CHAPTER 4:
COMPREHENSION, MEMORY, AND
COGNITIVE LEARNING
LECTURE OUTLINE WITH POWERPOINT SLIDES
Have students access http://4ltrpress.cengage.com/cb/ to view the polling
questions for CB. Ask them to take the online poll to see how their answers
compare with other students taking a consumer behavior course.
I can usually remember more from a 30-second television
commercial than I can from a 30-minute lecture.
Strongly disagree
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Strongly agree
After studying this chapter, the student should be able to:
LO1. Understand the concept of comprehension and the factors that influence what
gets comprehended.
LO2. Use the multiple store theory of memory to explain how knowledge, meaning,
and value are inseparable.
LO3. Understand how consumers make associations with meaning as a key way to
learn.
LO4. Use the concept of associative networks to map relevant consumer knowledge.
LO5. Be able to apply the concept of a cognitive schema, including exemplars and
prototypes, to understand how consumers react to new products.
Suggested Lecture Opener
Newsweek covered a story on the growing concern of young celebrities out of control,
called the “girls gone wild” effect. Tweens adore them and teens envy them. Celebrities
like Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, and Brittany Spears are considered celebrity endorsers
for many products. 1214 year olds are probably the most vulnerable to stars’
influences
Source: Newsweek, 2/12/07 The girls gone wild effect by Kathleen Deveny & Raina Kelley
66
© South-Western/Cengage Learning
Chapter 4:
Comprehension, Memory, and Cognitive Learning
Slide 1
LO1. Understand the concept of comprehension and the factors that influence
what gets comprehended.
Slide 2
Slide 3
Slide 4
Comprehension
Comprehension refers to the interpretation or understanding that a consumer develops
about some attended stimulus in order to assign meaning. It’s important to note that
consumers do not always comprehend the message that the marketer is trying to
convey. The book uses the warning labels on cigarette packages as an example.
Consumers can also overestimate the dangers associated with smoking when they
observe a typical package warning. It appears that warning labels have little effect on
consumer behavior.
Three important issues with regard to comprehension include:
1. The process of comprehension is largely influenced by other internal factors
within the consumer.
2. Comprehension includes both cognitive and affective elements, thereby involving
both thoughts and feelings.
3. Consumers don’t always comprehend messages in the intended way and, to this
extent, consumer comprehension is not always “correct.”
© South-Western/Cengage Learning
67
Chapter 4:
Comprehension, Memory, and Cognitive Learning
Slide 5
Factors Affecting Comprehension
Exhibit 4-2 displays a listing of the items that we do know about comprehension.
Essentially, these factors can be divided into three categories:
1. Characteristics of the message – Physical characteristics, message source,
and complexity of the message
2. Characteristics of the message receiver – Intelligence, physical limitations,
and involvement
3. Characteristics of the environment (information-processing situation) –
Information intensity, framing, and timing
Slide 6
Message Characteristics
1. Physical characteristics  Refer to the message’s attributes that are sensed
directly, such as the following:
a. Intensity – Larger print and fonts can be used, and the sound of the message
can be intensified.
b. Color – Use of color depends on the culture and can impact how an ad is
comprehended.
68
© South-Western/Cengage Learning
Chapter 4:
Comprehension, Memory, and Cognitive Learning
c. Font  Research suggests that some fonts portray a masculine image while
others portray a feminine image.
d. Numbers  Names with letters and numbers used in combination signify a
“technologically based” meaning. Numbers are often used in the auto industry
as model names of cars.
2. Simplicity/Complexity  The simpler the message, the more likely a consumer
is to develop meaningful comprehension.
3. Message congruity  This characteristic represents the extent to which a
message is internally consistent and fits the surrounding information.
4. Figure/Ground  The figure is the object that is intended to capture a person’s
attention in the message. Everything else is of lesser importance and simply
represents the ground (or background) relative to the central message. Exhibit
4.4 illustrates how this occurs psychologically.
Slide 7
Slide 8
Slide 9
Slide 10
© South-Western/Cengage Learning
69
Chapter 4:
Comprehension, Memory, and Cognitive Learning
5. Message Source  The source of a message also can influence comprehension,
such as messages from a celebrity or a family member. A source’s effectiveness
in gaining comprehension are:
a. Likeability  Very simply, likeability refers to the extent to which a consumer
likes the message source.
b. Expertise  Expertise refers to the amount of knowledge that a source is
perceived to have about a subject.
c. Trustworthiness  Trustworthiness refers to how honest and unbiased the
source is perceived to be.
d. Attractiveness – The more attractive the message source, the better chance
of being quite effective in delivering the message.
