Learning & Memory

Concept of Learning

Learning is an ongoing process by which consumers get the knowledge about purchase and consumption of a product and use the experience of one time buying for future buying.

Features of learning
Learning is an on-going process Process of learning is actually the process of acquiring knowledge (actively or passively) which can be through observation, thinking or experience. Newly acquired knowledge helps people to form a behavior pattern which is used for future buying

Building blocks of learning

Motivation: Once the marketers know the consumer motive, they try to teach the consumer about the product. E.g. a career minded student who wants to do a MBA course to enhance the chances of a bright career will be motivated to search for a MBA admission advertisement. But others will be disinterested in these kind of information. Cues: Cues give direction to a motivated consumer. E.g. an aspiring MBA student will get cue from an advertisement of MBA programme, such as type of course, number of speicalisation, computer facility, quality of faculty, which guide the consumer. Response: The consumer who gets a positive cue from the advertisement will respond to the advertisement. Response could be positive, negative or neutral. Reinforcement: the memorable learning experience reinforces the buying buyer, negative memories will take the consumer away from previous buying behavior, while positive memories will reinforce the previous buying behavior.

Theories of Consumer Learning

Behavioral Theories of Learning

Classical

Conditioning Theory Instrumental or Operant Conditioning Theory

Cognitive Theories of Learning

Involvement

theory Central and Peripheral routes to persuasion theory Theory of social judgment Theory of Cognitive Dissonance Theory of Observational Learning

Behavioral Theories

When an individual responds in a predictable manner to a known stimulus, he or she is said to have learned.

Classical Conditioning Theory

Before Conditioning

Meat (US)
Bell (Neutral Stimulus)

Salivation (UR)
No Response

During Conditioning
Meat (US)+Bell (CS) After Conditioning Bell (CS) Salivation (CR) Salivation (UR)

Three concepts associated with Classical Conditioning

Repetition: People have a tendency to forget, hence to be a part of consumer memory, repetition of the action is necessary. E.g. Thumsup, Mountain Dew theme Stimulus Generalization: Pavlov found that dogs salivated not only to the sound of the bell but also to similar sound of jangling keys. This is stimulus generalization where similar type of sound also made the dogs salivate. Based on stimulus generalization, marketers go for:

Product line Product form Product category extension Family branding

Product line extension: Adding related products to an established brand. Products vary from each other only superficially. Product form extension: When same product is offered in different physical form. E.g. Dettol soap is available in bar form and liquid form. Product category extension: Once the brand name is established, the company diversifies into making other products. E.g. Britannia is known name in bread, which is now followed by biscuits, milk in tetra pack and even traditional product like ghee. Family branding: Practice of marketing a whole line of product under the same brand name. E.g. Family branding is the Maggi soup range.

Three concepts associated with Classical Conditioning

Stimulus Discrimination: E.g. Aspiring student surveying the market for an ideal MBA institution will be getting multiple competitive stimuli. Stimulus discrimination is the ability in the consumer to discriminate one cue or stimulus from the other and position them according to his or her need.

Instrumental or Conditioning Theory

Operant

According to B.F. Skinner demonstrated that through the process of trial and error, once you come across a favorable outcome, it teaches the individual to repeat the behavior. Basic difference between classical and operant conditioning is while responses in classical conditioning are involuntary, those in Operant Conditioning are made deliberately to achieve the goal. (E.g. Give food to a bird when she sings, here singing is a voluntary activity)

Operant Conditioning and CB

Consumers to satisfy their needs, may have tried various alternative options and will remember products which satisfied or made them feel good and will respond to those products positively in future. While all those products which did not satisfy them, the consumer will shirk away from such products.

Stimulus Situation (Need a good Washing Soap)

Try Soap 1

Unrewarded (Chemicals are too strong) Unrewarded (Less in Quantity)

Try Soap 2

Try Soap 3

Unrewarded (Lacks the freshness fragrance)

Try Soap 4

Rewarded (Perfect Soap)

Reinforcement Schedule

Fixed Interval Reinforcement: Fixed time gap between response and reward. Consumer tends to respond slowly after reinforcement. Variable Interval Reinforcement: Under this the marketer or advertiser wants to keep an element of surprise and expectancy in the consumer so the reinforcement is delivered at intervals varying in length. Fixed Ratio Reinforcement: Reinforcement can be given at fixed ration. Variable Ratio Reinforcement: Consumer learns after certain number of responses, but how many that neither the learner nor the marketer knows.

Reinforcement Schedule

Massed Learning: Ad to be bunched up all within the same time period. In case of new product launch, advertiser goes for a massed learning. Distributed Learning: An ad to be spaced over a period of time (Fixed interval or variable interval). In this case reinforcement cannot be deleted from the memory.

Cognitive Theories of Learning

Reject the theory of human behavior that rests solely on the basis of stimuli, response and reinforcement. Learning is seen as an intellectual activity, whereby consumers continuously restructure the cognitions about a specific problem or product. The knowledge about products and brands is obtained deliberately or accidentally, is received, assimilated and retained in the memory, like other experiences.

Learning Process

Complex part of the process is that the consumer already has some information or already learned about the product, how the current information will be added to the existing stock of knowledge is not certain. New information can strengthen the already formed attitude or may cause some dissonance. Or they might not react to the new information and adhere to the old learning.

Building blocks of Cognitive theory

Information Processing Memory Structure of Memory: Initially memory is kept in sensory store, where the information is received through sensory organs. But if this information is not processed, it is deleted from the memory. This followed by short term store, where information is processed. Mental repetition of the information transfer it into longer term store, which is finally retrieved. Retention Retrieval

Involvement Theory
Brain has two parts: Left and Right. Left brain deals with logical tasks and right brain deals with emotional tasks. High Involvement: Generally left brain deals with it. Low Involvement: Generally right brain deals with it.

Central and Peripheral Routes to Persuasion Theory

Low involvement Product: Peripheral route to persuasion. High involvement Product: Central Route to persuasion. For the same product both the routes to persuasion can be taken. E.g.Car

Theory of Social Judgment

Individual processing of information is determined by his involvement with that issue. High involved people will:

Interpret an information congruent with his previous knowledge with a positive bias, this is called assimilation effect. All those information which are not congruent with his perceived information will be treated with a negative bias, this is called contrast effect.

But low involvement people are opposite. It is easy to pursue and teach them, but they are less brand loyal and indulge more into brand switching.

Purchase involvement: Consumers level of interest in buying process. Ego involvement: This refers to importance of a product to the consumers self concept. This kind of involvement is high for products of personal use. Response involvement: Refers to the processing of marketing communication. Television is low involvement medium while print is an high involvement medium.

Theory of Cognitive Dissonance

Propounded by Leon Festinger. Two Hypotheses:

Existence

of Dissonance (Being psychologically uncomfortable will motivate the person to try to reduce the dissonance and achieve consonance) When dissonance is present, in addition to try to reduce it, the person will also avoid situation and information which might increase the dissonance.

Theory of Observational Learning

Observational learning occurs when people learn by watching other peoples action. The action is taken note of, retained and retrieved when a similar situation occurs and performs the action.