because of such factors as poor visibility, brief exposure, high noise level or constant fluctuations. Even the stimuli that are strong tend to fluctuate dramatically because of  such factors as different angles of viewing, varying distances, and changing levels if illumination.
Perceptual distortion
Individuals are subject to a number of influences that tend to distort their perceptions, such as physical appearances, stereotypes, first impressions, jumping to conclusions and the halo effect.
Consumer imagery
Consumers have a number of enduring perceptions, or images, that are particularly relevant to the study of consumer behavior. Products and brands have symbolic value for individuals, who evaluate them on the basis of their consistency with their personal pictures of themselves.
Product positioning

The essence of successful marketing is the image that a product has in the mind of the consumer-that is positioning. Positioning is more important to the ultimate success of a product than are its actual characteristics, although products are poorly made will not succeed in the long run on the basis of image alone.

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