Slide 11
Message Receiver Characteristics
1. Intelligence/Ability  Intelligent and well-educated consumers are more likely to
accurately comprehend a message than are less intelligent or educated
consumers.
2. Involvement  Consumers are not equally involved with every message.
Therefore, marketers face the challenge of designing messages that will be
comprehended by both highly involved and uninvolved consumers.
3. Familiarity/Habituation  In terms of comprehension, familiarity can lower a
consumer’s motivation to process a message and reduce comprehension.
Habituation is the process by which continuous exposure to a stimulus affects the
comprehension of and response to the stimulus.
4. Expectations  Expectations are beliefs of what will happen in some situation.
Expectations have a major effect on comprehension. Studies indicate that many
consumers cannot identify their “favorite” brand of beer if the packaging is
removed.
5. Physical limits – A person’s physical limitations in their ability to hear, see,
smell, taste, and think can affect comprehension.
70
© South-Western/Cengage Learning
Chapter 4:
Comprehension, Memory, and Cognitive Learning
6. Brain dominance  Some people tend to be either “right-brain” or “left-brain”
dominant. Right braindominant consumers tend to be visual processors, while
left braindominant consumers tend to deal better with verbal processing.
Slide 12
Slide 13
Icon indicates web site links to related topics.
Environmental Characteristics
1. Information intensity  This characteristic refers to the amount of information
available for a consumer to process within a given environment.
2. Framing  Framing captures the idea that the same information can take on
different meanings based on the way in which the information is presented.
3. Prospect theory  This theory hypothesizes that the way in which information is
framed differentially affects risk assessments and any associated consumer
decisions.
4. Priming  Priming refers to the finding that the context or the environment
frames thoughts and therefore frames both value and meaning for the consumer.
Exhibit 4.5 illustrates this aspect of framing.
5. Timing  Timing refers to both the amount of time a consumer has to process a
message and the point in time at which the consumer receives the message. For
example, consumers tend to see coffee advertising in the morning as more
enticing.
© South-Western/Cengage Learning
71
Chapter 4:
Comprehension, Memory, and Cognitive Learning
LO2. Use the multiple store theory of memory to explain how knowledge,
meaning, and value are inseparable.
Slide 14
This section discusses the perspective of memory from the cognitive learning approach
by introducing the multiple store theory of memory. The multiple store theory of memory
views the memory process as utilizing three different storage areas within the human
brain, as illustrated in Exhibit 4.6. The three storage areas are:
1. Sensory memory  This is the area in memory where all of the things we
encounter with any of the five human senses are stored. This portion of memory
is considered to be preattentive. The different storage mechanisms are:
a. Iconic storage  Refers to storage of visual information
b. Echoic storage  Refers specifically to the storage of auditory information
2. Workbench (short-term) memory  This is the area in the memory system
where information is stored and encoded for placement in long-term memory
and, eventually, retrieved for future use.
a. Encoding  Process by which information is transferred from workbench
memory to long-term memory for permanent storage
b. Retrieval  Process by which information is transferred back into workbench
memory for additional processing when needed
3. Long-term memory – This type of memory includes unlimited capacity and
duration, semantic meaning, and semantic/associative networks.
72
© South-Western/Cengage Learning
Chapter 4:
Slide 15
Slide 16
Comprehension, Memory, and Cognitive Learning
Slide 17
Q: Have students participate in an exercise using their sensory memory. Take a
quick look at an object, and then close your eyes. What happens in the
fractions of a second immediately after shutting your eyes? In most
instances, the brain will “hold” the image—that is, the image can still be seen
mentally.
LO3. Understand how consumers make associations with meaning as a key way
to learn.
Slide 18
Four mental processes help consumers “remember” things. They are:
1. Repetition – Repetition is a process in which a thought is held in short-term
memory by mentally “saying” the thought repeatedly.
2. Dual coding – This is a process in which two different sensory “traces” are
available to remember something. A trace is a mental path by which some
thought becomes active.
3. Meaningful encoding – This process occurs when preexisting knowledge is
used to assist in storing new information.
