Chapter 9
Strength of learning is enhanced by six factors:
1. Importance 2. Message Involvement 3. Mood 4. Reinforcement 5. Repetition 6. Dual Coding
concepts
abstractions of reality that capture the meaning of an item in terms of other concepts
shaping
process of encouraging partial responses leading to the final desired response
brand leverage
refers to marketers capitalizing on brand equity by using an existing brand name for new products AKA: family branding, brand extensions, or umbrella branding
dual coding
storing the same information in different ways -results in more internal pathways for retrieving information
semantic memory
the basic knowledge and feelings an individual has about a concept
explicit memory
the conscious recollection of an exposure event
Low-involvement learning
the consumer has little or no motivation to process or learn the material
high-involvement learning
the consumer is motivated to process or learn the material
maintenance rehearsal
the continual repetition of a piece of information in order to hold it in current memory for use in problem solving or transferal to long-term memory
accessibility
the likelihood and ease with which information can be recalled from LTM
episodic memory
the memory of a sequence of events in which a person participated
brand image
the schematic memory of a brand
analogical reasoning
an inference process that allows consumers to use an existing knowledge base to understand a new situation or object
iconic rote learning
learning a concept or the association between two or more concepts in the absence of conditioning
script
memory of how an action sequence should occur
perceptual mapping
offers marketing managers a useful technique for measuring and developing a product's position
long-term memory (LTM)
portion of total memory devoted to permanent information storage
pulsing
Any time it is important to produce widespread knowledge of the product rapidly, such as during a new-product introduction, frequent (close together) repetitions should be used. This is known as pulsing
Understand the application of learning to brand positioning, equity, and leverage
Brand image, a market segment or individual consumer's schematic memory of a brand, is a major focus of marketing activity. Product positioning is a decision by a marketer to attempt to attain a defined and differentiated brand image, generally in relation to specific competitors. A brand image that matches a target market's needs and desires will be valued by that market segment. Such a brand is said to have brand equity because consumers may be willing to assume that other products with the same brand name will have some of the same features, which relates to how consumers learn to generalize from one stimulus another. Introducing new products under the same name as an existing product is referred to as brand leverage or brand extension.
Distinguish the different processes underlying high- and low-involvement learning
Consumers learn in various ways, which can be broadly classified into high- versus low-involvement learning. High-involvement learning occurs when an individual is motivated to acquire the information. Low-involvement learning occurs when an individual is paying only limited or indirect attention to an advertisement or other message. Low-involvement learning tends to be limited as a result of a lack of elaborative activities. Learning can also be classified as either conditioned or cognitive. There are two forms of conditioned learning: 1) classical: attempts to create an association between a stimulus (ex: brand name) and some response (ex: feeling or behavior). and is generally low involvement in nature 2) Operant: attempts to create an association between a response (ex: buying a brand) and some outcome (ex: satisfaction) that serves to reinforce the response and is generally high involvement in nature The cognitive approach to learning encompasses the mental activities of humans as they work to solve problems, cope with complex situations, or function effectively in their environment. Cognitive learning includes - iconic rote learning (generally low involvement) - vicarious learning/modeling (low or high involvement) - analytical reasoning (generally high involvement) Stimulus generalization is one way of transferring learning by generalizing from one stimulus situation to other, similar ones. Stimulus discrimination refers to the opposite process of learning - responding differently to somewhat similar stimuli. The ability of consumers to differentiate and generalize is critical for successful brand positioning and leverage.
Describe the nature of learning and memory
Learning is any change in the content or organization of long-term memory or behavior and is the result of information processing. Information processing is a series of activities by which stimuli are perceived, transformed, and stored. The four activities in the series are 1) exposure 2) attention 3) interpretation 4) memory Thus memory is both an outcome and of learning and a part of the process of learning. For example, when interpreting the price of a brand, consumer may retrieve information about competitor prices (prior learning) and once the comparison is made, store their price perception about the new brand in memory (new learning).
Explain the types of memory and memory's role in learning
Memory is the result of learning, which involves information processing. Most commonly, information goes directly into short-term memory (STM) for processing, where two basic activities occur: 1) maintenance rehearsal: the continual repetition of a piece of information in order to hold it in current memory 2) elaborative activities: the use of stored experiences, values, attitudes, and feelings to interpret and evaluate information in current memory Long-term memory (LTM) is information from previous information that has been stored in LTM is associative networks, or schemas. Consumers often organize information in LTM around brands is the form of brand schemas. These schemas represent the brand's image in terms of key attributes, feelings, experiences, and so on.
