Question 1

When the stimulus presented is below the level of the consumer's conscious awareness, the result that occurs is called:

Accepted Answer

Subliminal perception occurs when a stimulus is presented below the level of the consumer's conscious awareness, meaning the stimulus is perceived without the consumer being consciously aware of it.

Question 2

Lois was not pleased when she realized that the box of candies did not contain as many candies as it used to. When she compared the package to the previous package she had bought, the changes were hardly discernible. This is an example of the use of Weber's law.

Accepted Answer

Weber's law states that the just noticeable difference (JND) between two stimuli is proportional to the magnitude of the stimuli. Lois's difficulty in discerning the change in the quantity of candies aligns with this principle, as the difference was too small relative to the size of the package for her to easily notice.

Question 3

Antonio owns a small menswear store located in downtown Winnipeg. He decides to have a "$10 Off Sale" on every item in his store. When he totals his sales results for the week, he finds that there was the greatest response to items under $50, and the least response to items over $50. This is a demonstration of:

Accepted Answer

Weber's law explains this phenomenon, as it relates to the perception of changes in stimuli. In this case, a $10 discount is perceived as more significant for cheaper items (under $50) than for more expensive items (over $50), leading to a greater response for the cheaper items.

Question 4

The absolute threshold refers to the minimum amount of stimulation that can be detected on a sensory channel, e.g., the auditory sensory channel.

Accepted Answer

The absolute threshold is indeed the minimum level of stimulus intensity needed for a stimulus to be detected. In the context of the auditory sensory channel, it would be the quietest sound that an individual can hear.

Question 5

What is the difference between exposure and attention?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What is the difference between exposure and...

Question 6

The main point of ________ is that the ratios, not the absolute differences, are important in describing the least perceptible differences in sensory discrimination.

Accepted Answer

Weber's law focuses on the concept that the smallest noticeable difference in a stimulus is a constant proportion of the original stimulus, emphasizing ratios over absolute differences for sensory discrimination.

Question 7

JND is another name for Weber's law.

Accepted Answer

Weber's Law and the Just Noticeable Difference (JND) are related concepts in psychophysics, but they are not the same. Weber's Law describes the proportional relationship between the initial stimulus and the change needed to notice a difference, while JND refers to the minimum difference in stimulus intensity that a person can detect.

Question 8

What is a differential threshold? Give an example of why this is relevant to marketers.

Accepted Answer

The answer of What is a differential threshold? Give an...

Question 9

The sound emitted by a dog whistle is too high to be detected by human ears. This is an illustration of a stimulation that is beyond our absolute threshold.

Accepted Answer

The sound from a dog whistle is typically above 20,000 Hz, which is beyond the range of human hearing, illustrating a stimulus that exceeds our absolute threshold for sound detection.

Question 10

Jason and Mark were talking in class, but so was everyone else. As they continued to discuss their day's adventures, it suddenly became clear to them that the teacher was staring at them. They hadn't realized that the class had been called to order and what was once only one conversation among many was now disruptive. Jason apologized quickly and the teacher resumed her normal activities. This situation illustrates what important aspect of perception?

Accepted Answer

The situation illustrates that perception is relative, as Jason and Mark only noticed their behavior was disruptive when the context changed (the rest of the class became quiet), not because the volume of their conversation changed.

Question 11

In 1957, an experiment in a drive-in movie showed that increases in sales of popcorn and Coca-Cola were measured after subliminal messages encouraging viewers to use those products had been inserted in the movie Picnic. These findings:

Accepted Answer

The findings were indeed false; the research executives later admitted to fabricating the results of the experiment, debunking the initial claims about the effectiveness of subliminal advertising in this context.

Question 12

Subliminal advertising isn't categorized as a "being discovered," rather it is considered a persuasion of the stimulus which is:

Accepted Answer

Subliminal advertising works by influencing the audience at a level below their conscious awareness, meaning the stimulus (advertisement) is presented in such a way that it is not consciously noticed but can still affect thoughts, feelings, or actions.

Question 13

The ability of a sensory system to detect changes or differences between two stimuli refers to the:

Accepted Answer

The differential threshold, also known as the just noticeable difference (jnd), refers to the ability of a sensory system to detect changes or differences between two stimuli.

Question 14

What is an absolute threshold? Give an example.

Accepted Answer

The answer of What is an absolute threshold? Give an...

Question 15

A billboard is positioned correctly beside a busy highway. However, the merchant who purchased the billboard is complaining that no response is being generated by his advertising message. Upon closer inspection, the billboard company determines that the typeface used is too small to be effectively read by a motorist going 100+ km/h on the highway. Which of the following sensory thresholds would be most appropriate to explain the failure of this advertisement to connect with motorists?

Accepted Answer

The absolute threshold refers to the minimum level of stimulus intensity needed for a stimulus to be perceived. In this case, the text size on the billboard is too small to be detected by motorists driving at high speeds, making the absolute threshold the most appropriate concept to explain why the advertisement is not effective.

Question 16

For subliminal perception to occur, the stimulus must be presented below the level of the consumer's awareness.

Accepted Answer

Subliminal perception involves the processing of stimuli presented below the threshold of the consumer's conscious awareness, meaning the stimulus is received by the senses but not consciously noticed.

Question 17

Attention refers to the extent to which the brain's processing activity is devoted to a particular stimulus.

Accepted Answer

Attention is the cognitive process of selectively concentrating on one aspect of the environment while ignoring other things, which means it involves the brain's processing activity being devoted to a particular stimulus.

Question 18

Dogs can hear sounds of far higher frequency than humans can. The differential threshold refers to the difference between what two organisms, such as a person and a dog, can detect through the same sensory channel.

Accepted Answer

The differential threshold, also known as the just noticeable difference (JND), refers to the minimum difference in intensity between two stimuli required for them to be perceived as different, rather than the differences in sensory capabilities between two different organisms.

Question 19

In the nineteenth century, a psychophysicist named Ernst Weber found that:

Accepted Answer

Weber discovered the concept known as Weber's Law, which states that the just noticeable difference (JND) or the minimum amount of change needed for a sensory stimulus to be perceived is a constant proportion of the original stimulus. This means that the perceivable change depends on the relative rather than the absolute difference.

Question 20

When marketers update their package designs or logos, they do it in small increments of change so the change will not affect consumers' familiarity with the product. This is the principle behind:

Accepted Answer

The principle behind making small incremental changes in package designs or logos to ensure that the changes do not affect consumers' familiarity with the product is known as Just Noticeable Difference (JND).

Quiz 2: Perception