4. Chunking – Chunking is a process of grouping stimuli by meaning so that
multiple stimuli can become a single memory unit.
© South-Western/Cengage Learning
73
Chapter 4:
Comprehension, Memory, and Cognitive Learning
Slide 19
Q: Try to have students memorize the following license plate: TT867-53-09.
A: One way in which this number could be remembered is by thinking it
repeatedly. This process is also known as rehearsal.
However, one major problem with rehearsal is cognitive interference. Cognitive
interference simply means that other information is vying for processing capacity when
a consumer rehearses information.
Slide 20
Icon indicates web site links to related topics.
Many ways are listed in the book to aid consumers in remembering information
including:
 Dual coding
 Meaningful encoding
 Chunking
74
© South-Western/Cengage Learning
Chapter 4:
Comprehension, Memory, and Cognitive Learning
Marketers who are designing advertisements or web sites, for example, should
therefore be careful to group information together by meaning in order to assist
consumers in encoding meaningful chunks of information.
LO4. Use the concept of associative networks to map relevant consumer
knowledge.
Slide 21
When knowledge is stored in long-term memory, it’s stored as an associative or
“semantic” network. Exhibit 4.8 illustrates the concept of a consumer’s associative
network that shows spreading activation involving the Mercedes Benz brand.
Slide 22
Slide 23
Icon indicates web site links to related topics.
Declarative knowledge is a psychology term used to represent when two nodes are
linked by a path in an associative network. Nodes simply represent concepts in the
network, while paths demonstrate the association between nodes in the network.
Exhibit 4.9 illustrates an example involving declarative knowledge and snack foods.
© South-Western/Cengage Learning
75
Chapter 4:
Comprehension, Memory, and Cognitive Learning
Slide 24
Q: Have students provide examples similar to Exhibit 4.9, such as candy or
another food category like lunch foods. Note: The example should be a
product category and not a brand, such as used in Exhibit 4.8. It can be any
category that will get students to use the terms nodes and path in their
discussion. Allow students to access the exhibit from the PowerPoint
presentation and the book.
LO5. Be able to apply the concept of a cognitive “schema,” including exemplars
and prototypes, to understand how consumers react to new products.
Slide 25
Cognitive Schemas
A consumer’s knowledge for a brand or a product is contained in a schema. A schema
is a type of associative network that works as a cognitive representation of a
phenomenon that provides meaning to that entity.
1. Exemplar – An exemplar is a concept within a schema that is the single best
representative of some category. Exemplars vary from person to person. For
example, an exemplar for sports could be Tiger Woods, and an exemplar of a
76
© South-Western/Cengage Learning
Chapter 4:
Comprehension, Memory, and Cognitive Learning
vacation destination could be Disneyworld. Exhibit 4.10 illustrates other possible
category exemplars.
2. Prototype – A prototype is a conglomeration of the most associated
characteristics of a category. For example, a car salesperson might not conjure
up a picture of a particular exemplar, but several characteristics of a salesperson
may come to mind.
Slide 26
Slide 27
Reaction to Products or Brands
When consumers encounter new products or brands, they react to them by comparing
the new products with the existing schema. The example in the book discusses the
introduction of the smart car. Because Europeans were used to driving smaller cars, it
was easier for European consumers to accept the new product.
Slide 28
Icon indicates web site links to related topics.
© South-Western/Cengage Learning
77
Chapter 4:
Comprehension, Memory, and Cognitive Learning
Q: Ask for student opinions on the smart car (found on the PowerPoint
presentation, or visit the web site at http://www.smartusa.com/). Would they
be willing to drive it? If not, why not?
A: Answers will vary depending on student driving habits, such as city versus
rural drivers.
A script is a schema representing an event. For example, when a consumer dines in a
nice Italian restaurant, the script probably contains valet parking, greetings from a
mâitre d’ in a nice suit, seating at a table covered with a table cloth, and so on.
Q: If their name is called out early when test grades are being passed out, ask
students whether they agree with the statement that the test result will
generally be good.
A: Answers will vary. If this script does in fact exist, the longer students must
wait to get their test scores, the more anxious they will become over the
prospect of a poor grade.
Episodic memory refers to the memory for past events and, as such, they represent
episodes in one’s life. These events may also evoke nostalgia—a yearning to relive past
events—which can also be positively associated with purchase behavior.
