GR&DC RESEARCH PROG:;Ar4ME 1984-1986
PSYCHOLOGY RESEARCH
General
1. From the outset of 1984, Psychology group
activities were re-aligned
to provide support to the,activities of the newly
formed Product
Applications Group. Psychology resources are now
distributed 65% to
the mainstream Research Programme, and 35% to
Product Technology
(application).
2. The strategic objective of the group is now
three-fold:
a) To research means of measuring consumer needs,
attitudes and
motivations, and develop models to relate these to
product
development and marketing activity.
b) To research means of optimising communication
of product features
to the consumer, particularly in the context of
restricted
advertising.
c) To interface Product Applicatic-s and Research
group collaborative
activity with the development and application of
novel product
testing methodology and psychopnysical models.
In support of these objectives the Psyctology
research prograrmne is
organised around three areas: Attitudinal,
Communications, and Product
Testing/Psychophysical Research.
Attitudinal Research
Activities in this area are consolidated in
Project NARINERS which is
referenced to Work Area 03. Nariners is the
natural development of
projects LIBRA and ARIES which were concerned
respectively with the
problems of measurement of consumer att-.Zudes to
smoking and health and
social pressure. Nariners was designed in late
1981 to amalgamate sample
populations from projects LIBRA, ARIES z-nd NILE
into a population which
could be monitored at regular (approx. L monthly)
intervals from 1982 to
two objectives;
i. To measure 'smoking 'careers' of a population
of smokers (i.e. their
quitting/switching history over tize) and to
relate 'careers'
predictively to attitudinal measures of smoking
and health, social
pressure and price sensitivity.
ii. To explore the relationship of consumer
segments based on smoking
Icareer' to smoking 'style' (i.e. the actual
measured smoking
behaviour of smokers drawn from these segments).
The strategic/advantage of understanding the
career/style relationship
would be to best predict product deveIcZments most
likely to capitalise
on smoker career pathways through the marketplace.
Data collection for c~~,
2 e rJ
NARINERS terminates October 1 84, 'carez-r'
segments are currently being V
C>
Uri
1984 using a combination of postal and ;ersonal
interviews. NARINERS has
BATCo document for Province of British Columbia 11
November 1999


O~ \/'-,i 4, a",,
4-v
~7 V
BATCo document for Province of British Columbia 11
November 1999


-7
/2
characterised and a collaborative project with ITT
(Europe) is examining
the utility of expert systems for data anlaysis.
During the final da t a
collection stage, smoking behaviour measures of
individuals in 'career'
segments will be taken by Smoking Behaviour group.
Late 1984 and early
198S will be spent on detailed analysis of
NARINERS findings, from which
further projects are likely to develop. It is
planned that a full-scale
report will be produced in mid 1985. During the
final NARINERS contact,
data will also be collected to pilot the
feasibility and utility of a
lifestyle based approach to consumer segmentation.
Comparisons between
lifestyle and attitudinal prediction of consumer
behaviour will be carried
out in 1985.
Communications Research
Throughout 1984, conventional tachistoscopic
testing of individual pack
designs has been in progress. The work is no%q
completed and will be'
reported in the last quarter of 1984. The aim of
the research has been
to set guidelines of the methodology necessary for
tachistoscopic research.
Effects of illumination level, learning, and
familiarity have beer)----
determined (the latter in-a
cross-cultural_stu0y-.w-itb_finl~and). JA final
e:~,
study of familiarity effect is planned for 1985 in
a culture not subjected
to Western influence regarding reading style
(Singapore is the likely
target market).[ Parallel to setting up
tachistoscope methodology,
-developments have been made in computerising the
method of presenting---
packs, using high resolution computer graphics
which allow the design .of
realistic pack mock-ups on a micro-computer. A
fully computerised
design/tachistoscope package should be available
mid 1985.
The experiments conducted thus far have allowed
construction of ground
rules for pack design. In 1985 it is proposed to
examine ways of measuring
the visual impact of packs versus other designs at
the point of purchase.
This will be approached with the use of a
projection tachistoscope in a
study the objective of which is to measure the
correlation between
recognisability of the pack on an individual basis
and the visual
prominence of the pack at the point of sale,
whi.1st controlling illumination,
pack location and pack layout variables.
Eye gaze monitoring has been used to measure
consumer responsiveness to
poster advertising. This project is complete and
under report. Analysis
of eye gaze films has been technically problematic
since a great deal of
information is contained within them, a system has
therefore been developed
to overcome this using a combination of infra red
technology and computerised
digitisation. The system will be available in the
last quarter of 1984
and a report describing its development will be
issued at the same time.
Within 1985 a series of eye gaze experiments are
anticipated using a
controlled gantry/store layout. This work will
provide baseline measures
against which to assess effects of lay-out, pack
design, add-on P.O.S.
material etc. on visual scannino behaviour. _T-he
objective of~this research.,
is -toattract maximum eye gaze to own
products on the dispjay_. Since
-_ -_
-
-
- -t-
__1
- 1 6. rk-
this research i~ echnica 1y advanced, genera p a
e-bf the system itself by
Operating Companies is not anticipated, therefore
the end product of the
research should be viewed as a handbook on
maximising the potential of
point of purchase for displaying our products.
Again, cross cultural
4 =5
BATCO document for Province of British Columbia 11
November 1999


