Barbara Smith

Introduction

The principle of closure involves an individual’s response to missing information. When viewing an object that is somehow incomplete, people tend to supply teh information that is missing (Crane 1972). For example, examine Figure 1 - How would you describe what you see? Some would describe it as a triangle with a break in one side. Others might not even notice the line break. However, it is fairly unlikely that you would describe it as an unknown shape made up of four straight lines, some of which are connected. It is much easier to describe Figure 1 as a triangle. By filling in the missing information to create the perception of a triangle, it supplies meaning to ourselves. It fits within existing ways of categorizing cognitive stimuli. This is an illustration of the principle of closure (Crane 1972).

Closure can also be illustrated through the misspelling of common words. People are likely to not even notice their own misspellings or missing words, and are inclined to fill in the correct information in their mind (Crane 1972). (For example, did you notice that "teh" in the second sentence of this tutorial should have been spelled "the"?) Think of how many times you have proofread a paper thoroughly, only to have it come back with misspelled words circled in red. Likely, you read the misspelled words as they should have been spelled rather than how you actually spelled them in your paper. By doing so, you mentally filled in the missing information and utilized the principle of closure. However, if you have a friend proofread your paper, the errors are frequently uncovered – they do not possess the same frame of reference as you, so they do not have the same perception of what the whole should be. Thus, they are able to discover the misspellings more easily.

Open up any magazine - you won’t have to look far to see ads that illustrate this principle of closure. In fact, it is quite common for one or more objects in an ad to be cropped so that a significant part of the object(s) is missing. This is frequently done to stimulate greater involvement with the advertising message. This technique is so widely used in advertising, but it has limitations. Marketing practitioners need to be familiar with the principle of closure and how it can best be applied.

Perceptual organization enables people to identify patterns in what they perceive. These patterns help people to understand the world around them. Perceptual organization’s roots can be found in the 1930s in the work of Gestalt psychologists. Gestalt psychologists identified the principle of closure-that people presented with an image that is incomplete tend to fill in the gaps so that they perceive a complete image (Butler & McManus 1998).

When presented with information that is not quite complete, people tend to automatically fill in the missing information as if there were no missing information in the first place (Korb, Gorrell, and Van de Riet 1989). The incomplete triangle shown in Figure 1 is an example of this. The object is almost a complete triangle, so people tend to simply view it as such.

Research also indicates that people derive satisfaction from finishing incomplete images. To many, an incomplete image represents a challenge and completing the image brings relief and satisfaction (Peracchio and Meyer-Levy 1994). For example, people will spend hours working on completing a jigsaw puzzle. They enjoy the challenge of fitting all the pieces together (and the satisfaction that comes from completing the puzzle).

People seem to prefer whole, complete images over incomplete images and are therefore motivated to finish incomplete images. Gestalt psychologists believe that people are motivated on a core level to seek wholeness and completion (Korb et al. 1989). Consequently, this desire for closure is not something that applies only to one part of life, but something that is important in all parts of life. The principle of closure can be successfully applied in marketing of goods and services.

Advertisers utilize the principle of closure when they create ambiguous images in advertisements, involving the viewer in creating the ad. When such an ad image is incomplete, the viewer tends to fill the gap with information that is consistent with his way of seeing the world (Seward Barry, 1997). Some clothing ads show a person wearing the clothing item but do not show the person’s face or other identifying features. This allows the consumer to complete the image of the person, possibly imagining himself or herself in the place of the ad model.

It is not hard to see how this method of involving consumers in ad creation can lead to increased positive response to the item being advertised. Ultimately, advertisers want consumers to see the advertiser’s product(s) as being consistent with the consumer’s self-image. Getting the consumer involved in the creation of the ad should foster this connection of the product with the consumer’s self-image (Seward Barry 1997).

Cebrzynski (1998) explained closure as being "designed to make people disappear into the ad by forcing them to participate in the making of that ad" (p. 80). A car ad illustrates this: the car is on the first page of the ad, with "Quick, turn the page" printed at the top; upon turning the page, the reader sees the back of the car, with "Too late" printed at the top of the page (Cebrzynski 1998: p. 80). Ads such as these allow consumers to imagine what happened in between, filling in the missing information by playing out the scene in their mind.

The principle of closure can be clearly seen in advertising. As previously mentioned, many advertisers use cropped images in their advertisements. Research has supported that use of a severely cropped image in a photo can result in greater involvement by consumers in the ad and even in a more positive response to the ad. This is because consumers have to use their imagination to fill in the incomplete pictures and end up thinking more about the ad than they would if the images were not cropped (Peracchio and Meyers-Levy 1994).

Including a cropped image in an ad does not always result in a more positive response. It is important that the cropped image not be important to validating the message of the ad copy or verbal ad claims. If the cropped image is not central to validating the ad copy or verbal claims, including the image in the ad is likely to increase consumer involvement in the ad and result in a more positive overall response to the ad and the product (Peracchio and Meyers-Levy 1994). An advertiser who is trying to sell the features of a new VCR should not crop the VCR image but rather might want to crop the image of the person operating the VCR. (The features of the VCR, not the person, are central to validating the ad copy claims.)

What happens if the cropped object is necessary to validate the message of the ad copy or the verbal ad message? This interferes with the consumer’s ability to evaluate the credibility of the ad and thus the product itself. Even though they may be more involved in the ad itself, their response to the product is likely to be less favorable than in the previous scenario (Peracchio and Meyers-Levy 1994).

