Chapter 4

Learning and
1/32
Memory
2/32 Topic Outline
 Learning
 Behavioral learning theory and its marketing applications
 Cognitive learning theory and its marketing applications
 Memory
 Memory and memory process
 How our brains encode information
 Memory systems
 How our memory stores information
 How we retrieve memories when we decide what to buy
 What makes us forget
 How we measure consumers’ recall of marketing messages
 The marketing power of nostalgia
3/32 Learning
How Do We Learn?

Learning is the acquisition of skills, experience and knowledge.

Learning is a relatively permanent change in behavior caused
by experience.
People can have experience directly or
indirectly through observation.
Learning is an ongoing process.
Learning covers a lot of ground, ranging
from a consumer’s simple association
between a stimulus and a response to a
complex series of cognitive activities.
4/32 Learning: Behavioral Learning Theory

Behavioral learning theories assume that learning takes

place as the result of responses to external events

Black box Response

Stimuli Internal Observable
though behaviors
process

 Classical conditioning and instrumental conditioning

5/32 Learning: Behavioral Learning Theory
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. Over time, this
second stimulus causes a similar response.
 Ivan Pavlov’s (Russian psychologist) experiment:
Unconditioned stimulus
(UCS): It is naturally capable
of causing the response

Conditioned stimulus (CS):

It is not naturally capable of Conditioned response
causing the response (CR)
6/32 Learning: Behavioral Learning Theory
Classical Conditioning

 Repetition (repeated exposures):

 Conditioning effects are more likely to occur after
the conditioned (CS) and unconditioned (UCS)
stimuli have been paired a number of times.
 Increase the strength of stimulus–response
associations and prevent the decay of these
associations in memory.
 Extinction: happens when the effects of prior
conditioning diminish and finally disappear. (CS is only
occasionally paired with the UCS)
7/32 Learning: Behavioral Learning Theory
Classical Conditioning

 Stimulus generalization refers to the

tendency of stimuli similar to a CS to evoke
similar, conditioned responses.
 Halo effect: People also react to other,
similar stimuli in much the same way they
responded to the original stimulus
 Stimulus discrimination occurs when a UCS
does not follow a stimulus similar to a CS.
When this happens, reactions weaken and
will soon disappear.
I’m Jack Ma I’m not Jack Ma
8/32 Learning: Behavioral Learning Theory
Marketing Applications of Classical Conditioning Principles

Classical conditioning principles apply to many consumer

phenomena, such as when a marketer creates a distinctive
brand image or links a product to an underlying need.
9/32 Learning: Behavioral Learning Theory
Marketing Applications of Classical Conditioning Principles

 Marketing applications of repetition:

 Advertising researcher argued that any more
than three exposures to a marketing
communication are wasted.
 We need repetition to ensure that the
consumer is actually exposed to (and
processes) the message at least three times.
 Advertising wear-out: consumers
overexposure to a marketing stimulus that they
no longer pay attention to it
10/32 Learning: Behavioral Learning Theory
Marketing Applications of Classical Conditioning Principles

 Marketing applications of conditioned product associations:

 Advertisements often pair a product with a positive stimulus to create
a desirable association. Various aspects of a marketing message, such
as music, humor, or imagery, can affect conditioning.
11/32 Learning: Behavioral Learning Theory
Marketing Applications of Classical Conditioning Principles

 Marketing applications of stimulus generalization:

 The process of stimulus generalization often is central to branding and
packaging decisions that try to capitalize on consumers’ positive associations
with an existing brand or company name.
 Family branding—Many products capitalize on the reputation of a company
name. (Apple, Samsung…)
 Product line extension—Marketers add related products to an established
brand.(iPhone 5, 6…)
 Licensing—Companies often “rent” well-known names to other companies.
 Look-alike packaging—companies often put their products in packages
similar to those of popular brands.
12/32 Learning: Behavioral Learning Theory
Instrumental Conditioning
 Instrumental conditioning (or operant conditioning) occurs
when we learn to perform behaviors that produce positive
outcomes and avoid those that yield negative outcomes.
 B.F. Skinner (American psychologist) experiments:
 Instrumental conditioning occurs in one of three ways:
B.F. Skinner
 Positive reinforcement
 Negative reinforcement
 Punishment
 Positive and negative reinforcement strengthen the future
linkage between a response and an outcome (pleasant
experience). This linkage is weakened or disappeared
under the conditions of punishment (unpleasant
experience)
13/32 Learning: Behavioral Learning Theory
Instrumental Conditioning

Effective reinforcement schedules:

Fixed-interval reinforcement
Variable-interval reinforcement
Fixed-ratio reinforcement
Variable-ratio reinforcement
14/32 Learning: Behavioral Learning Theory
Marketing Applications of Instrumental Conditioning

 Principles of instrumental conditioning are at work when a marketer

rewards or punishes a consumer for a purchase decision.
 Marketers have many ways to reinforce consumers’ behaviors, ranging
from a simple “thank you” after a purchase to substantial rebates and
follow-up phone calls.
 Frequency marketing is a popular technique that rewards regular
purchasers with prizes that get better as they spend more.
15/32 Learning: Cognitive Learning Theory
 Cognitive learning theory stresses the
importance of internal mental processes.
This perspective views people as
problem-solvers who actively use
information from the world around them Black box
Internal
Response
Observable
to master their environments. Stimuli mental
behaviors
process
 Is learning conscious or not?
 Behavioral learning: emphasize the
routine, automatic nature of
conditioning
 Cognitive learning: even a simple
conditioning effect is based on
cognitive factors: They create
expectations that a response will follow
a stimulus
16/32 Learning: Cognitive Learning Theory
Observational Learning
 Observational learning occurs when we watch the
actions of others and note the reinforcements they
receive for their behaviors.
 Modeling is the process of imitating the behavior of
others.
 The observational learning process:

