Consumers' categorization processes: An examination with two alternative methodological paradigms

Discriminating between analytic and nonanalytic categorization mechanisms can be of value in designing marketing stimuli that facilitate consumers' acceptance of a product/brand. Two methodological paradigms were employed, the first involving the outcome of categorization judgments made by consumers for unfamiliar products/brands. The second, based on the retrieval of exemplars acquired during category learning and verification of their match with the target, was subjected to its first empirical examination. Both the category judgment and verification paradigms were found to be promising in terms of model identification. Potential complimentarities between the two, as well as operational refinements are suggested.