Exercise 49: Gestalt Psychology’s
Principles of Perceptual Organization
Objectives
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Background
The Nature of Gestalt Psychology
In
the previous exercise on surrogate
indicators you learned about the subjective
interpretation of perceptual cues. This next exercise is
also concerned with the subjective
comprehension of a stimulus object, specifically how the physical
arrangement of the elements of a that object and of surrounding stimuli affect
the way consumers perceive them.
The
Gestalt school of psychology is an
early 20th
century approach to studying perception that maintains that people acquire meaning
from the totality of a group of
stimuli rather than from any one individual
stimulus. The German word gestalt
translates to “whole form,” “structure,” “pattern,” or “configuration.” Many
stimuli are actually a complex combination of simple stimuli that are organized
into a unified whole to simplify information processing.
Gestalt
psychology, then, attempts to understand psychological phenomena by viewing
them as organized and structured wholes rather than the sum of their
constituent parts. The
Gestalt school concerns how humans arrange discrete stimuli or bits of
information into holistic perceptions,
making pieces of the perceptual puzzle fit together.
The
underlying idea is that “the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.” That
is, stimuli are perceived as an organized whole, not as unrelated or disjointed
pieces. This unification of the parts occurs in a mental process called integration. The Gestalt principles (laws) of perceptual organization, then,
concern the process whereby people categorize and organize stimulus information
into meaningful units to make sense of the stimuli.
For
instance, people recognize a familiar tune but do not ordinarily hear each
distinct note or even every musical instrument playing the song. They identify
a person’s face but do not usually pay attention to each eye, eyebrow, nostril,
etc. Although the picture on a television screen consists of thousands of tiny
dots, viewers integrate these into a cohesive image. During the ‘30s and ‘40s,
Gestalt psychology was applied to visual
perception via the so-called gestalt
approaches to form perception, which shall be the primary focus of this
exercise.
Marketing
as a Gestalt
Likewise,
consumers perceive marketing elements as unified wholes. For instance, although
it consists of several components, an advertisement is processed as one entity.
Consequently, a well-crafted print ad’s parts reinforce and complement each
other: The headline says something about the illustration, the body copy
further develops the headline’s theme, and the illustration and the tagline at
the bottom summarize the message conveyed by all of these ad components. In a
poorly constructed ad, the different elements compete with one another for the
viewer’s attention.
Likewise,
a product should be developed as a gestalt. Some examples:
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• A good
brand name is descriptive of the product’s benefits. Coca-Cola was originally
made of coca leaves and the cola nut (and, an estimated nine milligrams of cocaine per glass, but in 1903 it was
removed). The name Salon Selectives shampoo and conditioner makes a woman feel
like she just came out of a beauty salon. Crest Whitestrips suggests the
stripes (coated with a gel containing peroxide) whiten your teeth.
• Packaging
conveys something about a brand. Coke’s contour bottle was modeled after a
cocoa bean. Godiva chocolate’s golden color reinforces its exquisiteness.
• A
basic product design principle is that an item’s parts should work well
together as a unit. The Reebok Pump athletic shoe features a pump that tucks
neatly into the shoe’s tongue and resembles a basketball to reinforce one of
its uses.
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The
notion of integrated marketing
communication suggests that all promotional mix tools (advertising,
personal selling, publicity/public relations, sales promotions, collateral
material, and packaging) should work together as a team to deliver “one sight,
one sound, one sell,” i.e., a coherent, integrated promotional message.
In
fact, the entire marketing program should be integrated. A high quality product
can command a high price, should be sold in high-end stores, and its
advertising should have a “class” appeal.
This
exercise examines the Gestalt perceptual organization principles that are of
most interest to marketers. Specifically, it focuses on those concepts relating
to form (shape) perception.18 These
principles deal with how individual stimuli work together to create perceptions
of one or more objects. They consist of (1) principles
of grouping—how people organize individual stimuli into groups or chunks of
information, and (2) principles of
context—how the surrounding environment (context) helps determine
individuals’ perceptions of stimuli in that environment.
Principles of Grouping
Gestalt
psychology is interested in how people tend to group stimuli so that they form
a unified impression. Grouping is a
process whereby individuals are inclined to perceive stimuli as groups or chunks of information rather than as discrete bits of data. This
grouping process facilitates recognition and recall of those cues as a whole
picture. Five of these principles regarding “what-goes-with-what” are similarity, proximity, continuity, closure, and simplicity.
