Information Processing

1
Information Processing

• How People Create (Subjective) Meaning Out of
  Information

2
Complex Decision Making
Information Acquisition
Information Processing
Problem Recognition/Need Arousal
Comparative Evaluation/ Purchase
Post-Purchase Evaluations
3
How we are going to use Information Processing in
CB

• Earlier Decision Making lectures dealt with
  Choosing among several brands
• Information Processing is Best Understood in
  Terms of Forming Beliefs and Attitudes about a
  Single Object
• e.g., watching an ad and forming an attitude
  towards the advertised brand

4
Information Processing Model
Individual Consumer
Environmental Characteristics
Outcome Attitudes
Selection
Perceptual Organization e.g., closure
Interpretation Categorization Inferencing
sensations
information
beliefs
exposure sensory proc attention
Stimuli
Memory/Prior Knowledge
5
(No Transcript)
6
Information Processing at Work

• Select certain stimuli which stand out in the ad
• Plane
• Brand names Forbes, Economist
• Organize them (advertiser is trying to compare
  the two magazines)
• Interpret (based on memory, you know Economy
  class is cheaper business is more expensive
  first class is most expensive)
• Belief Forbes is for the most up-market
  passengers
• Attitude Favorable attitude towards Forbes
• Factors such as Environment (Culture) and
  Individual characteristics (liking for Price)
  play a part

7
Information Processing Topic List (Readings
given in notes)

• Perception (Lecture 12) Today
• Memory (Lecture 13)
• Attitudes (Lecture 14)
• Attitude Change (Persuasion) (Lecture 15)
• Specially Applicable to Advertising

8
Reading List

• Perception Chapter 7, excluding
• Semiotics (pg 232)
• Price Expectations Reference Prices (236-237)
• Memory Chapter 8
• only pages 258-264
• Attitudes, Chapter 9, excluding
• Experiential Hierarchy (pg. 287)
• Attitude Functions (pg. 292-295)
• Role of Attitudes in Marketing Strategy (295-298)
• Attitude Change, Chapter 10, excluding
• Functional theories of Attitude Change (pp
  322-324)
• Strategies for Attitude Reinforcement and Change
  (pp. 330-338) -- Important for Project!!

9
Perception first 3 stages
Individual Consumer
Environmental Characteristics
Outcome Attitudes
Selection
Perceptual Organization e.g., closure
Interpretation Categorization Inferencing
sensations
information
beliefs
exposure sensory proc attention
Stimuli
Memory/Prior Knowledge
10
First Stage Selection

• There are millions of stimuli surrounding us
• So we have to select some stimuli and eliminate
  others
• Otherwise whats the problem with too much info?
• Selection Ways of Eliminating stimuli (and
  therefore selecting just a few)

11
3 Mechanisms in the Selection Stage

• Selective Exposure
• Sensory processes
• Selective attention

12
Selective Exposure

• Avoid exposure to certain stimuli
• Zapping commercials (changing the channel to
  avoid commercials)
• Flush Factor
• Consumers deliberately avoid TV commercials
• what should advertisers do?

13
So one way in which people select/eliminate
stimuli is selective exposureSecond Stage of
Selection

• Sensory Processes

14
Sensory Processes Thresholds

• Sensory receptors (taste, sound, etc.) have
  thresholds
• absolute and differential thresholds
• These also help in selection/elimination
• Absolute thresholds receptors cannot detect
  stimuli above or below certain absolute levels
• Differential threshold receptors cannot detect
  a change in a stimulus

15
Sensory Processes Absolute Thresholds

• Absolute thresholds receptors cannot detect
  stimuli above or below certain absolute levels
• e.g., sound -- 20 cps to 20,000 csp
• So weed out a lot of stimuli
• BUT Subliminal advertising stimuli below
  consciousness can still have an effect
• eat popcorn drink Coke -- 1/3000 of a second
• could be very powerful results not clear yet.

16
Absolute threshold we cannot detect stimuli
that are above or below certain absolute levels

• So natural elimination takes place

17
Sensory Processes Differential Thresholds

• We are not always able to notice a change in a
  stimulus (amount of sugar in coffee)
• Again, this helps in selection/weeding out we
  dont notice all changes
• Related Concept
• Just noticeable difference (JND) minimum amount
  of change (or difference) required to make people
  notice a change
• Webers Law JND I K (I initial level K
  constant) price example
• Larger the initial level of the stimulus, the
  larger the change required in order for people to
  notice a change i.e., JND will be larger).
• applications ??

18
Selection Mechanisms

• Exposure
• Sensory Processes
• ATTENTION

19
Attention Allocating processing Capacity to
Stimuli

• Voluntary and Involuntary attention
• Voluntary attention you pay attention
  intentionally, because of your own interest
• E.g., if you are thinking of buying a mobile
  phone, you will pay voluntary attention to a
  mobile phone ad

20
Note Voluntary attention is selective (so it
helps with the selection process)

• We attend to stimuli that we find interesting we
  tune out stimuli that we find boring/threatening
• Two processes go on here

21
Voluntary Attention (Selective)

• Perceptual vigilance attend to stimuli relevant
  to you (ad for your car comes on you attend
  carefully)
• Perceptual defense
• Avoid boring stimuli (example?)
• Avoid threatening stimuli (example?)
• Most advertising falls in which category?

22
Attention Allocating processing Capacity to
Stimuli

• Involuntary attention you are not really
  interested, but something grabs your attention!
• Color
• Novelty
• Contrast difference between adjacent stimuli
• Humor
• Size
• Sex
• Which technique(s) used in each of the following
  ads?

23
Two more involuntary attention techniques

• Position
• Contrast

24
Position??

• Where to put ad in a magazine (cover page or
  inside??)

25
Contrast

• Changing the level of a stimulus to get
  attention
• Contrast is a good way to get attention because
  of the concept of adaptation level
• adaptation level the level of a stimulus that
  you get used to. Any change from that level
  leads to a contrast and you pay attention
• Example Sound volume

26
Summing up

• Attention of two types voluntary and involuntary
• Which of these two do advertisers have to usually
  rely on?
• Several different techniques for getting
  involuntary attention
• Color
• Size
• Position
• Contrast
• Humor
• Sex
• Novelty

27
Announcements

• Next Class
• Continue with Perception, and then discuss Memory
  (Chapter 8 only pages 258-264)