Slide 29
Icon indicates web site links to related topics.
A social schema, or social stereotype, is the cognitive representation that gives a
specific type of person meaning. One example of a social schema is voting for the next
President. Even though consumers may not like politicians, they will likely vote for a
“typical” candidate over an “atypical” candidate because at least the typical candidate
matches the job description.
78
© South-Western/Cengage Learning
Chapter 4:
Comprehension, Memory, and Cognitive Learning
Q: Ask students to provide examples of social stereotypes.
A: Answers will vary, but the book can provide deeper insight with additional
examples if students struggle to come up with examples in class.
Elaboration refers to the extent to which a person continues processing a message
even after an initial understanding is achieved in the comprehension stage. In a
marketing context, therefore, appeals that ask a consumer to fill in aspects from their
own lives are likely to lead to deeper comprehension and better recall.
POWERPOINT® VIDEO SUMMARY AND QUESTIONS
Harley Davidson
Slide 30
Summary
In 1903, William S. Harley and Arthur Davidson opened shop to sell the first production
Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Today, their motorcycles are legendary, and millions
around the world have made the experience of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle a central
part of their lives. Relationship marketing is the core of the company’s marketing
strategy. Customization, community, and the Harley-Davidson experience have resulted
in high brand loyalty for the company.
Source: BUSN, Ch 11, http://www.harley-davidson.com/wcm/Content/Pages/HD_History/history.jsp?locale=en_US&bmLocale=en_US
Questions
1. How does Harley-Davidson create meaning and value in the minds of
consumers?
2. Describe the brand schema for Harley-Davidson.
© South-Western/Cengage Learning
79
Chapter 4:
Comprehension, Memory, and Cognitive Learning
Answers
1. Harley-Davidson shapes and reinforces consumer understanding of and
connection with their brand by creating on ongoing Harley-Davidson experience.
Owners create their own unique meanings and expressions as they ride and
customize their motorcycles. These experiences, reinforced by the H-D
community, build into the receiver characteristics of involvement/motivation,
habituation/familiarity, and balance theory/brand loyalty.
2. A consumer’s knowledge for a brand or product is contained in a schema.
Harley-Davidson is considered the exemplar of motorcycles. An exemplar is a
schema that is the single best representative of some category. Thus, each time
a consumer encounters a motorcycle, the mind compares all of the
characteristics of the motorcycle to a Harley-Davidson.
END OF CHAPTER MATERIAL
CASE ANSWERS (PAGE 81)
1. How important is the country of origin to consumers’ comprehension of designer
products like those sold by Antonio’s company?
Answer: One’s country of origin can definitely influence both comprehension and
consumer purchasing behavior. Consumers hold various associations about
countries, products, and product origin in their associative memory networks, and
these associations do affect their comprehension of certain products. As
consumers react to marketing messages that include a country-of-origin element,
these feelings will be relayed into short-term memory, thus affecting
comprehension. For some consumers, these effects will be more profound than for
others.
2. Play the role of the VP-Marketing. What would your reaction be? How could
knowledge that the bag is produced in China potentially harm or enhance the
brand?
Answer: Again, consumers will hold various associations about countries and
products in their memories, and this will affect their comprehension of marketing
messages as well as their reactions to products. The VP-Marketing is likely to be
very hesitant about the suggested change—not necessarily because of negative
inferences to China, but because of the strong reputation of the brand. The
company has most likely put much time, effort, and money into promoting the
brand as a prestigious Italian product, and therefore moving the production to any
other country might be detrimental to the brand.
3. Antonio suggests simply removing the stitching that says “Made in Italy” as a way
of not misleading consumers. Would such a move address any ethical concerns
that may exist once production is moved to China? Explain why.
80
© South-Western/Cengage Learning
Chapter 4:
Comprehension, Memory, and Cognitive Learning
Answer: Antonio would need to be careful not to break any applicable laws. If his
intent is to mislead consumers, then there would be an ethical problem. It is not
unethical to move production to China. However, consumers should be aware of
where the product has been made, and labeling laws would then apply. It would be
more ethical for the company to decide to be truthful with their marketing
promotions regarding where the product was actually made.
REVIEW QUESTIONS
(*) Indicates material on prep cards
1. [LO1] What is comprehension? What are the three categories of factors that affect
consumer comprehension? Provide an example of each.