Attention Retention Production Processes

The consumer focuses on a The consumer retains this The consumer has the ability
model’s behavior behavior in memory to perform the behavior

Observational Learning Motivation

The consumer acquires and performs the A situation arises wherein the
behavior earlier demonstrated by a model behavior is useful to consumer
17/32 Learning: Cognitive Learning Theory
Marketing Applications of Cognitive Learning Principles

Marketers can show what happens to desirable models

who use or do not use their products; they know that
consumers often will imitate these actions at a later time.
18/32 Memory
Memory is a process of acquiring information and storing
it over time so that it will be available when we need it.
Memory process:

Storage
Encoding
Retriveval
We integrate this
Input Information knowledge with
We access the
enters in a way what is already in
desired
the system will memory
information
recognize and “warehouse” it
until it is needed.
19/32 Memory
Memory Systems

How good is your memory? When was UEH established ?

Who is this person ?

What’s the color of McDonald Uncle’s shoes?

20/32 Memory
How Our Brains Encode Information

Encoding: allows the perceived item of interest to be

converted into a construct that can be stored within
the brain, and then recalled later from short-term or long-
term memory.
 Sensory meaning: we encode meanings at a simple
level.
 Sematic meaning: we encode meanings at a more
abstract level
21/32 Memory
Memory Systems

Sensory Memory (SM) Short-Term Memory (STM) Long-Term Memory (LTM)

Temporary storage of Brief storage of information Relatively permanent
sensory information currently being used storage of information

Capacity: High Capacity: limited Capacity: unlimited

Duration: few seconds Duration: less than 20 seconds Duration: long or permanent

Attention Elaborative Rehearsal

Information that passes through Information subjected to
an attentional gate is transferred elaborative rehearsal or deep
to short-term memory processing (e.g., its meaning is
considered) is transferred to long-
term memory
22/32 Memory
How Our Memories Store Information

What is the relationship between short-term memory and

long-term memory?
 Traditional multiple-store perspective: short-term memory (STM) and
long-term memory (LTM) are separate systems.
 Activation models of memory: STM and LTM are interdependent
systems. Depending on the nature of the processing task different
levels of processing occur that activate some aspects of memory
rather than others. The more effort it takes to process information (so-
called deep processing), the more likely it is that information will
transfer into LTM.
23/32 Memory
How Our Memories Store Information

 Associative networks:

node

Input

Input

Input

Knowledge structure
24/32 Memory
How Our Memories Store Information

 Spreading activation:

Internal & External

cues
Marketing
message

 The way we store a piece of information in memory depends

on the type of meaning we initially assign to it. This meaning
type, in turn, will determine how and when something
activates the meaning.
26/32 Memory
How We Retrieve Memories When We Decide What to Buy
 Retrieval: is the process whereby we recover information from long-term
memory.
 Individual physiological and psychological factors influence retrieval
 Situational factors influence retrieval: these relate to the environment in
which we encounter the message. We can more easily retrieve
information about a pioneering brand (the first brand to enter a market)
from memory than we can for follower brands
 The way a marketer presents the message influences our retrieval
 The viewing environment of a marketing message also affects recall.
 The nature of the ad itself plays a big role in determining whether it’s
memorable.
27/32 Memory
What Makes Us Forget?

Early memory theorists assumed that memories simply fade

with the passage of time. In a process of decay, the structural
changes that learning produces in the brain simply go away.
Forgetting also occurs as a result of interference:
Retroactive interference: consumers may forget stimulus–
response associations if they subsequently learn new
responses to the same or similar stimuli
Proactive interference: prior learning can interfere with
new learning
28/32 Memory
What Makes Us Forget?
State-Dependent retrieval: we are better
able to access information if our internal
state is the same at the time of recall as
when we learned the information.
Familiarity and recall: when we are already
familiar with an item we’re more likely to
recall messages about it.
Von Restorff Effect: almost any technique
that increases the novelty of a stimulus
also improves recall.
29/32 Memory
What Makes Us Forget?
The viewing context: Regardless of how
awesome a commercial is, the show in
which it appears influences its impact.
Pictorial versus verbal cues: Is a picture
worth a thousand words?
Visual aspects of an ad are more likely
to grab a consumer’s attention.
Although pictorial ads may enhance
recall, they do not necessarily improve
comprehension.
30/32 Memory
How We Measure Consumers’ Recall of Marketing Messages

Recognition versus recall: measuring the

impression of a marketing message that makes
on us.
 Recognition test: researchers show ads to subjects one
at a time and ask if they have seen them before.
 Free recall test: ask consumers to independently think
of what they have seen without being prompted for
this information first
 Under some conditions, these two memory measures
tend to yield the same results. Generally, though,
recognition scores tend to be more reliable.
31/32 Memory
How We Measure Consumers’ Recall of Marketing Messages

 Problems with Memory Measures:

 Response bias affects the accuracy of the results of the memory
measures.
 Memory Lapses: People are also prone to forget information or retain
inaccurate memories
I don’t know
how to go
home
32/32 Memory
The Marketing Power of Nostalgia
 Nostalgia describes the bittersweet
emotion that arises when we view the past
with both sadness and longing.
 Objects that serve as powerful retrieval
cues: furniture, visual art, and photos
 Marketers often use nostalgia ads to call
up memories of youth and hope that
these feelings will translate to what
they’re selling today.
 Retro brand is an updated version of a
brand from a prior historical period.