Similarity
The Similarity
Principle. The similarity
principle says that people are inclined to group together objects that
share similar physical characteristics. Things that are physically similar are
perceived as belonging together or as forming a whole figure (gestalt). Therefore, “XXOO” is seen as
two groups: We see the XX as one group and the OO as another group.
In
the following illustration people see the O’s as a line within a field of X’s.
OXXXXXXXXXX
XOXXXXXXXXX
XXOXXXXXXXX
XXXOXXXXXXX
XXXXOXXXXXX
XXXXXOXXXXX
XXXXXXOXXXX
XXXXXXXOXXX
XXXXXXXXOXX
XXXXXXXXXOX
XXXXXXXXXXO
In
the next illustration, we tend to see alternating columns of circles and
squares, grouping all circles together into columns and chunking all squares
together into columns.
Marketing Applications of the Similarity Principle. Marketers apply the principle of similarity to their strategies and tactics when they want their customers to see their various marketing entities as belonging together in an integrated marketing program, and so they create them to be similar. Here are some examples:
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• An advertising campaign consists of a
series of ads that are similar, typically in terms of a common theme or slogan,
presenter, graphic design elements, and overall “look and feel” (e.g., Absolut
vodka’s playfulness with the brand name and bottle).
• family
(umbrella) branding
entails tagging a parent corporate name (umbrella name or trade name) or brand
name on a group of the firm’s products, and often
employs similar packaging graphics (family
packaging) on different products in the firm’s product mix. One purpose of
this is so consumers see them as similar, such as of the same high quality
level (e.g., Kraft cheese slices and Kraft macaroni and cheese). It also
facilitates promotional economies by promoting multiple items in one ad under
the family name.
• Department
stores group similar items together to facilitate the shopping process. You
would not look for scarves among the hammers and chisels.
• In
trademark infringement lawsuits, the acid test of breaking the law is whether
two trademarks (brand names, logos,
or other devices used to identify and differentiate a marketer’s offerings) are
confusingly similar to consumers so that one marketer is trying to hitchhike
off another’s reputation. Lemon-Up was found to be okay for a hair conditioner
but not for a new brand of soda since it would be confused with 7 UP.
• Sometimes
marketers want to avoid being perceived as similar to other marketers. Zipper,
a packaged shot of gelatin and alcohol, came under fire because it too closely
resembled children’s Jell-O dessert. Consumer watchdog groups such as Mothers
Against Drunk Driving and the Center for Science in the Public Interest raised
a ruckus when Canandaigua Wine Co. marketed red wine sangria in an easy-open
Tetra Pak featuring a lively fresh fruit pattern resembling kids’ juice boxes.
Starbucks pulled a poster that featured side-by-side tea drinks below the
headline “Collapse into cool” because someone complained that the image evoked
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Proximity
The Proximity Principle. The proximity
(contiguity) principle suggests that people tend to classify together
objects that are physically near each other. Things that are in close proximity
to one another are perceived as belonging together or as forming a gestalt. In your clothing drawers you
probably put things together that logically go together; undergarments in one
drawer, shirts or blouses in another, and so on. You would not expect to find
canned peas in someone’s medicine cabinet but rather in the kitchen pantry.
As
a visual example of the principle of proximity, what you are likely to notice
in the following illustration is that this is not just a square pattern of dots
but rather is a series of columns of dots. You do so because you group together
dots that are close to one another.
In
the next example, people are more likely to associate with one another the
lines that are close together than those that are further apart. Therefore, we
tend to see three pairs of lines that are fairly near to each other (and a
lonely line on the far right) rather than three pairs of lines which are
further apart from each other (and a lonely line on the far left).
Marketing Applications of the Proximity Principle. The following are several marketing
applications of the principle of contiguity. The basic idea in all cases is:
“Group like with like.”
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• As a
form of silent cross (suggestion) selling,
stores often feature complimentary items near each other, such as a table and
chairs in a furniture shop, or dressing a mannequin in a dress shirt, sport
coat, and tie that all nicely go together.
• Bundling
similar items and selling them all as a unit is done for the likes of vacation
packages (airfare, hotel, nightclubs, etc.), fast food “extra value” combo
meals (sandwich, fries, and drink), and for telecommunications services (phone,
cable TV, and Internet access services).
• Marketers
are careful to associate their product with appropriate symbols, imagery,
endorsers, and other stimuli. Having a goofy comedian dressed as a slob
endorsing a stock mutual fund would be ludicrous.
• In
laying out print advertisements, there is an axiom: “Keep things together that
belong together, and keep things apart that belong apart.” So, captions are
placed near the pictures they describe, headlines lead into subheadlines or
body copy, and white space and boxes are used to separate elements (such as two
different pictures) that are meant to be kept apart.