Answer: Comprehension refers to the interpretation or understanding that a
consumer develops about some attended stimulus in order to assign meaning. The
three categories include the following (see Exhibit 4.2):



Characteristics of the message – A message presented with themeconsistent music is more easily comprehended than a message with
inconsistent music (advertisement for traveling to China accompanied by
Chinese music).
Characteristics of the message receiver – This involves the consumer’s
habituation/adaptation level. Consumers who are accustomed to receiving
bad service at a health clinic may not be negatively affected by another
instance of bad service.
Characteristics of the environment – This involves consumer priming.
Information presented in a negative context may make consumers less afraid
of risk than information presented in a positive context. A consumer thinking
about being $20 ahead in the casino may be less afraid of risk than a
consumer thinking about losing $20 and needing to win it back.
2.* [LO1] A manufacturer of recreational boats is purchasing advertisements in the
Wall Street Journal. They believe this is a good way to reach an important target
market and educate them about the advantages of their boats. In particular, the
company is trying to decide whether the ad should contain color or black and white
ads. What are the key things that should be considered in making the color/black
and white decision?
Answer: Color can indeed focus more attention. Therefore, the company should
consider how many additional consumers will pay attention to a color ad rather
than a black and white ad. The costs of using color should be considered. If more
exposure can be obtained from multiple black and white ads that are the same
price as a single color ad, the black and white ads may be a good choice. The
meaning obtained from color directly should be considered, which may vary by
culture. However, colorblind consumers cannot extract this meaning.
© South-Western/Cengage Learning
81
Chapter 4:
Comprehension, Memory, and Cognitive Learning
3. [LO1] Visit http://www.smart.com, which is the home web site of the smart car. If
we assume that the goal of the site is to communicate knowledge to people who
are otherwise unfamiliar with the product, does the web site illustrate any factors
that may affect comprehension in a way that interferes with this goal? What is the
intended figure, and what is the intended ground of this home page?
Answer: This is a general discussion question. The key is for students to use
information such as that found in Exhibit 4.2 to answer the question.
Characteristics of the message itself are probably the most relevant responses, but
students may make some assumptions about the message receiver as well.
4. [LO1] What advice would you have for a marketing company that is considering
the use of avatars on their web site? Lead this exercise in the context of trying to
help consumers to comprehend the content of the site.
Answer: Any spokesperson’s effectiveness depends on the following qualities:
likeability, expertise, trustworthiness, and attractiveness. These same
characteristics apply to an avatar as well as to a human being. Therefore,
consumers are more likely to comprehend a message in a desired fashion when
the avatar possesses these characteristics.
5. [LO1] What message receiver characteristics affect comprehension of a
message?
Answer: The characteristics are as follows:







Intelligence
Ability
Involvement
Familiarity/habituation
Expectations
Physical limits
Brain dominance
6. [LO1] Define the concepts of habituation and adaptation level. How might these
concepts explain why one consumer considers Wal-Mart to be a discount store
while another considers it to be a department store? How might these concepts
explain the different value that consumers from different parts of the world might
assign to a fast-food restaurant, such as McDonald’s?
Answer: Habituation is the process by which continuous exposure to a stimulus
affects the comprehension of and response to the stimulus. Consumers from small,
isolated towns may not have a great deal of experience with more upscale
shopping environments and are thus habituated to shopping experiences that are
relatively low in quality, service, and hedonic shopping value. Thus, Wal-Mart may
not be considered a discount store among less affluent consumers; they instead
might consider a second-hand store or a St. Vincent de Paul store to be a
“discount” store. In contrast, consumers from the city can even discriminate
between the Super Target shopping experience as generally more pleasant than
82
© South-Western/Cengage Learning
Chapter 4:
Comprehension, Memory, and Cognitive Learning
the typical Wal-Mart experience. In some parts of the world, typical American-style
“fast food” may be considered a luxury. Thus, if a consumer is habituated toward a
meager diet with very simple, basic, and plain food, McDonald’s food could be
viewed as a luxury.
7. [LO1] Would it be better for a company that sells packaged cookies and crackers
to use the term “100 percent fat free!” or “0 percent fat!” on their product label?
What concept is illustrated by this choice?
Answer: This concept illustrates prospect theory. Students should determine
whether the phrase causes consumers to avoid losing something or look forward to
gaining something. The term “0 percent fat” is probably more consistent with loss
avoidance.
