Marketers expend considerable effort to have consumers learn about their products. Therefore it is vital that we understand how consumers, and that includes us, learn. There are different types of learning, and in this chapter we will discuss the five types. The characteristics of learning are important, including aspects such as the strength of learning, reinforcing learning and the importance of brands.
Chapter Learning and Memory • How we (and consumers) learn • Types of learning • Main characteristics of learning • Using learning in marketing strategies • Importance of brand image and product positioning Copyrightê2004McGrawưHillAustraliaPtyLtd 91 Learning Learning refers to any change in the content or organisation of long-term memory Consumer behaviour is largely learned behaviour Copyrightê2004McGrawưHillAustraliaPtyLtd 92 Learning as a Key to Consumer Behaviour 9–3 Learning Results from Information Processing and Causes Changes in Memory 9–4 Involvement and Learning • Learning under high-involvement conditions – consumer has a high motivation to learn • Learning under low-involvement conditions – most consumer learning is in a low-involvement context Copyright ª 2004 McGrawHill Australia Pty Ltd 9–5 Learning Theories in High- and LowInvolvement Situations 9–6 Types of Learning • Conditioning – – classical conditioning operant conditioning • Cognitive learning – – – iconic rote learning vicarious learning/modelling reasoning Copyright ª 2004 McGrawHill Australia Pty Ltd 9–7 Conditioning Conditioning is based on the association of a stimulus (information) with a response (behaviour or feeling) Copyrightê2004McGrawưHillAustraliaPtyLtd 98 Classical Conditioning Establishing a relationship between stimulus and response to bring about the learning of the same response to a different stimulus • Most common in low-involvement situations • Learning is more often a feeling or emotion than information Copyright ª 2004 McGrawHill Australia Pty Ltd 9–9 Consumer Learning through Classical Conditioning 9–10 An Advertisement Designed to Induce Trial 9–14 Cognitive Learning • Iconic rote learning – association between two or more concepts in the absence of conditioning a substantial amount of low-involvement learning involves iconic rote learning achieved by repeated advertising messages Copyrightê2004McGrawưHillAustraliaPtyLtd 915 Cognitive Learning (cont.) Vicarious learning/modelling – observe others' behaviour and adjust their own accordingly common in both high-involvement and low- involvement situations • Reasoning – most complex form of cognitive learning most high-involvement decisions generate some reasoning Copyright ª 2004 McGrawHill Australia Pty Ltd 9–16 An Advertisement Using Reasoning 9–17 General Characteristics of Learning • The strength of learning is influenced by: – importance – – – – – separates high- and low-involvement learning situations involvement mood reinforcement stimulus repetitions (practice sessions) imagery Copyright ª 2004 McGrawHill Australia Pty Ltd 9–18 General Characteristics of Learning (cont.) • Extinction – forgetting occurs when reinforcement for learning is withdrawn • Stimulus generalisation – – brand equity brand leverage Copyright ª 2004 McGrawHill Australia Pty Ltd 9–19 Spontaneous Awareness: Brand A 9–20 Spontaneous Awareness: Brand B 9–21 General Characteristics of Learning (cont.) • Stimulus discrimination – why your brand is different • Response environment – – strength of original learning similarity of original learning environment to the retrieval environment Copyright ª 2004 McGrawHill Australia Pty Ltd 9–22 The Response Environment • Strength of original learning affects ability to retrieve relevant information • Similarity of the original learning and the type of learning is important • Marketers aim to replicate these situations Copyright ª 2004 McGrawHill Australia Pty Ltd 9–23 Example of Stimulus Generalisation to Launch a New Product 9–24 Memory • Memory is the total accumulation of prior learning experiences • Short-term memory – – working memory the role of images, sight, sound, smell, taste and tactile situations Copyrightê2004McGrawưHillAustraliaPtyLtd 925 Memory (cont.) Long-term memory – – unlimited permanent storage schematic memory linking to chunks of information Copyrightê2004McGrawưHillAustraliaPtyLtd 926 Product Positioning Strategy Brand image • Product positioning • Perceptual mapping • Product repositioning Copyright ª 2004 McGrawHill Australia Pty Ltd 9–27 Next Lecture… Chapter 10: Motivation, Personality and Emotion Copyright ª 2004 McGrawHill Australia Pty Ltd 9–28 ... organisation of long-term memory • Consumer behaviour is largely learned behaviour Copyright ª 2004 McGrawHill Australia Pty Ltd 9 2 Learning as a Key to Consumer Behaviour 9 3 Learning Results... Changes in Memory 9 4 Involvement and Learning • Learning under high-involvement conditions – consumer has a high motivation to learn • Learning under low-involvement conditions – most consumer learning... Copyright ª 2004 McGrawHill Australia Pty Ltd 9 9 Consumer Learning through Classical Conditioning 9 10 How Affective Response Leads to Learning 9 11 Operant Conditioning • Trial precedes liking