/3
validation of guidelines is critical , therefore
eye gaze behaviour will
be considered withi,-. the planned tachistoscope
study for the Far East in
1985.
The major thrust of ':product communication
research to this point has been
in establishing and ialidating techniques for
measuring visual prominence
of pack, point of sa7e, and advertising material .
Most of the necessary
technological advancas have now been achieved arid
are being communicated.
A major shift of em-riasis is now planned to
consider the broader problem
of how best to commL'licate product innovation to
the consumer in terms of
message content, medium of presentation, and
consumer responsiveness.
Conjoint or trade-cff' analysis is now being
considered to develop a
market . segmentat i-o.n -;--pp roach.. based
-on-responsiveness _to _product benefits.
the' 'objective will L-- to characterise consumer
groups --C'n the importances -11,
which they attach to particular product
attributes, and ultimately the
media and degrees of information which they are
most receptive to. it is
unlikely that this rasearch, commencing from 1985,
will be fully elaborated
before end-1986.
Product Test i ng/Psyc.-iophys i cal Research
7-
New product test meziods have been developed to
support sidestream and
novel filter researc:-, programmes under Work Area
02. The objectives fcr
establishment of a s"destream product testing
methodology were:
a) Develop an attrioute vocabulary through
qualitative techniques.
b) Investigate the impact of consumer levels of
awareness of the
sidestream reduc--ion concept on perception of
products.
c) Develop a scale if test methodology which would
be intermediate
between in-house and large scale pre-launch
testing.
These objectives have been fulfilled in two
applications of the method to
date and the methodoTogy will be reported as a
technical memorandum in
1984.
A product testing me:hodology has been developed
to evaluate innovative
oroduct developments using filters which modify
smoke flow patterns
(Project KILT).
The KILT objectives mere:
To develop ciga7ettes with improved sensory
characteristics based on
changing the srroke patterns emanating from the
mouth end of the
cigarette. Mori, specifically, for a given
delivery to produce hicher
sensory magnitLIes, ideally without compensation.
The complementory objective for Psychology Group
was:
To develop a m--:hodology suitable for innovative
product testing which
is time and cos: effective for small scale
consumer testing.
BATCo document for Province of British Columbia 11
November 1999


/4
The method is now fully developed and has been
validated on three trials.
Because the researcher is present at every stage
of product assessment,
both quantitative and qualitative data can be
collected in parallel.
Also incorporated are absolute levels of
measurement (DELTA attributes)
and recall data (free scale test) as a check on
relative product positioning.
The method is time/cost effective and can be run
by any suitably trained
agency researcher. The flexibility of the method
means that additional
product characteristics can be incorporated at
both smoking and recall
stages, where appropriate, tailored to assess
idiosyncratic product
features. Details of the method are being produced
in a technical
memorandum.
The sidestream research programme, Work Area 02,
also receives technical
support from Psychology Group in studies of the
effects of sidestream on
human performance, attitude to the smoker and
annoyance. A report on the
effect of passive smoking on human performance
will be issued in 1984.
This report describes studies supporting the
hypothesis that it is the
smoker, rather than the chemical status of
cigarette smoke itself which
plays the key role in determining the non-smokers
psycho-physiological
response to the passive smoking situation.
Throughout 1985 the follo-aing
variables will be considered for their effect on
social discomfort
attributed to sidestream and ambient smoke:
a) Smoking manner.
b) Degree to which the non-smoker has perceived
control
over the passive smoking situation.
c) Effect of same sexed and different sexed pairs
of smokers
versus non-smokers.
Currently a series of performance task measures
are being devised to act
as the dependant variable in these situations.
Signal Detection Theory
will be used to analyse data from these
computerised tasks, the advantage
of this approach being that it allows one to
determine whether any observed
change in performance is due to a change in
response bias or in the true
physiological sensitivity of the subject. Clearly,
if it is suggested
that physiological passive smoking effects are
social, rather than
chemical in origin, it is to be predicted that any
change in performance
over smoky and non-smoky conditions will be due to
a change in response
bias rather than sensitivity.
Additional Activities
1. It is planned to complete the recruitment of a
psychophysicist to
this group withieiO84. , The role of this
individual will be to work
at the interface o~ Product Applications group and
key R & D group
areas (notably Smoking Behaviour and Flavour
groups), putting in place
test methodologies for measuring and understanding
unusual sensory
phenomena associated with innovative product
designs, and relating
these to objective measures of product
chemistry/physics. (Smoke
body, smoke swirl, dry mouth syndrome, aftertaste,
flavour perception
and irritation, flat profile, are all examples of
little understood
sensory phenomena.)
BATCo document for Province of British Columbia 11
November 1999


/5
2. Activity continues in the area of researching
the functional significance
of smoking in everyday life, current emphasis
being placed on the
role of personality in relati-on to nicotine
dependance and personal
requirements of the product.
3. The development of strategic judgemental tools
for senior management,
based on repertory grid techniques, has now
received application in
project selection and structured creativity
exercises within the UK
(the latter using an internationally selected
R&D/Marketing group to
explore potential future product projects and the
type of commercial
applicability criteria that should apply to their
evaluation).
4. On recruitment of the psychophysicist, activity
in the area of
determining consumer responsiveness to product
variability will be re-
opened beginning in 1985 with a consideration of
perceivect firmness
and hot collapse.
N2
BATCo document for Province of British Columbia 11
November 1999