8. [LO2] What three storage areas are responsible for memory? Describe each in
terms of its duration and capacity. Where is meaning attached to stimuli?
Answer: The three storage areas are sensory, short-term (workbench), and longterm memories. Sensory memory is of extremely short duration (.25 seconds to
12 seconds at most) and unlimited capacity. Short-term memory is of short
duration (a few seconds to perhaps 30 seconds) and limited capacity (37 chunks).
Long-term memory is of unlimited duration and capacity.
9.* [LO2] The chapter illustrated the transition of Mountain Dew from a brand
associated with hillbillies and feuding to the brand we know today that illustrates
youth and energy. How does a transition like this affect value? Explain your
answer.
Answer: The change in meaning that occurs as consumers process the
information (in memory) and store the meaning within the associative network
changes the value. Items with positive meanings have more value.
10. [LO3] What processes do consumers use in order to learn by making associations
with meaning?
Answer: Consumers use repetition, dual coding, meaningful encoding, and
chunking as ways to associate items together and ultimately affect a product’s
meaning. In particular, meaningful encoding leads to the development of clear
schemas for products that are part of the consumer’s associative network. The
schema ultimately defines the brand/product and activates rules that indicate how
much value the brand/product provides. The KFC example in the chapter and
Exhibit 4.8 also help to illustrate this point.
11. [LO3] Look for marketing messages in either print advertisements or on the
Internet. Find one that you believe illustrates a successful way in which to get
consumers to chunk information for better recall later. Explain your reasons.
© South-Western/Cengage Learning
83
Chapter 4:
Comprehension, Memory, and Cognitive Learning
Answer: This exercise helps students reinforce the concept of chunking. Any
advertisement that tries to present material in a way that is easy to process will
probably suffice. An ad that repeats information is acceptable, but one that
provides easier coding is even better. Students may even find examples of dual
coding, which makes the storage of information easier.
12.* [LO3] Of the four types of mental processes to help remember things discussed in
the chapter, which is most effective? Does this have implications for the way you
study?
Answer: The four types of mental processes are repetition, dual coding,
meaningful encoding, and chunking. Relying on repetition is probably not wise;
however, repetition is probably the most common method of studying.
13. [LO4] What is an associative network? Why do you believe it is sometimes called
a semantic network? Where are associative networks located?
Answer: An associative network is a network of mental pathways linking
knowledge within memory. As an analogy, these networks are similar to family
trees because they represent known linkages between objects. They are
sometimes called semantic networks because semantics (meaning “taken from
words”) develop here. Associative networks are stored in long-term memory.
14.* [LO4LO5] Interview five consumers and ask them what are the first five words
that come into their minds when they hear the following words listed below. Use the
results to draw a schema that represents consumer knowledge of each brand.




Honda
Grey Goose
Nokia
McDonald’s
Answer: Students should draw a schema resembling Exhibits 4.8 or 4.9 but with
meanings specific to the listed brands. Common associations would include
reliable, French, phone, and Big Mac, respectively.
15. [LO5] Are any of the brands listed in Question 14 a category exemplar or
prototype, as shown in Exhibit 4.10?
Answer: Honda may be the exemplar for a reliable car category, and McDonald’s
is likely to be the exemplar for the fast-food category. No brand can truly be a
prototype. Prototypes are not tied to a real entity, but are instead amalgamations of
all instances of that category.
84
© South-Western/Cengage Learning
Chapter 4:
Comprehension, Memory, and Cognitive Learning
INTERACTIVE/APPLICATION EXERCISES
16. [LO5] In Chapter 3, the concept of assimilation–contrast was discussed. What is
the relevance of this theory of categorization in comprehending how consumers
accept or reject new brand extensions (new products sold under an existing brand
name)? For instance, if Honda introduced a laptop computer, would consumers
accept the product?
Answer: When consumers encounter new products or brands, they react to them
by comparing them with the existing schema. To illustrate, consider that Europeans
are used to driving very small cars. Thus, when the smart car was introduced, they
were more likely to accept it as an automobile than were American consumers. If
Honda introduced a laptop computer, it might be accepted better than if another
brand, such as Chrysler, introduced the computer. The Honda schema would
include nodes of reliability, advanced engineering, perhaps Japanese, and other
nodes that overlap with a computer schema better than many other brands that
currently sell cars, particularly domestic brands.
