Chapter 4

Learning and Memory

1/32
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.
 Two theories can be used to explain learning
process:
• Behavioral learning theory
• Cognitive learning theory
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 (CR)
causing the response
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.
 Consumer confusion: consumers are confused about too similar products and
images
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: B.F. Skinner
 Instrumental conditioning occurs in one of three ways:
 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
Black box
importance of internal mental processes. Internal
Response
This perspective views people as problem- Stimuli Observable
mental
behaviors
solvers who actively use information from process

the world around them to master their

environments.
 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
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
 A flashbulb memory is a vivid and concrete memory that is
created in the brain when a person experiences or learns of
emotional, shocking events
 A narrative or a description of a product that is written as a story,
is often an effective way to convey product information.
20/32 Memory
Memory Systems

How good is your memory?

Who is this person ? When did UEH establish?

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

21/32 Memory
Remember this number:
Memory Systems 15917902809

Chunking: we combine small pieces of “ the magical number 7+/-2”

information into larger ones. optimal size for efficient retrieval: 3-4 chunks

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 Information subjected to
through an attentional gate is elaborative rehearsal or deep
transferred to short-term processing (e.g., its meaning is
memory 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
 Spacing effect describes the tendency for us to recall printed material more effectively
when the advertiser repeats the target item periodically, rather than presenting it
repeatedly in a short time period.
 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.
 Highlighting effect: the order in which consumers learn about
brands determines the strength of association between
these brands and their attributes.
 Salience and recall: salient brands are more likely to
increases the likelihood that we will recall them
 Von Restorff Effect: almost any technique that increases the
novelty of a stimulus also improves recall.
 Emotional appeals ads: mixed emotions vs. unipolar
emotions
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. 我不知道怎么回家

 Memory Lapses: People are also prone

to forget information or retain inaccurate
memories
 Omitting: leaving facts out
 Averaging: the tendency to “normalize”
memories by not reporting extreme cases
 Telescoping: inaccurate recall of time
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.