5/20/2021 IGNITOR Student

:…… of perception. The Investigation illustrates 'I'HElNVESTIGATlON

that each individual's personal characteris- HE… A
tics and background influence how he or she ' ' "wma
' ' * . _ ...BUT {» „.. H E M
percerves the man 111 the rruddle. Please ex- 21' m ” Tm . h'hfirm ‚— ËËËËL
NOTES
amine this figure carefully, and in so doing * “**-' iii—saw. fi …,
you will develop an enhanced appreciation '‘
of how one's personal characteristics and : flan-«em:
background mfluence hrs or her perceptions. “film”
A classlc statement regardmg the rdrosyn- W“
cratic nature of perception is offered in the
following quote:

We do not simply ”reset to" a happening or to /

some impingement from the environment in a * ' ' r“ „ m m‘
determined way (except in behavior that has “hält (‚im 11:33,:
become reflexive or habitant). We [interpret “"in… " U "M'- “GH-—
and] behave according to what we bring to the """“
occasion, and what each of us brings to the oc—
casion is more or iess unique.”!

This quote is from an analysis of fan re-

action to a heatedly contested football game _)…
between Dartmouth and Princeton universi-
ties back in 1951_ The game was highly emo- Figure 4.7 Humorous Illustration of
tional and arguments and fights broke out on Selective Perception
both sides. Interestingly, fan reaction to the
dirty play divided along team loyalties. Dartrnouth fans perceived Princeton players as the
perpetrators; Princeton fans considered Dartmouth players to be at fault. That is, what fans
experienced and how they interpreted events depended on their view of who were the ”good
guys.” In short, our individual uniqueness conditions what we see!
An individual’s mood also can influence his or her perception of stimulus objects. Research
has found that when people are in a good mood they are more likely to retrieve positive
rather than negative material from their memories; are more likely to perceive the positive
side of things; and, in turn, are more likely to respond positively to a variety of stimuli.” Ad-
vertisers are well aware of this, at least intuitively, when they use techniques such as humor
and nostalgia to put message receivers in a good mood.
Miscomprehension People sometimes misinterpret or miscomprehend messages so as to
make them more consistent with their existing beliefs or expectations. This typically is done
unconsciously; nonetheless, distorted perception and message miscomprehension are com-
mon. Miscomprehension of marcom messages occurs primarily for three reasons: (1) mes-
sages are themselves sometimes misleading or unclear, (2) consumers are biased by their own
preconceptions and thus "see” what they choose to see, and (3) processing of advertisements
often takes place under time pressures and noisy circumstances. The moral is clear: Marketing
communicators cannot assume that consumers interpret messages in the manner intended,
thus message testing is absolutely imperative before investing in print space, broadcast time,
or other media outlets. Also, it is important that marcom messages be repeated so as to assure
that most viewers and readers eventually understand the marketer’s intended meaning

Stage 4: Agreement with What Is Comprehended

A fourth information-processing stage involves the matter of whether the consumer agrees
with (i.e., accepts) a message argument that he or she has comprehended. It is crucial from a
marcom perspective that consurners not only comprehend a message but also that they agree
with the message (as opposed to countering it or rejecting it outright). Comprehension alone
does not ensure that the message will change consumers’ attitudes or influence their behav-
ior. Understanding that an advertisement is attempting to position a brand in a certain way
sans… is not tantamount to accepting that message. For example, we may clearly understand when
7.6 Mm

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