17. [LO1] Prepare a short position statement that describes your agreement or
disagreement with the following statement: “All product safety labels should be
presented in multiple languages (at least the three most common languages in the
area) and without the use of colors.”
Answer: For this exercise, students should use material from the chapter when
defending their positions, whatever they may be. It would be implausible to present
safety labels in all languages. By placing the warning in three languages, more
people will be able to comprehend it; however, if the warning involves more than a
few words, a smaller number of consumers may try to work through the clutter to
actually process the message. Colors can also be helpful in grabbing attention, so
perhaps color should not be banned.
18.* [LO2] Interview a consumer about nostalgia. Ask them to describe purchases they
have made that they would associate with nostalgia. How is this related to the idea
of an associative network? How does nostalgia affect value?
Answer: Nostalgic thinking will link things from a student’s past to things in the
present. Some brand associations from the past can be fairly strong. These
associations can evoke powerful images and change the meaning of current-day
products, thus changing their value. Students might be encouraged to bring in
examples of advertisements or brands that will evoke nostalgia.
In this case, students are required to utilize their understanding of the three
memory systems in the design of an introductory advertising campaign. To do this,
they must develop specific communication components and detail how these
components will encourage appropriate processing of the advertising message.
You may want to choose a product found in a convenience store or grocery store,
such as snack foods or contact lens solution.
© South-Western/Cengage Learning
85
Chapter 4:
Comprehension, Memory, and Cognitive Learning
GROUP ACTIVITY
This activity should be undertaken after students have become familiar with the
traditional model of memory through textbook readings and class lectures/discussions.
The dialogue can then be used as an effective review of memory concepts. Have
students form into groups to encourage participation and shared experiences. First,
have the groups determine their product category and advertising message to
consumers. Have them develop a tag line and possibly a magazine ad (without the aid
of a computer) by using creativity and not artistry.
Present students with the following scenarios for their reactions:
1. What can you build into your advertisements that will boost the chances that
target audience members will “take in” the ad and send it along to short-term
memory for processing?
2. Are there elements in the ad that can be used to facilitate later retrieval of your
message? Most of your “potential” customers will purchase this new product at
their supermarket or drug store. What additional things can you do at the point of
purchase that will help consumers retrieve the advertising message information
from long-term memory?
NEWSROOM CLIPS
A Study into Left Brain, Right Brain Learning
http://www.thenewsroom.com/details/1566908/All+Categories
Time 2:37
Summary
Mira Halpert has designed a 3-D learner program which helps students with left brain or
right brain learning. The program focuses on hands on learning and can capture what
students are actually seeing.
Questions
1. What factors are associated with the 3-D learner in terms of comprehension?
2. How can the 3-D learner help with selective perception?
Answers
1. Kids learn in 3-D. In terms of comprehension, it refers to the interpretation or
understanding that a consumer develops about some attended stimulus in order
to assign meaning. While the program is changing the lives of kids, scientific
studies are still needed.
86
© South-Western/Cengage Learning
Chapter 4:
Comprehension, Memory, and Cognitive Learning
2. The 3-D learner can help with selective perception because kids learn in 3-D. In
a traditional book, kids can glance and skip over pages, hence “selective”
perception. Reliance on selective perception should be dramatically cut with the
assistance of the 3-D learner.
Cloned Meat Won’t Get Labels
http://www.thenewsroom.com/details/1709519/All+Categories
Time 2:49
Summary
How would you feel if you purchased beef and it came from a cloned cow? Cloned cows
can produce both meat and milk that taste the same as noncloned cows. The FDA
states that the study has shown no adverse effects on humans. These products could
appear on our shelves soon.
Questions
1. Should the NLEA get involved with the issue of cloned beef labels? What is the
purpose of the NLEA?
2. How could cloned beef labels change consumers’ expectations about the
product?
Answers
1. Whether the NLEA should become involved with the issue of cloned beef labels
is an issue that students should debate. The purpose of the NLEA, or Nutrition
Labeling and Education Act, is to ensure that consumers understand product
warnings and nutrition labels regardless of their level of involvement.
2. Consumers will start to question whether the qualities of their products are the
same. Ask students to share their feelings about the subject with the class.
© South-Western/Cengage Learning
87