CONSUMER PERCEPTION

Prception is defined as the process by which an indivisual selects,organizes, and intrpretes stimulai into a meaningful and coherent picture of the world. It can be

described as “how we see the world around us.” Two indivisuals may be exposed

to the same stimulai under the same apparent condition,but how each person recognizes,

and interpretes them is a highly indivisual process based on each persons own needs,

values, and expectations. The influence that each of these variable has on the perceptual

process,and its relevance to the process is immaculate.

SENSATION

Sensation is the immediate and direct response of the sensory organ to the simple stimu-

-lai. A stimulus is any unit of input to any of the senses. Example of the stimuli include

product package ,brand name advrtisment and commercial. Sensory receptor are the

human organ like ear, nose,mouth,skin,that receives sensory inputs.

THE ABSOLUTE THRESHOLD

The lowest level at which an indivisual can experience a sensation is called the “absolute

Threshold”.The point at which an indivisual can detect a difference between “something

and nothing” is that persons absolute threshold for that stimulus.

THE DIFFERENTIAL THRESHOLD

The minimal difference that can be decteted between two similar stimulai is called the

“differential threshold”or

j.n.d.[for just noticeable difference]

SUBLIMINAL PERCEPTION

The people are also stimulated below their level of conscious awarness , that is they can

Perceieve stimulai without being consciously aware that they are doing so. This process

Is called as subliminal perception.

DYNAMICS OF PERCEPTION

It is the major principle of perception.raw sensory inputs does not produce or explains the

Coherent picture of the world.

PERCEPTUAL SELECTION

Consumer subconsciously exercise a great deal of selectivity as to which aspect of

The environment (which stimulai) they perceive . An Indivisual may look at some

Things, ignore other and turn away from still others. In actuality people receive or

Perceieve only a small fraction of stimulai to which they are exposed.

NATURE OF THE STIMULUS

Marketing stimuli include an enourmous number of variables that affect the consumers perception , such as the 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 , positioning of model , size of ad , typography} ; the position of a print ad or a commercial , and the editorial environment.

Advertisers are producing 30-minute commercials that appears to the average viewer as documentaries and thus command more attentive viewing than obvious commercials would receive.

EXPECTATIONS

People usually seewhat they expect to see,and what they expect to see is usually based

On familiarity.previous experiences or pre-conditional set (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 .

IMPORTANT CONCEPT CONCERNING SELECTING PERCEPTION

As the preceiding discussion illustrates , the consumers “selection” of stimuli from the environment is based on the interaction of expectations and motives with the stimulus itself. These factors give rise to four important concepts concerning perception.

Selective exposure

Consumer actively seek out message that they find pleasant or with which they are sympathetic , and they actively avoid painful or threatening ones.

Selective attention

Consumers exercise a great deal of selectivity in terms of the attention they give to commercial stimuli.

Perceptual Defense

Consumes subconsciously screen out stimuli that they find psychologically threatening , even though exposure has already taken place . Thus , damaging stimuli are less likely to be consciously perceived then are neutral stimuli at the same level of exposure.

Perceptual Blocking

Consumers protect themselves from being bombarded with stimuli by simply “turning out”-blocking such stimuli for conscious awareness. They do so out of self –protection , because of the visually overwhiming nature of the world in which we live .This perceptual blocking is comparable to the “zapping” of TV commercials with remote controls.