Summarize the factors affecting information retrieval from memory
Once learned, information is retrieved from LTM for use in evaluations and decisions. Retrieval failures or extinction of a learned response represents a reduction in marketing effectiveness. Retrieval depends on strength of initial learning, memory interference, and the response environment. Strength of learning depends on 6 factors: 1) importance: refers to the value that the consumer places on the information to be learned 2) message involvement: the degree to which the consumer is interested in the message itself - the greater the message involvement, the greater the learning retrieval 3) reinforcement: anything that increases the likelihood that a response will be repeated in t he future - the greater the reinforcement, the greater the learning and retrieval 4) mood: the temporary mental state or feeling of the consumer - learning and memory appear to be greater in positive mood conditions 5) repetition: refers to the number of times that we are exposed to the information or that we engage in a behavior - repetition increases learning and memory buy can also lead to wearout 6) dual coding: involves creating multiple complementary pathways to a concept in LTM - increases learning and retrieval Memory interference occurs when consumers have difficulty retrieving a specific piece of information because other related information in memory gets in the way. A common form of memory interference is due to competitive advertising. Competitive interference INCREASES with increased advertising clutter, but can be REDUCED by strengthening learning, reducing similarity to competitor ads, and providing retrieval cues. The response environment can also be critical to retrieval. Matching the response environment to the learning environment, or matching the learning environment to the response environment, can enhance the ease and likelihood of retrieval
product positioning
a decision by a marketer to try to achieve a defined brand image relative to competition within a market segment
product repositioning
a deliberate decision to significantly alter the way the market views a product
schema
a pattern of associations around a particular concept AKA: schematic memory or knowledge structure
conditioning
a set of procedures that marketers can use to increase the chances that an association between two stimuli is formed or learned
flashbulb memory
acute memory for the circumstances surrounding a surprising and novel event
learning
any change in the content or organization of long-term memory or behavior
punishment
any consequence that decreases the likelihood that a given response will be repeated in the future -opposite of reinforcement
reinforcement
anything that increases the likelihood of a given response will be repeated in the future positive reinforcement: pleasant or desired consequence negative reinforcement: involves the removal or avoidance of an unpleasant consequence
operant conditioning
attempts to create an association between a response and some outcomes that serves to reinforce the response
classical conditioning
attempts to create an association between a stimulus and some response
vicarious learning
consumers can observe the outcomes of others' behaviors and adjust their own accordingly. They can also use imagery to anticipate the outcome of various courses of action AKA modeling
modeling
consumers can observe the outcomes of others' behaviors and adjust their own accordingly. They can also use imagery to anticipate the outcome of various courses of action AKA vicarious learning
cognitive learning
encompasses all the mental activities of humans as they work to solve problems or cope with situations involves learning: - ideas - concepts - attitudes - facts that contribute to our ability to reason, solve problems, and learn relationships
retrieval failure
forgetting in cognitive learning information that is available in LTM cannot be accessed (retrieved from LTM to STM)
self-referencing
indicates that consumers are relating brand information to themselves
analytical reasoning
individuals engage in creative thinking to restructure and recombine existing information as well as new information to form new associations and concepts -most complex form of cognitive learning
imagery
involves concrete sensory representations of ideas feelings, and objects. It permits a direct recovery of aspects of past experiences involves the recall and mental manipulation of sensory images, including sight, smell, taste, and tactile (touch) sensations
implicit memory
non-conscious retrieval of previously encountered stimuli
stimulus generalization
rub-off effect, occurs when a response to one stimulus is elicited by a similar but distinct stimulus
stimulus discrimination
the process of learning to respond differently to similar but distinct stimuli
elaborative activities
the use of previously stored experiences, values, attitudes, beliefs, and feelings to interpret and evaluate information in working memory as well as to add relevant previously stored information
brand equity
the value consumers assign to a brand above and beyond the functional characteristics of the product
memory interference
when consumers have difficulty retrieving a specific piece of information because other related information in memory gets in the way
extinction
when the desired response decays or dies out if learning is not repeated and reinforced -happens in conditioned learning
advertising wear-out
when too much repetition an cause consumers to actively shut out the message, evaluate it negatively, or disregard it
short-term memory (STM)
working memory, the portion of total memory that is currently activated or in use