Marketing Glossary

Attribute – A qualitative characteristic of an individual, usually applied to distinguish a variable (or other quantitative characteristic). For example,sex is an attribute, but age a variable. Attributes are often dichotomous but not in every instance (for example, blood groups). See also: Variable/Dichotomy Atypical – A case, person, object or datum that clearly deviates from norm. … Read more

Commercial Psychology – The study of consumer behavior and industrial communications. The following are included in this subject: mass communication, creative formation of advertising messages, media models, integration of the communication mix into the marketing mix. See also: Mass Communication/Consumer behavior/Psychology Cultural Psychology – Poorly defined psychological specialty. It refers to study of the influences … Read more

Aided Recall – The technique of provoking the remembrance of a subject ( in an interview and/or research) by offering that subject specific referents as in (having shown him a list of words), “What words have you seen that started with an A?” or (having shown him a magazine) “What advertisements have you seen?” See also: … Read more

Perception – Perceptio (Latin) =reception, understanding, insight. Getting to know the world around us by making use of all senses. Perception does not refer solely to the sense of sight (as is commonly thought) but also to hearing, smell, and taste. Perception is more than just the engagement of one or more senses; it is … Read more

Adaptation – Prolonged stimulation renders the sensory organs insensitive to further stimulation; the perceptive function is thus curtailed. For example: a smell or odor is no longer perceived after 30 seconds.  Attention – A selective process in which an individual, either interactionally or subconsciously, perceives a limited number of stimuli and/or has a reaction to … Read more

Discretionary Income – That segment of personal income beyond what is required to maintain a clearly defined or historical standard of living. This part may be saved, without detrimental consequences to the established standard of living, or it may be used for purchases without detriment to old obligation or needs. See also: Disposable Income  Disposable … Read more

Psychologism – To (desire) refer to reduce everything to the tenets of psychology (behavior). This propensity is not restricted to psychologists, but is open to others, for example, the sociologist, as when he regards the formation of groups as function of the behavior of individuals.  Psychology – 1. The science dealing with the systematic study … Read more

Affect – An indefinite term of various meanings – feeling, mood, emotion. Association – Literally: conjunction, connection, combination,. Indefinite term often used to indicate the relation or connection between two or more phenomena, objects or elements. Behavior – A key concept in psychology: it pertains to all activities of the human organism in terms of … Read more

Channel – The means used to transmit communications. Channels include radio, TV, the press, and books. Channels differ from one another according to the following characteristics: capacity; effectiveness; structure; and function. See also: Communication/Mass Communication Communication – The flow of information from one person to another (s). Each announcement, report or item of news can … Read more

Prosperity – Riches: the financial success of a person, class of people, or country. Prosperity is characterized by a high level of economic activity, employment, and levels of investment. See also: Standard of living Purchasing Power – The financial means (including credit facilities) that a person or a group of people posses for the purchase … Read more