Page 71 - DMGT506_CONSUMER_BEHAVIOUR

Consumer Behaviour

Notes 5.1.5 Perceptual Vigilance and Defence

Even when consumers are exposed to stimuli they do not want to see or hear, they unconsciously
ignore such undesirable stimuli. Perceptual defence is more likely in anxiety-producing situations.
Because of this reason, unpleasant, damaging, or threatening stimuli have less of a chance to be
perceived compared to neutral stimuli at the same level of exposure. Consumers are also likely
to modify or distort any information that is not consistent with their needs, wants, values, or
beliefs.
The concept of perceptual defence has relevance in advertising. When intense fear appeals are
used in selling any product they may become threatening to a point that consumers use perceptual
defence for the entire message.

Perceptual Blocking

Consumers are exposed to innumerable stimuli in a typical day. They protect themselves from
being overwhelmed and overburdened by blocking such numerous stimuli from their conscious
awareness.

Example: Consumers screen out enormous amounts of TV advertising by ‘tuning out’.

Perceptual Organisation (Interpretation)

All the selected stimuli from the environment are not experienced as separate and discrete
sensations. Individuals tend to organise these sensations into a coherent pattern and perceive
them as unified wholes. The specific principles underlying perceptual organisation are sometimes
referred as Gestalt psychology. Gestalt is a German word and means “pattern” or “configuration.”
Three most basic principles of perceptual organisation focus on ‘figure and ground’ relationships,
‘grouping’ and ‘closure’.

Figure and Ground

This is one of the most basic and automatic organisational processes that perceivers use. People
have a tendency to organise their perceptions into figure and ground relationship. In order to be
noticed, stimuli must contrast with their environment. We notice black against white and do not
notice white in white. Similarly, a sound must be louder or softer to be noticed. The figure
usually appears well-defined, solid and perceived more clearly than the ground (background)
which is usually perceived as hazy, indefinite and continuous. The common line separating the
figure and the ground is perceived as belonging to the figure and not to the ground. This gives
greater definition to the figure.
Our learning influences which stimuli will be perceived as figure and which as ground. Perceptual
organisation is affected by motives and expectations based on previous experience. Earlier
pleasant or painful associations with one or the other element of figure-ground alone can also
influence the perception. The following sketches show how figure and ground process operates.
Most individuals perceive Figure 5.1(a) as a goblet on a black ground rather than as two faces
separated by white space and Figure 5.1(b) shows a reversible picture and one may perceive it a
young or old woman.

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