Transcript learning - rphilip

Chapter 4
Consumer
Learning
Consumer Learning
and
Memory
and Memory
Snapshot from the Marketplace
Today, companies combat consumer brandswitching by offering rewards programs.
Frequent-shopper programs’ rewards are
instrumental in the consumer learning process
for building customer loyalty.
Companies ranging from airlines and hotels to
grocery chains offer myriads of rewards,
including preferential prices, frequent-flier
miles and free hotel nights, gifts, or even
Foursquare “badges.”
What is Learning?
Consumption of products and services is
a result of a learning process.
Consumer behavior includes learning as
both adaptive and problem-solving
activity.
As we come to discover that certain
behaviors produce results that are more
satisfying than others, we reassess our
purchasing strategies and behavior.
Q.1. Define Learning.
Definition of Learning
A process by which changes occur in the
content or organization of a person’s longterm memory
Connecting categories to behaviors that have
adaptive value in terms of consumer goals.
Q.2. What are the four
qualifications of learning?
Learning Qualifications
Learning is not directly observable.
Behavioral changes are brought about by
experience.
Effects are relatively long term
Learning covers both overt activities and
cognitive processes.
Q.3. What are the different
types of learning?
Learning Qualifications
Incidental learning
Learning by description
Vicarious learning
Direct experience
Range of Learning Situations
Learning occurs in situations ranging from
low to high levels of consumer involvement.
Low-involvement learning
Case where we are less motivated to
attend to or process material
to be learned
High-involvement learning
Case where we are motivated to diligently
process the information to be learned
Q.4. What are the various
Behavioral Learning theories?
Learning Theories
Three learning theories are particularly
applicable to consumer behavior:
Classical Conditioning: involves linking a
conditioned stimulus and an unconditioned
stimulus
Operant Conditioning: learning is driven by the
positive or negative consequences of behavior
Classical Conditioning
Consider the experiments by Pavlov with dogs.
Conditioned
Stimulus (CS)
Unconditioned
Stimulus (US)
Elicits
Unconditioned
Response (UR)
Classical Conditioning
and Formation of Associations
Learning, according to this view, is a process
of establishing linkages between two
concepts, or a fusing of two separate items
to form a new and unique entity different
from either.
In a consumer behavior context:
Conditioned stimuli include products, brands,
and stores
Unconditioned stimuli might include celebrities,
music, and humor.
Learning Principles
Under Classical Conditioning
Four conditions must prevail for
connections to be formed:
Repetition: Frequency of pairing a conditioned
and an unconditioned stimulus
Contiguity: Spatial or temporal nearness of
objects
Contingency: The conditioned stimulus should
precede the unconditioned stimulus
Congruity: Sequentially presented cues must
be related
Operant Conditioning
Consider Skinner’s Experiments with Pigeons and Rats
Increased or Decreased
Probability of Response
How Operant Conditioning Works
Operant conditioning proposes a
sequence in which behavior occurs first. It
is then reinforced (or punished).
Reinforcement or punishment are
instrumental in bringing about desired
behavioral changes.
Learning Principles Under Operant Conditioning
Learning occurs via trial and error.
Positive reinforcement: an inducement to repeat a
behavior in order to receive a reward
Negative reinforcement: an inducement to repeat a
behavior in order to remove an adverse situation
Punishment: an aversive consequence that
decreases the likelihood a particular response will
recur
Different Reinforcement Schedules
Produce Different Learning Patterns
Intermittent Reinforcement
Behavior Maintenance
Behavior Maintenance
Continuous Reinforcement
Time
Time
Here forgetting occurs more quickly. Here forgetting occurs gradually over time
and the residual affects of learning persist.
Practice Schedules
Timing exerts important influences on learning.
Massed practice condenses a learning schedule
into a brief time span.
 Tends to produce greater initial learning
Spaced practice paces learning over time intervals.
 Tends to produce learning that is longer lasting
Challenges in Applying Operant Conditioning
Behavior must first occur before it can be
rewarded. To accomplish this, two
approaches can be employed.
Behavior shaping breaks down a complex
behavior into a series of simple component actions
and reinforces learners at each successive step.
Ecological design involves calculated design of
physical space and other facets of the environment
to attain a desired consumer response.
Applications of Conditioning Theories:
Stimulus Generalization and Discrimination
Stimulus Generalization
Our tendency to assign commonality to similar
stimuli
Our response to one stimulus becomes extended to
other similar stimuli
Case in point: Halo effect
Stimulus Discrimination
Our tendency to distinguish between similar—
but non-identical—stimuli
Gives marketers the opportunity to differentiate their
products
Cognitive Learning
Humans are not locked into a ceaselessly
repetitive stimulus-response behavior
mode. Rather, we have the ability to think,
analyze, associate, learn consequences,
and solve problems.
We may act differently in each case based
on perceived circumstances.
Classical Conditioning Revisited
Renewed interest in classical
conditioning has produced NeoPavlovian Conditioning: a viewpoint
that reshapes traditional classical
conditioning into a fully cognitive
theory.
Neo-Pavlovian Conditioning
Learned associations are not simple, but
rather rich and complex, involving
relationships among multiple objects or
events.
This concept views conditioned learning as
not mere acquisition of new reflexes, but
rather as cognitive procurement of new
knowledge about the environment, where
one stimulus provides information about
another.
Learning & Hemispheric Specialization of the Brain
A view that the left and right hemispheres of
the brain process, organize, and encode
information differently
Left Hemisphere
Specializes in analytical thinking,
verbalization, and algebraic calculations
Right Hemisphere
Specializes in interpreting and recognizing
visual patterns
Learning-Related Concepts
Vicarious learning: behavior change due to
observing the activity of others and the
consequences of their behavior
Learning curve (Experience effect): tasks become
easier and are performed more quickly as the
number of repetitions increases
Brand loyalty: consistent purchase of a specific
brand within a product category
Brand parity: a belief that no significant differences
exist among brands
Memory and Retention
Mnemonic devices: auditory or visual aids that
promote retention of material by identifying it
with some easily-remembered symbols
Google effect:
In the case of information that is easily found
online, we tend to remember where it can be found
rather than recall the information itself
In the case of less-easily-found information online,
we tend to remember the information itself.
Q.5. Define Memories.
Memories
Key elements from our and others’ experiences
that we store.
Q.6. What are the types of
Memory?
The Structure of Memory
Memory consists of three storage systems:
Sensory memory: a storage system where
incoming data undergo preliminary processing
Short-term memory: a storage system that
momentarily holds acquired information
If information is significant, it may undergo:
• Rehearsal
• Encoding
Long-term memory: an information warehouse
where data are organized and extendedly stored
Knowledge structures: forming chunks composed of
related bits of information
Q.7. Why do we forget?
Why we forget
Memory fades
Absentmindedness
Blocking
Misattribution
Bias
Persistence
Information Retrieval, Extinction, & Forgetting
Information retrieval: sifting through memory to
activate stored information
Retrieval cues
Extinction: when a behavior ceases because it no
longer brings rewards or prevents punishments
Forgetting: when knowledge recedes into the mind’s
unconscious recesses and cannot be recalled
Retroactive interference: when recent
learning interferes with recall of previous learning
Misinformation effect
Proactive interference: when prior learning interferes
with recall of recent learning