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Chapter 6
Perception, learning &
memories

Goals

The nature and characteristics of perception

The connection between knowledge acquired through
learning and marketing strategies
Distinguish types of memories and how to increase the
recall of memories
How marketers apply perception, learning and memories
in marketing

1. Perception

1.1. Definition
Perception is the process by which people select, organize,
and interpret these sensations. The study of perception,
then, focuses on what we add to these raw sensations to
give them meaning.
Solomon & Russell (2024)

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1.2. The process of perception

1.2.1. Sensory stimuli

Sensation refers to the immediate response of our sensory

receptors (eyes, ears, nose, mouth, fingers, skin) to basic
stimuli such as light, color, sound, odor, and texture.
Sensory marketing occurs when companies think
carefully about the impact of sensations on our product
experiences

1.2.1. Sensory stimuli

Vision
• visual elements in advertising, store design, and packaging
• communicate meanings on the visual channel through a
product’s color, size, and styling
• colors may even influence our emotions more directly
• gender differences in color preferences
• some colors become some companies’ trade dress

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1.2.1. Sensory stimuli

1.2.1. Sensory stimuli

Scent
• our brains process scents in the limbic system, the most primitive
part of the brain and the place where we experience immediate
emotions.
Sound
• Music and other sounds affect people’s feelings and behaviors.
• Sound symbolism is the process by which the way a word
sounds influences our assumptions about what it describes and
attributes

1.2.1. Sensory stimuli

Touch
• important role the haptic (touch) sense plays in consumer
behavior.
• natural user interface
• endowment effect
Taste
• All foods are a combination of five basic tastes: sweetness,
sourness, bitterness, saltiness, and umami (a savory taste)

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1.2.2. Exposure

Exposure occurs when a stimulus comes within the range of

someone’s sensory receptors. Consumers concentrate on
some stimuli, are unaware of others, and even go out of their
way to ignore some messages.
absolute threshold
difference threshold

1.2.2. Reception

Absolute threshold.
Example:
• Human hearing threshold: 20Hz-20,000Hz
• Visible light spectrum: not seeing infrared and ultra violet rays
• Sight

1.2.2. Exposure

Difference threshold: refers to the ability of a sensory

system to detect changes in or differences between two
stimuli
Ex: 100,000vnd difference
• shirts: 200,000 vnd vs 300,000 vnd
• Laptop: 13,500,000 vnd vs 13,600,000 vnd

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1.2.2. Exposure
Subliminal Perception

1.2.2. Exposure
Application:
Product display in stores
Advertising slots and channels

11:59 18:59

1.2.2. Exposure
Organization and display of goods

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1.2.3. Attention
Factors influencing attention
Personal selection factors
Stimulus selection factors

1.2.3. Attention
Personal selection factors
• Perceptual vigilance means we are more likely to be
aware of stimuli that relate to our current needs
• Perceptual defense: we tend to see what we want to
see and we don’t see what we don’t want to see
• Adaptation: the degree to which consumers continue to
notice a stimulus over time

1.2.3. Attention
Stimulus Selection Factors
• Size
• Color
• Motion
• Position
• Seperation
• Novelty

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1.2.3. Attention
Application
The location and characteristics of advertisements and
other marketing stimuli

1.2.4. Interpretation

Interpretation refers to the meanings we assign to

sensory stimuli.
The meaning we assign to a stimulus depends on the
schema, or set of beliefs, to which we assign it.
People can have different interpretation for the same event

1.2.4. Interpretation

Interpretational Biases: our brains tend to relate

incoming sensations to others already in memory, based
on some fundamental organizational principles.

Gestalt psychology: whole, pattern, or configuration

closure principle
similarity principle
figure-ground principle

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Closure principle

Similarity principle

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Figure-ground principle

1.2.4. Interpretation
To help them understand how consumers interpret the
meanings of symbols, some marketers turn to semiotics, a
discipline that studies the correspondence between signs
and symbols and their roles in how we assign meanings.
From a semiotic perspective, every marketing message has
three basic components:
• Object (the product that is the focus of the message)
• Sign (or symbol) (the sensory image that represents the intended
meaning of the object
• Interpretant (the meaning we derive from the sign)

1.2.4. Interpretation

Signs relate to objects in one of three ways: They can

resemble objects, connect to them, or tie to them
conventionally.
• An icon is a sign that resembles the product in some way
• An index is a sign that connects to a product because they
share some property
• A symbol is a sign that relates to a product by either
conventional or agreed-on associations

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1.2.5. Perceptual Positioning

Our perception of a brand comprises both its functional

attributes (e.g., its features, its price, and so on) and its
symbolic attributes (its image and what we think it says
about us when we use it)

1.2.5. Perceptual Positioning

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2. Learning

 Learning is a relatively permanent change in behavior caused by

experience.
 The learner need not have the experience directly

Information
Stimuli Learning Memory
process

2.1. Behavioral learning theories

Behavioral learning theories assume that learning takes

place as the result of responses to external events.
Two major approaches to learning represent this view:
classical conditioning and instrumental conditioning.

