Chapter 3 Learning and Memory.docx

MKT400 Understanding Customers and the New Media CHAPTER 3 Learning and Memory THE LEARNING PROCESS  Learning: relatively permanent change in behaviour that is caused by experience o Experience does not have to affect learner directly; we can learn vicariously by observing events that affect others o Incidental learning refers to casual, unintentional acquisition of knowledge  It is an ongoing process where our knowledge about the world is constantly being revised as we are exposed to new stimuli and receive ongoing feedback that allows us to modify behaviour in other similar situations at a later time BEHAVIOURAL LEARNING THEORIES  Behavioural learning theories: assumes learning takes place as the result of responses to external events  This view is represented by two major approaches to learning: 1. Classical conditioning 2. Instrumental conditioning CLASSICAL CONDITIONING  Classical conditioning: occurs when a stimulus that elicits a response is paired with another stimulus that initially does not elicit a response on its own o Unconditioned stimulus (UCS): stimulus naturally capable of causing a response o Conditioned stimulus (CS): stimulus that causes a response because of a learned association o Conditioned response (CR): new or modified response elicited by a stimulus after conditioning  Repeated exposure increases strength of stimulus-response associations and prevent decay of associations in memory  Extinction: occurs when the effects of prior conditioning are reduced and finally disappear o Can occur when product is overexposed in the marketplace that original allure is lost  Stimulus generalization: tendency of stimuli similar to a CS to evoke similar conditioned responses o Strategies based on stimulus generalization include:  Family branding – variety of products capitalize on the reputation of a company name  Product line extensions – related products are added to an established brand  Licensing – well-known names are “rented” by others  Look-alike packaging – distinctive packaging designs create strong associations with a particular brand  Masked branding: deliberately hides products true origin  Stimulus discrimination: occurs when stimulus similar to a CS is not followed by a UCS  Symbolic significance of initially meaningless words show complex meanings can be conditioned by fairly simple associations to marketing strategies that rely on creation and perpetuation of positive brand equity  Brand equity: brand has strong positive associations in a consumer’s memory and commands a lot of loyalty as a result  Schedules of exposure implies repetition is needed to ensure consumer actually exposed to (and processes) ad: i. First exposure creates awareness of the product ii. Second demonstrates its relevance to the consumer iii. Third servers as a reminder of the product’s benefits  Advertising wearout: the condition that occurs when consumers become so used to hearing or seeing a marketing stimulus that they no longer pay attention to it INSTRUMENTAL CONDITIONING  Instrumental conditioning (operant conditioning): occurs as individual learns to perform behaviours that produce positive outcomes and to avoid those that yield negative outcomes o Result of a reward received following the desired behaviour and takes place over a period in which a variety of other behaviours are attempted and abandoned because they are not reinforced  Shaping: learning of a desired behaviour over time by rewarding immediate actions until the final result is obtained  Instrumental learning occurs in one of four ways i. Positive reinforcement: process whereby rewards provided b the environment strengthen responses to stimuli ii. Negative reinforcement: process whereby environment weakens responses to stimuli so that inappropriate behaviour is avoided iii. Punishment: learning that occurs when a response is followed by unpleasant events iv. Extinction: removal of positive event weakens responses, which are no longer followed by positive outcomes MKT400 Understanding Customers and the New Media  Types of reinforcement schedules: o Fixed-interval reinforcement – after specific time period has passed, first response that is made brings the reward o Variable-interval reinforcement – time that must pass before reinforcement is delivered varies around some average o Fixed-ratio reinforcement – reinforcement occurs only after a fixed number of responses o Variable-ratio reinforcement – behaviour is reinforced after a certain number of responses, but he or she does not know how many responses are required  Principals of instrumental conditioning are at work when a consumer is rewarded or punished for a purchase decision  Frequent marketing: reinforces the behaviour of regular purchasers by giving them prizes with values that increase along with the amount purchased o Costs are lowered by the ability to design focused and personalized marketing communications to the prime consumer, consumer retention programs are more effective, product launches and redesigns are more likely to be successful, and blunders are prevented COGNITIVE LEARNING THEORY  Cognitive learning theory: perspectives on learning that assume learning takes place as the result of internal mental processes – people actively use information from the world around them to master their environment and solve problems o Cognitive learning argues that simple effects are based on cognitive factors; that is, expectations are created that a stimulus will be followed by a response  Our reactions are activated by a trigger feature – some stimulus that cues us toward a particular pattern OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING  Observational learning: occurs when people watch the actions of others and note the reinforcements they receive for their behaviours; learning occurs as a result of vicarious rather than direct experience  Modelling: imitating the behaviour of others o For observational learning in the form of modelling to occur, four conditions must be met: i. The consumer’s attention must be directed towards the appropriate model whom, for reasons of attractiveness, competence, status, or similarly, it is desirable to emulate ii. The consumer must remember what the model says or does iii. The consumer must convert this information into actions iv. The consumer must be motivated to perform these actions THE ROLE OF MEMORY IN LEARNING  Memory: process of acquiring information and storing it over time so that it will be available when needed o Encoding: information is entered in a way the system will recognize o Storage: knowledge is integrated with what is already in memory and “warehoused” until needed o Retrieval: mind accesses the desired information  During consumer decision-making process, internal memory is combined with external memory – which includes all of the product details in packages, shopping lists, and through other marketing stimuli – to permit brand alternatives to be