CHAPTER

SEVEN

Consumer Learning
 Learning

• The process by which individuals acquire the

purchase and consumption knowledge and
experience that they apply to future related
behavior

Chapter Seven Slide

 Elements of Learning Theories

Motivation ●
Unfilled needs lead to motivation

Stimuli that direct motives (price, styling,

Cues
●

packaging, advertising, and store displays)

Consumer reaction to a drive or cue (how the

Response
●

consumer behaves after being exposed)

Increases the likelihood that a response will

●

Reinforcement occur in the future as a result of a cue

Chapter Seven Slide

 Two Major Learning Theories

Behavioral Cognitive
Learning Learning
Based on observable
● ●
Learning based on
behaviors (responses) mental information
that occur as the processing
result of exposure to ●
Often in response to
stimuli problem solving
Chapter Seven Slide
 Behavioral Learning

• Classical Conditioning
• Instrumental (Operant) Conditioning

Chapter Seven Slide

 Classical Conditioning
A behavioral learning theory according
●

to which a stimulus is paired with

another stimulus that elicits a known
response that serves to produce the
same response when used alone.

Chapter Seven Slide

• Many of you may be familiar with Pavlov’s dog. In this
situation, Pavlov sounded a bell, then applied meat paste to the
dog’s tongue. Over time, the dog began to associate the bell
with the meat paste.
• Eventually, when Pavlov rang the bell, the dog would salivate
because he expected the meat paste to be applied. What
happened was learning or conditioning.
• The dog learned that the meat paste, which is called the
unconditioned stimulus, was associated with the bell, which is
the conditioned stimulus. He began to have a conditioned
response to the bell when he learned that the bell meant food.
Models of Classical Conditioning
Figure 7-2a

Chapter Seven Slide

Figure 7-2b

Chapter Seven Slide

 Strategic Applications of
Classical Conditioning
Basic Concepts
• Repetition • Increases the
• Stimulus association between
generalization the conditioned and
unconditioned
• Stimulus
stimulus
discrimination • Slows the pace of
forgetting
• Advertising wearout
is a problem Chapter Seven Slide
• For the association between the unconditioned and the conditioned
stimuli to become strong, the exposure to the pairing must be
repeated. In addition, the repetition is important so that the
association is remembered by the subject.
• Of course, too much repetition can also be a problem. Think of the
ad you have just seen so many times you feel like you can’t stand to
see it again. This advertising wearout can be a big problem for
advertisers, which is why they change their ads frequently.
 Strategic Applications of
Classical Conditioning
Basic Concepts • Having the same
response to slightly
• Repetition different stimuli
• Stimulus • Helps “me-too”
generalization products to succeed
• Stimulus • Useful in:
discrimination – product extensions
(Colgate)
– family branding
(Campbell)
– Chapter Seven Slide
• Stimulus generalization is when a consumer applies a
conditioned response to a stimulus that is not the same but is
similar to a conditioned stimuli.
• An example you might recognize is when we react to
someone in a certain way because they remind us of someone
we know and have interacted with before. Stimulus
generalization can be helpful as marketers extend their
product line, product form, and product category.
 Strategic Applications of
Classical Conditioning
Basic Concepts
• Selection of a specific
• Repetition stimulus from similar
stimuli
• Stimulus
• Opposite of stimulus
generalization
generalization
• Stimulus • This discrimination is
discrimination the basis of
positioning which
looks for unique
Chapter Seven Slide
• Stimulus discrimination is closely linked to the concept of
positioning. Marketers want you to think of their product
differently than the rest when you are looking at the shelf in
the grocery store. Using the example of the brand dairy milk,
the manufacturer would want you to know that it is superior
to the store brand.
• Margo brand of soap’s association with neem.
• CCD’s Association with relaxation and
socializing.
• Rolex association with prestige.
• Nike association with youthful attitude.
 Instrumental (Operant)
Conditioning
A behavioral theory of learning based
●

on a trial-and-error process, with habits

forced as the result of positive
experiences (reinforcement) resulting
from certain responses or behaviors.

Chapter Seven Slide

• The famous psychologist B.F. Skinner is associated with this
type of conditioning. He pointed out that learning occurs
based on rewards. Through trial and error, consumers learn
which behaviors lead to rewards and which do not.
A Model of Instrumental Conditioning
Figure 7.9

Chapter Seven Slide

 Reinforcement of Behavior

• The two types of reinforcement are positive and negative. It is

important to realize that both of these influence responses.
• Positive reinforcement is a good thing that happens which rewards
a behavior – going to the gym made you feel good so you go every
other day.
• A negative outcome is a bad thing that happens which encourages a
behavior. You ate a donut every morning for breakfast so gained a
lot of weight over the past week. This causes you to go to the gym
every other day and to stop eating donuts.

Positive Negative

Chapter Seven Slide

 Strategic Applications of
Instrumental Conditioning
• Customer Satisfaction (Reinforcement)
• Reinforcement Schedules
• Shaping
• Massed versus Distributed Learning

Chapter Seven Slide

• Customer satisfaction means that each time the customer has an experience
with the product or company, there has been positive reinforcement.
• Reinforcement schedules can vary. They can be total (or continuous)
reinforcement, systemic (fixed ratio) reinforcement, or a random (variable
ratio) reinforcement schedule.
• Shaping occurs by having the reinforcement BEFORE the behavior occurs.
• The final application is the choice of massed versus distributed learning.
Should the learning and the exposure to the stimuli happen in a relatively
short period of time or be drawn out?
 Observational Learning
(modeling or vicarious learning)

A process by which individuals

●

learn behavior by observing the

behavior of others and the
consequences of such behavior

Chapter Seven Slide

 Information Processing and
Cognitive Learning
• Cognitive Learning
– Learning involves
complex mental
processing of
information
– Emphasizes the role
of motivation

Chapter Seven Slide

Information Processing and Memory
Stores - Figure 7.10

Chapter Seven Slide

• The sensory store is very short term; it is where an image or
sound will last for just a few minutes and then be forgotten.
• The short-term store is the stage where information is
processed. Similarly to the sensory store, it is just held for a
brief time..
• Rehearsal, encoding, and retrieval move information from one
place to the next. Rehearsal can be done either by repeating the
information or relating it to other data. If held long enough, the
information can be encoded, or given a word or visual image to
represent the object.
 Involvement
●
Degree of personal relevance that the product or
purchase holds for that customer.
●
High involvement purchases are very important to the
consumer
●
Low-involvement hold little relevance, have little
perceived risk, and have limited information
processing

Chapter Seven Slide

 Central and Peripheral Routes
to Persuasion

Central route to persuasion

●
For high involvement purchases
●
Requires cognitive processing

Peripheral route to persuasion

●
Low involvement
●
Consumer less motivated to think
●
Learning through repetition, visual cues, and holistic perception

Chapter Seven Slide

 Measures of Consumer Learning
Brand Loyalty
• Recognition and Recall Measures
• Brand Loyalty

Chapter Seven Slide 29

 Measures of Consumer Learning
Brand Loyalty

Three groups of factors Four types of loyalty

Personal degree of risk aversion or
variety seeking No loyalty
The brand’s reputation and availability Covetous loyalty
of substitutes Inertia loyalty
Social group influences Premium loyalty

Brand Equity – the value inherent in

a well-known brand name

Chapter Seven Slide