Have you ever seen a car commercial that presents the great features of the car but focuses mainly on the actors, showing relatively little of the car itself? This is an example of cropping the image necessary to validate the verbal ad message. It makes it hard to evaluate the validity of the car advertiser’s claims when the features talked about are not seen. If features are the main focus of the ad claims, then the car itself should be the focus of the commercial, and the image of the car should not be cropped.

Another important aspect of the application of closure to advertising is that the consumer must be motivated for him or her to become involved in finishing the incomplete image in the ad. If the consumer is not motivated to do so, the inclusion of a cropped image will not result in a more positive response to the advertised product (Peracchio and Meyers-Levy 1994). This suggests that use of closure may more be effective for advertising to people who are already interested in buying a certain category of products than for trying to convince people of their need to buy a product. Those who already buy a product are likely to be more motivated to participate in the completion of cropped ad images.

The advertisement for Colombian coffee in Figure 2 makes use of the principle of closure (obtained from the website for Café de Columbia at http://www.juanvaldez.com/menu/advertising/latest_creative.html). Juan Valdez is seated next to his donkey on the airplane, but you can see very little of either figure. The airplane interior is cropped much less than the donkey and Juan Valdez. The central message of the ad is the availability of Colombian Coffee on American Airline flights. According to marketing research mentioned earlier in the tutorial, this cropping of the non-central figures (Juan Valdez and the donkey) should lead to a positive response from people motivated to process the ad. These same people may not have an equally positive response to a similar ad taken so that no objects in the ad are cropped significantly.

Another example of closure can be seen on the television show Home Improvement. You never see enough of the next door neighbor, Wilson, to be able to make out who the actor is. Likely, you watch the show more closely when he appears, looking for any clues that might identify the actor and complete the image. As the next-door neighbor and not the main character in the show, the ambiguity in his appearance results in increased involvement in the television show and a positive response to the show. If the main character’s identity was ambiguous, viewer’s response to the show is likely to be less positive.

A third example of closure can be seen in a computer ad shown in Figure 3 Click Here for Figure 3. The main written message of the ad is that "everything in [Compaq’s] new desktops is maximized." However, the object necessary to validate that claim, the computer itself, is severely cropped. (This seems a little ironic.) Cropping of the computer makes it more difficult for consumers to evaluate the validity of the ad’s claim that Compaq’s new computers are "maximized" in all aspects since they cannot see the entire computer.

These are just three examples of the use of closure. Many others could have been included. Try looking through some magazines and see if you can identify additional examples of closure. You won’t have to look far to find more examples.

Following is a list of Web sites that is relevant to the topic of closure. After each URL, I have included a list of highlights for each site.

Advertising Age

http://www.adage.com/

Advertising World

http://advertising.utexas.edu/world/

Café de Colombia

http://www.juanvaldez.com/menu/advertising/latest_creative.html

The Eye-Homepage

http://www.eyeres.com/

GTA Homepage

http://www.psycho.uni-osnabrueck.de/fach/gta/gta.htm

Gestalt Review

http://www.allenpress.com/catalogue/index/gestalt_rev/index.html

Questions and Answers about Gestalt Theory and Max Wertheimer

http://rdz.acor.org/lists/gestalt!/gerhards/werth.html

Test for Understanding

The following five questions will test your understanding of the material presented. For each question, choose the one answer which best answers the question. (After completing the quiz, check your answers with the key provided at the bottom of the page.)

1. Which of the following is a true statement?

a. Cropping an object in an ad will cause the reader to examine the ad more closely.
b. Cropping an object in an ad illustrates the Gestalt principle of proximity.
c. Both are true.
d.     Neither is true.

2. Perceptual organization helps people.    

          a.    organize their time more efficiently.
          b.    understand the world around them.
          c.    make a better impression on others.
          d.    None of the above.

3. According to Gestalt psychologists, closure is defined as
   

a. people’s inclination to fill in gaps when presented with an incomplete image.
b. a component in perceptual organization.
c. Both a and b.
d. None of the above.

4. Ambiguous images in advertisements tend to

1. cause consumers to become involved in the creation of the ad.
2. always result in consumers having a more positive response to the product being advertised.
3. Both a and b.
4. None of the above.

5. Does a consumer need to be motivated to finish an incomplete ad image for the inclusion of the cropped image to result in a more positive evaluation of the product?

1. Yes
2. No
3. It doesn’t matter.

  Answer Key: 1-d, 2-b, 3-c, 4-a, 5-a

Butler, G., & McManus, F. (1998). Psychology: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Café de Columbia. (No date). Advertising Colombian Coffee. Online: http://www.juanvaldez.com/menu/advertising/latest_creative.html [March 26, 1999].

Cebrzynski, G. (1998), "Get Crazy: Reach Over the Borders of Reality in Advertising," Nation’s Restaurant News, 32 (23), 80.

Crane, E. (1972). Marketing Communications: Decision Making As A Process Of Interaction Between Buyer And Seller (2^nd ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Korb, M. P., Gorrell, J., and Van de Riet, V. (1989). Gestalt Therapy: Practice And Theory (2^nd ed.). New York: Pergamon Press, Inc.

Peracchio, L. A. & Meyers-Levy, J. (1994), "How Ambiguous Cropped Objects in Ad Photos Can Affect Product Evaluations," Journal of Consumer Research, 21 (1), 190-204.

Seward Barry, A. M. (1997). Visual Intelligence: Perception, Image, And Manipulation In Visual Communication. Albany, NY: State University of