Jansson-Boyd, C. (2010). Consumer Psychology. P. 47-49, 51, 57, 60

P.47-49

There is a direct relationship between the level of arousal a person might experience and the attention. Jannson-Boyd (2010) explains that a mid-point in arousal, not too high or too low, is where the audience can have a higher level of attention. There is when the visual selective attention happens. Humans explore environments mainly visually and there are several theories of what they normally focus on depending on their culture, language (if they right from left to right or the other way around) and so on. The truth is there seems not to be an exact consistent pattern of how humans conduct a visual search.

P.51

Humans have a selective perception that filters out certain information that is incompatible with our own interests. If a company has a clear visual brand identity it is very helpful for consumers to notice their products. The same brand might have different types of products, so a visual consistency helps them to be spotted and recognised. For example, Apple and Nike are easily recognisible, so most consumers pay little conscious attention to this stimuli. They have reached that level of recognition by repeated exposure.

P.57

Normally, people try to find out about those that appear to do worse than them in way way or another so they compare themselves to feel in a better position. This is called downward social comparison. If one owns a Porsche while others drive Beetles, it is likely that the first person feels superior and with a higher self-esteem. Although, not always one can choose who to compare with, and an owner of a Porsche comparing himself or herself with the owner of a Ferrari will be an upward comparison. This happens almost everyday to everyone exposed to the 'ideal' media images, which is a destructive kind of approach as it increases sales by lowering the self-esteem of consumers.

P.60

Some products have an undesired meaning. The same way consumers choose what to buy, they consciously know what not to purchase. The ideal self is the projection of the personality consumers try to be, and the opposite of this idea is the person they do not wish to become. It has been found that consumers express their dislikes and avoidance of products based on what they represent. If a product constitutes, for example, an idea of something old and outdated, consumers would like to get rid of it as a way to leave their past behind.