How does prior knowledge affect the comprehension of a marketing message?

Above is a diagram that demonstrates some general concepts and ideas behind the consumer comprehension process, the factors involved, and how memories are ultimately stored in our brains for retrieval.

The Message

This section of the diagrams shows different components of a message and the factors that affect comprehension therein. The first of these is the source.

The Source

The source of a message is where the message is coming from. In the marketing world, this will most likely be the brand itself or their marketing department. The source factors that affect message comprehension are:

• Likeability: Consumers are more likely to listen to those they like. This means a likeable source is better able to grab the listener’s attention and establish buy-in. A common way this is done is by using a well-liked celebrity to endorse the product.
• Attractiveness: This works in much the same way likeability does, where the attractiveness of the source can impact how stimulus is interpreted.
• Expertise: The expertise of the source refers to the amount of knowledge that the source is perceived to have in their given subject. Someone who is regarded as highly-skilled in their field is more likely to be trusted when it comes to that field, therefore more likely to make an impact with the receiver.
• Trustworthiness: Similar to expertise, trustworthiness refers to how honest and unbiased a source is perceived to be. Related to this, credible sources are less likely to cause counterarguments in the viewer, meaning they are less likely to come up with ways to be against the product.
• Congruence: Congruence is a common theme that will be brought up again later, but here it refers to the extent to which the source is related to and consistent with the message. For example, an athlete spokesperson is congruent when it comes to athletic gear, but not congruent when it comes to smartphones.

The Message Itself

The message itself predictably impacts the comprehension of said message. The factors that contribute to this are:

• Physical characteristics: The physical characteristics of a message, such as intensity, color, and font, can have a large impact on perception and comprehension. For example, more movement involved in a message increases the likelihood that a consumer is going to attend to and comprehend something from that message. This is possibly the most complicated characteristic involved in comprehension since there are so many different components.
• Simplicity: Generally, the more simple the message, the more likely a consumer will develop deep, meaningful comprehension to it. Complex ideas are difficult to remember and connect with, so keeping a message simple will lead to more consumers remembering it.
• Congruity: This relates heavily to the source congruence mentioned before. The message congruity refers to just how much the message is internally consistent and fits within surrounding information. Now, it’s fair to assume that a completely congruent message would lead to the highest degree of comprehension, but that’s not necessarily true. Incongruity can actually increase comprehension because it challenges the viewer and grabs their attention. However, the drawback is that an incongruent endorser can actually damage the product’s image. So, a good rule of thumb is to increase congruity if product image is the main concern, and decrease incongruity if attention and comprehension are the goals.
• Figure & ground: This refers to the contrast between the main subject, or figure, and and everything else in the message, or ground. Generally speaking, the figure should be easy to distinguish and more important than the ground in order to increase comprehension.
• Language: The type of language used in a message can have a large impact on comprehension. The two types of language this refers to are literal language and figurative language. When a product is more utilitarian, the general idea is to use more literal, concrete language. However, when a product is more hedonic or experience-based, more figurative language such as expressions and metaphors can increase comprehension.

The Receiver

Characteristics of the receiver can have a drastic impact on how they interpret and decipher the message. These factors include:

• Intelligence: Generally, a more intelligent, well-educated consumer is more likely to accurately comprehend a message than those who are less intelligent. However, a lot of information is specific to a particular field so a consumer with a lower IQ but with more specialized information will be more likely to comprehend that message than a high IQ consumer without that information. Also, even a highly-educated consumer is more likely to understand a simple message than an overly complex one.
• Prior knowledge: Consumers tend to connect incoming information with information they already posses. This prior knowledge offers a conduit or lens in which the new knowledge is processed and comprehended. Overall, consumers have a preference for messages that are consistent with their prior knowledge.
• Habituation: Habituation refers to the process in which continuous exposure to a stimuli impacts comprehension of and response to some other stimuli. Going further, an adaption level is the level of a certain stimulus that a user has become accustomed to. A message would need to go past this level in order to evoke a response in the consumer.
• Expectations: What a consumer expects to happen in a situation impacts their comprehension of the situation itself.
• Physical limits: If a consumer is unable to experience something due to their physical limits, it makes sense that they won’t be able to comprehend it. For example a blind person would not be able to comprehend a picture, and a deaf person wouldn’t be able to comprehend a radio ad.
• Brain dominance: Some people tend to be right brain dominant or left brain dominant. Those who are considered right brain dominant tend to be more visual, whereas left brain consumers tend to process verbal messages better. Metaphors are a large component of this, and tend to work better when comprehended by those with right brain dominance.

The Environment

This refers to the environment in which the message is experienced and perceived, The factors involved are:

• Information intensity: This refers to the amount of information available to a consumer in a given environment. Information overload can cause a consumer to lose attention as well as decrease comprehension. This is often referred to as noise.
• Framing: This refers to the extent in which the meaning of something is influenced by the information environment. This means that the same event can product multiple interpretations depending on the presentation of the message.
• Message media: The media of the message can have an impact on how the message is comprehending. For example, comprehension is generally lower on a smartphone than it is on written text.
• Construal level: Construal level theory involves the idea of whether a consumer is thinking of something using a concrete or more abstract mindset. A more concrete mindset generally leads to a more accurate comprehension.

Comprehension Process and Memory

Once a message has reached a consumer, there are many ways the information can be memorized. Generally, the more processes the stimulus goes through, the “further” into their memory it will go. For example, simpler sensory memories may only be thought about shortly before going away, whereas deeper, more meaningful memories may be elaborated on and ultimately stored within a person’s long-term memory. Stimuli can even cause memories to be brought back into the comprehension process in order to tie their messaging to those memories. Evoking memories can be a very powerful tool in marketing. Generally speaking, memories will end up in either sensory memory, workbench or short-term memory, or long-term memory.

Sensory Memory

Sensory memory is the most superficial and fleeting form of memory. Many memories that belong here are never really comprehended or noticed, and therefore don’t establish a deep connection within a person’s mind. Sensory memories include things such as smell, taste, and sights. Sensory memory does have an unlimited capacity and will take in every single thing around us, but not all of it will be stored. Duration is very limited, and sensory memories often begin to fade the second we process them. Some other aspects of sensory memory are echoic storage, which refers to auditory information just the way were hear it just like an echo, and iconic storage, which is visual information stored as a exact representation of a scene like a photograph.

Workbench Memory

Workbench memory is where stimuli goes in order for our brains to “work” on them. Here our brains will comprehend and elaborate upon this information and decide what to do with it. The duration of workbench memory is limited but not as much as sensory memory, but the capacity is limited unlike sensory memory. Generally speaking, we can only hold about three to seven units of information at one time within workbench memory. However, the size of the workbench can expand or contract depending on the involvement and interest of the consumer. Encoding is the process in which information moves from workbench memory to long-term memory, and retrieval is the process in which information is transferred back from long-term to be “worked on” further.

Long-Term Memory

Long-term memory is where all information a person has encountered ends up. Generally speaking, long-term memory has unlimited capacity and unlimited duration, barring any physical limitation or disabilities. However, the main issue involved here is recalling information. Memory traces are the mental paths in which thought can become active. A method to recalling information is mental tagging, which refers to the use of coded data in order to get information back onto the workbench and elaborating on it further. Furthermore, rumination is the unintentional, spontaneous, recurrent memory of past events that are not necessarily triggered by an event or environment. For example, someone who has had bad experiences in the past with a brand may ruminate on those experiences when faced with the brand again. Nostalgia is a more positive form of rumination, where someone looks back fondly on past events and relates them to current information