Describe what psychologists have discovered about packaging, positioning and placement of the product (gift-wrapping, product colour and associative learning, attention and shelf position).

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (Oct/Nov 2021). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [2] Porublev et al. (2009) investigated gift-wrapping using three data collection techniques: observations at a Christmas gift wrapping stall; 20 in-depth interviews where respondents reflected on gift wrapping (including questions such as ‘in what instances do you wrap gifts?'); and 6 workshops where participants were paired and asked to wrap two gifts – one for someone close and one for an acquaintance while they conversed with their partner.
2. [1] Most of the participants (who came from Victoria, Australia and were aged around 25–35 years old) preferred to receive a gift that was wrapped and that there were clear expectations of what a gift should look like.
3. [1] Researchers gathered qualitative data to support these findings.
4. [2] Grossman and Wisenblit (1999) investigated the role of classical conditioning in colour choices, with implications for companies wanting to change product colour associations.
5. [1] Colour consultants help companies change their colours, e.g., car companies plan 3–4 years in advance to predict colour trends (around 30% per year).
6. [1] Consumers associate certain colours with products, leading to more frequent purchasing.
7. [1] Cheer laundry detergent used red, blue, and yellow flakes in white detergent; blue flakes suggested cleanliness.
8. [1] Physiological responses to colour were considered: dark blue associated with passivity, yellows and reds with arousal.
9. [1] Development of colour associations can explain cultural perceptions and differences.
10. [1] In some countries, green is associated with hopefulness and red with love; in China, white with righteousness and yellow with trustworthiness.
11. [1] Grey is associated with expensive products in USA and cheaper products in Japan and China.
12. [1] Colour preferences depend on products, e.g., blue, red, black for clothing; beige for furniture; grey, white, red for cars.
13. [1] Certain colours do not work for certain products, e.g., a vitamin brand in a black container with white lettering was not liked as it looked like poison.
14. [2] Atalay et al. (2012) used eye tracking technology to identify customer tendency to choose the option in the centre of an array. An 'offline' study also confirmed that the centrally located item is chosen more often even when this is not the centre of the visual field.
15. [2] Study 1A involved 67 undergraduates in France (average age 20) using eye-tracking to review 2 product categories (vitamin supplements and meal replacement bars) with 3 fictitious names, displayed in a 3 × 3 matrix on a computer screen.
16. [1] Brands in the centre received more frequent eye fixations and were looked at for longer.
17. [1] Study 1B extended 1A by considering horizontal centrality, with 64 undergraduate students in Paris.
18. [1] Products in the centre item were gazed at for longer in a similar setup with the matrix shifted.
19. [2] Study 2 was a replication in a more realistic setting by placing products on a shelf rather than a screen, with 84 students at Concordia University taking part.
20. [1] Products used were fictitious brands of energy drinks, each with a feature attribute (high intensity, extended endurance or muscle recovery), rotated around brands to eliminate effects.
21. [1] Items were displayed in categories of 3 (centre, left, right), and participants were tested one at a time, positioned so the category to choose from was to their left or right, never exactly in the centre of their visual field. They were not allowed to reposition themselves.
22. [1] Results found the centrally located brand is more often chosen even when it is not in the centre of the visual field.
23. [1] Participants were asked to evaluate the product and it was found that the chosen product from the centre was not always the most positively evaluated.
24. [2] Named issue – self-reports. Atalay used surveys in study 1A to measure brand evaluation.
25. [1] It is possible that the brand choice self-reported by the participants might not have been the same as what the brand choice would be in real life shopping experience. Therefore this self-report could lack validity.
26. [1] The survey conducted has good reliability as it was standardised.
27. [1] Quantitative data was collected which allows for comparisons and statistical analysis.
28. [1] However, it could lack validity as participants might lie / social desirability / demand characteristics.
29. [2] Porublev carried out interviews to gather data. There may be bias in the way questions are asked (so lack of reliability).
30. [1] People may lie.
31. [1] However, qualitative data is being gathered leading to more detail and (probably) more valid answers.
32. [1] A great deal of detailed qualitative data quoted in the study related to gift-wrapping.
33. [1] Note: – Grossman and Wisenblit's study is a review article and gives some findings relating to choices but lack of detail as to specific use of self-reports.
34. [1] Usefulness.
35. [1] Methods.
36. [1] Sampling and generalisations (including cultural bias).
37. [1] Reliability.
38. [1] Ethics.
39. [1] Ecological validity.