• A
trend is for merchants such as Target to organize their wares based on usage
contexts. Items needed for a Barbecue, for instance, such as hamburger buns,
lighter fluid, and potato chips, might be all found together rather than in
separate aisles. Hertz groups its cars online not just by size but also by use,
such as “fun,” “prestige,” and “green.”
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Continuity
The Continuity Principle. The continuity principle (law of good
continuation) holds that people categorize stimuli into smooth,
uninterrupted, continuous forms, rather than into discontinuous patterns.
Therefore, in the following illustration, we are more likely to identify lines
a-b and c-d crossing than to see a-d and c-b or a-c and d-b as continuous
figures.
Marketing Applications of the Continuity Principle. Continuity is important in marketing.
Some examples:
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• Companies
with a long-running, continuous ad campaign are better at building brand equity than those that are
short-lived. Pepsi Cola has always been for the younger generation and the
young at heart. However, Coca-Cola has had too many ad themes over the years:
Quick—what is their current slogan or theme?
• Department
stores do not want sharp breaks between departments, with radically different
layouts, lighting, music, etc. Transitions between sections should be more or
less continuous.
• Exercise
47 pointed out that changes in visual marketing elements such as trade
characters and logotypes should usually be made gradually. This is because a
discontinuous change would be too confusing and disruptive for most consumers,
resulting in a loss of brand equity.
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Closure
The Closure Principle.
The closure (mental completion)
principle states that people tend to perceive incomplete patterns as being
complete. There is a human tendency to “fill in the blanks” based on prior
experiences. This is because people have a need to organize perceptions so that
they form a meaningful whole; there is a psychological tension created by
incomplete stimuli. A triangle with a small part of its edge missing will still
be seen as a triangle; people will “close” the gap.
The
principle of mental completion explains the need for task completion: Even
procrastinators feel some unease in having a term paper that is not quite
finished. Your instructor probably experiences unease in having a stack of
papers that are not all graded.
Or,
consider the annoyance that arises from having a missing element or two from a
collection, such as stamps, magazines, or CDs by a particular musical group.
And, soap operas keep viewers hanging on with “cliffhanger” endings.
In
the following illustration, people are inclined to see three broken rectangles
(and a lonely shape on the far left) rather than three “girder” profiles (and a
lonely shape on the right).
What
do you visualize in the next illustration? Chances are you do not just see a
bunch of little circles but rather connect them to form a large circle.
Marketing Applications of the Closure Principle. The principle of closure is widely
applied by marketers:
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• Some
advertisers teach consumers a jingle or slogan through frequent repetition, and
then in subsequent ads delete part of the jingle or slogan. This requires the
audience to get involved with the message and complete it in their mind. For
instance, an ad with Smokey the Bear said, “Repeat after me, ‘Only you…’”
• Headlines
phrased as questions in print ads abound because questions demand an answer, thereby
encouraging audience participation.
• Marketers
at times crop an object in an ad so that it appears ambiguous, encouraging
consumers to surmise what the item is.
• In a
technique known as imagery transfer,
radio advertisers use the soundtrack from their TV commercials, causing
consumers to “fill in” the missing video by visualizing what they recall from
viewing the television ad. In fact, radio is called the “theatre of the mind”
because listeners must achieve closure by imagining in their mind’s eye what is
happening.
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Simplicity
The Simplicity Principle. The simplicity principle (pragnänz)
suggests that individuals opt for relatively simple perceptions even when more
complex perceptions can be derived. That is, every stimulus pattern is seen in
such a way that the resulting structure is as simple as possible. Consequently,
in the last visual illustration above on closure, you could conceivably connect
the circles to make objects other than a circle by “thinking outside the box”
(or, in this case, the circle). However, this is too complex, and so you do not
naturally do this.
Marketing Applications of the Simplicity Principle. The law of simplicity is vital to marketing communications, where the KISS formula rules: Keep it short and sweet (or, as the military instructs, “Keep it simple, stupid!”). Simple illustrations, uncomplicated language (without talking down to customers), use of symbols for abstract concepts (e.g., a heart shape for “love”), lots of white space, and simple messages all help consumers process your advertising and packaging communications.
Marketers should also
explain how their products make consumers’ lives simple. Product designers do
this by keeping design clean and simple, such as having no extra buttons or
knobs to confuse users.
