Computational Modeling of Visual Attention and Consumer Research: Initial Allocation of Visual Attention and its Effects on Consumer Behavior

Consumers are exposed to thousands of marketing messages every day. In such a cluttered environment, gaining consumers? attention becomes increasingly difficult. Overwhelmed by a wealth of information, consumers process much of the visual input only preattentively. The focus of this book is on early visual attention. Specifically, a biologically plausible model of early visual attention is introduced from computational neuroscience. The model's algorithm analyzes the physical characteristics of objects in a visual scene to determine which items are most salient and therefore most likely to attract consumers' early attention. The utility of the model for marketing theory and practice is demonstrated in an online advertising context. Further marketing applications of the model, including print media design, website optimization, video game advertising, and product placement, are discussed.