2.1.1. Classical conditioning

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2.1.1. Classical conditioning

2.1.1. Classical conditioning

2.1.1. Classical conditioning

Stimulus Generalization
Stimulus generalization refers to the tendency of stimuli
similar to a conditioned stimulus to evoke similar,
conditioned responses.
The halo effect occurs when people react to other, similar
stimuli in much the same way they respond the original
stimulus.

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2.1.1. Classical conditioning

Marketing Applications of Classical Conditioning

Pairing nonsense syllables (meaningless sets of letters)
with such evaluative words -> brand equity

2.1.1. Classical conditioning

Marketing Applications of Repetition

Some research says three exposures to an ad is ideal: 1st
exposure creates awareness; 2nd shows relevance of
product; 3rd reminds of benefits.
Advertising wear-out occurs when the marketing stimulus
no longer has an impact on the consumer.

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2.1.1. Classical conditioning

Marketing Applications of Stimulus Generalization

• Family branding
• Product line extension
• Licensing
• Look-alike packaging

2.1.2. Instrumental conditioning (operant

conditioning)
 Instrumental conditioning (or operant conditioning)
occurs when we learn to perform behaviors that produce
positive outcomes and avoid those that yield negative
outcomes

2.1.2. Instrumental conditioning (operant

conditioning)

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2.1.2. Instrumental conditioning (operant

conditioning)

2.1.2. Instrumental conditioning (operant

conditioning)
Reinforcement schedule
• Fixed-interval
• Variable-interval
• Fixed-ratio
• Variable-ratio
Marketing application
• Frequency marketing
• Gamification

Gamification

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2.1.2. Instrumental conditioning (operant

conditioning)
 Important elements of gaming include
• A dynamic digital environment that resembles a videogame
• Multiple short- and long-term goals
• Rapid and frequent feedback
• A reward for efforts in the form of a badge or a virtual product
• Friendly competition in a low-risk environment
• A manageable degree of uncertainty
 Many domains of activity share the need to motivate and reward
people to achieve ascending levels of mastery.

2.2. Cognitive Leaning Theory

Cognitive learning theory stresses the importance of

internal mental activities

2.2.1 Observational Learning

Observational learning occurs when we watch the

actions of others and note the reinforcements they receive
for their behaviors.

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2.2.1 Observational Learning

In these situations, learning occurs as a result of vicarious

rather than direct experience.
We mimic others’ behaviors as a social default.
Modeling is the process of imitating the behavior of
others.

2.2.1 Observational Learning

Four conditions must be met for observational learning in

the form of modeling to occur:
• The consumer’s attention must be directed to the appropriate
model.
• The consumer must remember what the model says or does.
• The consumer must convert this information into actions.
• The consumer must be motivated to perform these actions.

2.2.2 How Do We Learn to Be Consumers?

Consumer socialization is the process used to acquire

skills and knowledge
• Parent’s Influence
• Television and the Internet: Electronic Babysitters
• Cognitive Development
• Message Comprehension

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3. Memory

Memory is a process of
acquiring information and
storing it over time so that it will
be available when we need it.
3 types of memories:
Sensory memory
Short-term memory
Long-Term Memory

3. Memory

3. Memory

Short-term memory (STM)

• STM stores information for a limited time and has limited
capacity. This system is working memory. Memories may be
either acoustic (sounds) or semantic (meaning).
• We combine smaller pieces of information into larger chunks
of information. This is known as chunking

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3. Memory

Long-term memory (LTM)

• LTM is the system that lets us store information for long
periods of time.
• Elaborative rehearsal allows information to move rom STM
into LTM.

3.1. How Our Memories Store Information

 Associative Networks
 Spreading Activation
 Levels of Knowledge
• Meaning concepts are stored as individual nodes.
• When combines into larger unites they are propositions
(or beliefs)
• Combined propositions are known as a schema.
A script is a schema that guides behavior
Service scripts guide behavior in commercial settings

3.1 How Our Memories Store Information

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3.2. How We Retrieve Memories When We

Decide What to Buy

 We retrieve information on a pioneer brand (first brand to

enter a market) from memory better than for follow brands
 The spacing effect is the tendency to recall printed material
easier when the advertiser repeats the information
periodically

3.2. How We Retrieve Memories When We

Decide What to Buy
Ways to recall memories
State-Dependent Retrieval
Familiarity and Recall
Salience and Recall
The Viewing Context
Pictorial Versus Verbal Cues

4. Marketing application (summary)

4.1. Perception
- Product positioning
- Product display in stores
- Advertising slots and marketing channels
- The location and characteristics of advertisements and other
marketing stimuli to catch attention

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4. Marketing application (summary)

4.2. Learning
 Classical conditioning
Celebrity endorsement
Repetition
Stimulus generalization
 Operant conditioning
Positive reinforcement: loyalty programs, discounts, vouchers, etc
Negative reinforcement: fear advertising
Gamification

4. Marketing application (summary)

4.3. Memory
 Repeat periodically to enhance memory of brand
 Make the message more memorable (size, position, novelty,
etc.)
 Put the product / brand in appropriate contexts

Discussion

Find 2 examples applying classical conditioning and

instrumental conditioning in marketing programs for the
following industries and explain how the 2 theories are
applied in the examples
Industries: Dining service, tourism, consumer goods

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