Principles of Context
The
principles of context consider how
perception of a stimulus object is influenced by its surroundings. For
instance, the advertising medium in which an ad appears will influence the
brand’s perception: readers will think more highly of an n outdoor grill advertised
in Home and Garden as opposed to Celebrity Dirt. Two principles of
context of relevance to marketers are figure
and ground and contrast.
Figure and Ground
The Principle of Figure and Ground. The figure
and ground (figure-ground) principle says that people interpret a stimulus
in the context of its background. They tend to distinguish a prominent and
well-defined stimulus in the foreground (the figure) from less prominent, indefinite stimuli in the background
(the ground), the latter being
perceived as hazy and continuous. The figure becomes the focal point of
attention and interest. For instance, most people can easily pick out a
familiar face in a crowd, with the recognizable person becoming the foreground
and everyone else lurking in the background.
The
classic illustration of the figure-ground principle is the following ambiguous
or reversible picture—the part that
is the figure and the portion that is the ground can be reversed, resulting in
two very different interpretations of the stimuli.
Is
the figure a white vase (or goblet, or birdbath) on a black background, or is
it two silhouetted human profiles on a white background? The answer depends on
the individual’s perceptual set—what
a person expects to see or is more used to seeing. Most Americans see the two
faces rather than a goblet or birdbath since the former is more familiar in
their culture.
Also,
all else equal, dark colors are dominant over light colors. (Question: Is a
zebra black with white stripes or white with black stripes?) And, the common
line joining the figure and ground is usually perceived as belonging to the
figure, helping to give the figure greater definition.
The
Gestalt principle of smallness
suggests that it is easier to see a figure when it occupies a smaller
proportion of what is viewed. Smaller areas tend to be seen as figures against
a larger background because it is easier to see a figure when it occupies a
smaller proportion of what is viewed. Therefore, in the following illustration,
people are more likely to see a black cross rather than a white cross within
the circle.
Likewise,
it is easier to see the vase rather than the faces in the two versions on the
left below, but you are more likely to see the faces than the vases in the
figure on the right.
The
principle of symmetry states that
symmetrical areas (mirror images of one another) tend to be seen as figures
against asymmetrical backgrounds. Therefore, in the following illustration, the
black, symmetrical stimuli are seen as figures against the white
background.
The
principle of surroundedness says that
areas that are surrounded by others tend to be perceived as figures, as in the
next illustration:
Perceptual set or familiarity comes into play here too.
Whereas English-speaking people readily perceive the word “tie,” people
speaking other languages would be more inclined to view the dark items as the
figures.
Marketing Applications of the Figure-Ground Principle. The most important marketing application
of the figure-ground principle is to make sure that the most important stimuli,
such as the product and selling theme, stand out as the figure and do not fade
to the background! Unfortunately, the product and message can get lost in the
shuffle when ads use potentially irrelevant sources of “borrowed interest” to
grab consumers’ attention, such as entertainment, celebrities, humor, and sex.
These devices come to the forefront and overshadow the brand (in the case of
famous people this is called celebrity
shadow).
There
are several attention-getting devices that can cause a stimulus to be perceived
front and center. Each one makes a stimulus more salient (noticeable).
<<BL>>
• Size. Double-spread (two-page) ads are
more likely to stand out in a cluttered magazine. What is important is relative size—the size of the stimulus
in relation to its surroundings. Products, packages, brand names, and other
important ad elements should be relatively large.
• Movement. Just as kittens are attracted
to a moving piece of yarn and babies fixate on a mobile attached to their crib,
people are attracted to anything in motion, such as interactive
point-of-purchase displays, blinking lights and moving fixtures on outdoor ads,
and animated banner ads.
• Color. Colors, especially bright ones,
attract attention.
• Isolation. An object that is separated
from other surrounding objects (as by white space in a print ad) is more likely
to be noticed.
• Position. Objects just slightly to the
left and above the center of a field of vision (such as on a page in a
publication, known as the ten o’clock
position) are most likely to be noticed. Regarding shelf position in a
store, “eye level is buy level” since such items are naturally in the center of
the field of vision.19
• Shapes. Unusual shapes stand out. An
advertising model with distorted body proportions (as in a fun house mirror)
would attract the eye. (Could this explain why men notice very buxom women?)
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Contrast
The Contrast Principle. The contrast
principle holds that a stimulus that stands out from or is different from
its surroundings is more likely to be noticed, in effect being the figure or
foreground. To be readily discerned, a sound must be much softer or louder, a
color brighter or paler, or an object larger or smaller than others in the same
environment.
