Consumer Behavior Topic 6
Learning Theory, Involvement Theory and Brand Loyalty
We speak of learning theory as the process by which experience leads to change in
knowledge attitudes, and/or behavior
1. Cognitive approach to learning – maintains that learning is mainly reflected by
changes in mental process. Learning by rehearsal is one method in which the
information is mentally repeated to transfer it from STM to LTM, such as with a
telephone number that we repeat to remember.
Another cognitive method is elaboration which involves making links/connections
to existing knowledge The amount of elaboration depends on the motivation of
the learner and the ability – the more they want to know, the harder they will
work on elaboration as well as the more they know, the easier it is to learn
additional things
Work in the cognitive are of learning focuses on methods to enhance retention –
how to improve memory of an advertisement:
a. pictures (with multi media) – visual imagery helps – such as using the
brand name and associating it with a visual (i.e., White Horse liquor
has the picture of a white horse on the label; Era stain remover for
years had an ad in which the product is written onto a white sheet with
a stain – when the Era is washed away, the sheet is white through the
script of “Era” and this is extremely memorable
b. concrete words vs. abstract words – concrete words are easier to
visualize (tree ocean vs. liberty, democracy) – (i.e., Newsweek
magazine vs. Suave hair products). A study in the Journal of Applied
Psychology looked at brand names to determine meaningfulness and
fittingness – that is, does the word have meaning that is appropriate for
the product (i.e., Leggs stockings that come in a plastic egg, Spring
Cleaning software; Easy Off oven cleaner; Slurpees). The findings
clearly indicated that the more meaningful the name is, the more
memorable. There are companies that specialize in brand names (i.e.,
Name Lab).
c. Self-referencing – if you can relate the information to yourself and
your experience, you will more likely retain it – think of how direct
mail often opens with your name “Dear Tatiana”
d. Mnemonic devices – rhymes – excellent – (i.e., The Quicker
PickerUpper; 2 all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, onion on
a sesame seed bun; Nyquil the sniffling, sneezing……)
e. Time compressed speech – tests have indicated that the editorial
process in which all pauses are technically removed from a sound
track through editing, can help recall
f. Repetition – frequency is what advertising is based – however too
many repetitions may cause the advertising wear out and the audience
to stop paying attention
To measure learning, if you are considering the cognitive approach, researchers will use
recognition and recall scores (most advertisers use recall scores – both aided and unaided.
In fact, most ads are tested by recall tests although some researchers believe that recall is
not a good way to learn with certain products. Recall can be done on the phone – phone
the participant and ask them if they remember seeing an ad about ______ if they say yes,
then they may remember the product, or they may need prompting. The amount of
prompting directly corresponds to the recall score.
Factual ads score better on recall (facts about products) vs. image/emotion.
A lot of learning is passive or incidental learning vs. active/intentional. Watching a
commercial is passive and accidental learning takes place.
2. Behavorist approach to learning – observable behavior – there are two major
schools:
a. classical conditioning theory where the focus on learning is by
repetition or continuity (i.e., Pavlov’s dog who was taught to salivate to the sound
of the bell – many feel advertising has the same effect. An unconditioned
stimulus would be the response the viewer/reader feels when they see an ad in
which people are playing on beach and this scene creates a pleasant emotion for
them. A conditioned response is Pavlov’s dog where a neutral stimuli is
associated with a brand.
b. operant conditioning – focus on conditioning by reinforcement and
punishment.
1. total (continuous) reinforcement – faster learning, but if the
reward is stopped, there is faster extinction in behavior – this is the problem if you
try to get rid of the continuous reinforcement – the perfect example is Cracker
Jacks in which there is always a prize
2. partial (intermittent) reinforcement – if random, then the learning
is more engraved and harder to lose – it becomes more imbedded in the
personality – such as rewards printed inside of bottle caps
There is also immediate reinforcement vs. delayed – in marketing a
delayed reinforcement is a coupon – a delay in reinforcement – however in
marketing the more immediate the reward, the more effective.
Shaping is fading out of reinforcement. This is the way you train animals
where behavior is rewarded. Generally, you start with smaller behavior goals and
work to higher goals. Of course, as stated before, the goal is to fadeout the
reinforcement (i.e., with a new product you may give a free sample with a coupon
then perhaps just a coupon and eventually no coupon, so the reinforcement has
been faded out. This is the problem with a lot of sales promotion efforts in that
the public gets used to the sales promo and wants the reward and then will not buy
without the reward.
Positive reinforcement is where you give something – such as food (i.e.
two for the price of one) whereas negative reinforcement is where you take
something away – in advertising, that deletion would be “this product will remove
headaches) because in marketing the goal is to be positive and you don’t really
have the ability to punish the buyer so the focus is on reinforcement
There is also primacy vs. secondary reinforcement. Some reinforcements
have value in their own right (candy inside a cereal box – this gives you pleasure
whereas a coupon does not). But money is secondary so it is strong and does give
you a delayed pleasure. Rebates are a form of delayed pleasure. Again, however,
if you want to shape a behavior, you must fade out the reinforcement.
2. Another kind of learning is vicarious learning – it is more cognitive and less
behavioral – this is how your thoughts work. With modeling, people observe an
action of a model and see the consequences of the action (i.e., teaching a child to
use silverware by having one child observe another who uses the silverware and is
rewarded for doing so – also done with rewards for potty training). Advertising
does this sort of modeling (i.e., someone uses a mouthwash and gets to kiss the
girl; American Express reward points).
The ultimate form of learning is Brand Loyalty. In consumer behavior, how people shop
is studied a great deal and why they are brand loyal to particular products (i.e., cigarettes,
sodas) and not loyal to others.
How do we define loyalty? We used to say that it was a “high degree of repeat
purchasing” but then it was realized that there had to be a distinction made between true
loyalty or spurious/false loyalty (i.e., only loyal is lowest price in category). So the
phrase “a favorable attitude” has been added and thus we must now measure attitudes.
Today loyal is dropping due to prices.
What we know about brand loyalty: if the product represent a high share of the market,
then it has more loyal people. If the product category is high in perceived risk, then
purchasers are more loyal. If it is a high involvement product, there is more loyalty.
Generally, brand loyal people tend to be more loyal and tend to stick to a brand. A good
example would be the high market share of Goya products for the Hispanic market.
Although many other manufacturers make these same products, Goya is very popular in
the Hispanic market. If there are a lot of acceptable brand (evoked set) then the loyalty
decreases. There use to be a belief that loyalty was associated with differences between
brands, but now so many brands have become so similar, that the differences are not
pronounced. (i.e., cameras and lenses are now manufactured within very narrow
parameters due to computer models so a Cannon and a Nikon are practically identical –
this did not use to be the case).