Question

Some years ago, McDonald's claimed that its Big Mac had "Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun." Today if consumers hear "Two all-beef patties...," they laughingly play the game, completing the entire line of copy. Their participation illustrates the gestalt principle of:

A) recency.
B) closure.
C) exposure.
D) completion.

Answer 1

The completion of the Big Mac advertising jingle by consumers represents the Gestalt principle of closure, where people tend to perceive incomplete information as a complete entity.

Step-by-step explanation:

When consumers hear the phrase "Two all-beef patties..." and instinctively complete it with "special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun," they are demonstrating the Gestalt principle of closure.

This principle is part of a larger set of strategies our minds use to organize sensory stimuli into meaningful perceptions. The principle of closure indicates that we have a tendency to see complete figures even when part of the information is missing.

In this case, even though only part of the Big Mac advertising jingle is presented, individuals can mentally fill in the missing parts, completing the entire line based on their previous experiences and memory.