Marketing Applications of the Contrast Principle. The principle implication is that a
marketer must “differentiate or die!” Sellers should create unique brand names
(not “Acme” or “Ajax”), packaging styles (Janitor In A Drum), and
advertisements (scent strips and pop-ups were once novel). While a loud
screeching noise might gain attention on a radio station playing “your
favorite, soft, warm, relaxing tunes,” it will merely blend into the woodwork
on a metal-rap station. If everyone’s package in a category is round and tall,
make your angular and short.
If the attention-getters
discussed above (large size, movement, bright colors, etc.) are common in a
given context (such as a media vehicle), their opposites tend to come to the
foreground. So, if most advertisements in a magazine are a full page in size, a
half-page ad would be noticeable. If the vast majority of ads are in color, a
black and white ad might stand out. Perhaps this explains why Jack Daniels
whiskey runs black-and-white half-page ads, saving money but actually
increasing impact!
Closure
for This Exercise
In
summary, the Gestalt principles illustrate that perceptions are not the same as
the individual stimuli to which consumers are exposed. Instead, people
reorganize those stimuli to create perceptions of whole forms based on their
predispositions. Perception is a very subjective
phenomenon indeed!
Review Questions
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In-Class Applications
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a. Relative Size and Context.
Are the ovals in the centers of these two squares the same size? Guess first
and then see if you are right by measuring them with a ruler.
0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
b. Continuity and context. What
is the second symbol in each line? How do you interpret it differently in each
case due to the need for continuity and the surrounding environment
A /3
C D
12
/3 14 15
c. Relative
Brightness. Which of the two gray
squares is darker?
d. Negative
After-Image. Stare at the center dot
in the middle of the circle for at least twenty seconds. Then shift your gaze to a white surface…what
do you see?
e. Proximity. How do you view each of the four
following patterns (columns, rows, etc.)?
O O O O O o
o o o
o O O O O O o
o o o
o
O O O O O O O o o
o o o
O O O O O o
o o o
o O O
O o o
o o o
O O O O O O O o o
o o o
O O O O O o
o o o
o O O O O O o
o o o
o
f. Closure
& Continuity. Describe what you
see in the following five patterns.
* *
* *
* *
*
*
g. Similarity. How would you describe the following
patterns?
+ = = = = = +
= + = = = + = *
* * *
* *
= = + = + = = * *
* * * *
= = = + = = = * *
* * * *
= = + = + = = * *
* * * *
= + = = = + = * * *
* * *
+ = = = = = +
h. Linear
Perspective. Which of the two lines
is longer, the top or bottom?
i. Figure
& Ground. Which part of the
picture do you notice first?
j. Relative
Height. Does the vertical line
appear longer, shorter, or equal to the horizontal line?
a. Visit www.magiceye.com/index.htm.
Can you see the hidden 3-D image? Hint: Focus your eyes beyond the image and be
patient. Click on the illustration to see what is behind it. For more Magic Eye
fun, enter the site and browse the image of the week’s (and past weeks’)
winners. Which Gestalt principle does Magic Eye bring to life?
b. Where’s Waldo? Visit www.scientium.com/drmatrix/puzzles/waldo.htm
and see if you can find Waldo. Which Gestalt grouping principle makes it difficult to find Waldo? Why?
c. Can we see everything
before us? While we favor complete images versus incomplete images, we do not
actually see a complete image when it is not there… or do we? See how our
brains actually live out the closure
principle at http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/blindspot1.html.
Written Applications
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absolute threshold level (ATL, lower threshold level, detection
threshold level)
adaptation (sensory adaptation, habituation)
adaptation level
attention
backward masking (backmasking, audio reversal)
closure (mental completion) principle
Cognitive School of Psychology
comprehension
confidence value
context
contrast principle
continuity principle (law of good continuation)
deception
deceptive advertising
differential (difference) threshold (just noticeable difference)
editorial environment (media
context, context effects)
embeds
environment
euphemisms
exposure
extrinsic cues (indirect indicators, non-product-related attributes)
family (umbrella) branding
figure and ground (figure-ground) principle
form
(shape) perception
Gestalt principles of perceptual organization
Gestalt School of Psychology
grouping
impression management (spin control)
incongruities
information input
information overload (sensory saturation)
information processing
intrinsic cues (direct indicators, product-related attributes)
keywords
keyword search (contextual) advertising
market signals
nonperformance (nonfunctional) attributes
package downsizing (package shorting, weight
out)
perception
perceptual (informational) cues
perceptual predispositions
perceptual defense
perceptual (mental) set
perceptual vigilance
performance (functional) attributes
predictive value