Learning and Memory

Question 1

why is learning important for consumer behaviour?

Answer 1

becuase the consumer behaviour is an outcome of learning

Question 2

define the term learning.

Answer 2

= a relatively permanent change in the behaviour caused by experience.
an ongoing process, may be incidental

Question 3

define the term involvement.

Answer 3

= the motivation for processing information.
e.g. non-focused information processing is low-involvement (most consumer learning is in this context); conscious information seeking and processing

Question 4

what changes the degree of involvement?

Answer 4

• individual that perceives information
• object of involvement
• situation

Question 5

why is involvement important in terms of learning?

Answer 5

it is the main determinant of the type of learning approach the consumer uses

Question 6

what are the two schools of thought regarding learning approaches?

Answer 6

the behaviourists (leearning is the result of responses to external events)
the cognivists (learning is problem solving and changes in consumer's psychological set)

Question 7

state 5 learning theories (2 from behavioural and 3 from cognitive)

Answer 7

1. classical conditioning
2. instrumental conditioning
3. iconic rote learning
4. observational learning (modelling)
5. reasoning

Question 8

which learning theories require high-involvement?

Answer 8

instrumental conditioning, resoning, sometimes also observational learning

Question 9

what do classical and operational conditioning have in common?

Answer 9

they both are conditionings - learning is based on association of a stimulus and a response.

Question 10

state 4 characteristics of classical conditioning

Answer 10

1. learning occurs when primary and secondary stimulus are repeatedly paired (with secondary not eliciting the response on its own)
2. low-involvement
3. example: Pavlov dogs
4. learning is more often a feeling than information

Question 11

how can classical conditioning be used in marketing? state 4 examples.

Answer 11

1. happy in-store music
2. celebrities in ads
3. colours to convey class
4. ice cream trucks with music

Question 12

what are the pitfalls of using classical conditioning in marketing? (3)

Answer 12

1. repetition (advertising wear-out = people blocking out the brand bc they’ve been too exposed)
2. stimulus generalisation (making brand extensions and getting that rub-off effect –> pitfalls: generalising bad outcomes; original brand image may get diluted)
3. stimulus discrimination (learning to respond only to the original stimulus, not to similar ones)

Question 13

state 3 characteristics of instrumental conditioning.

Answer 13

1. conumser is conditioned (learns) by the consequences after his behaviour
2. consumer’s response is either reinforced or discouraged
3. response is voluntary, consumer is exposed to trial-and-error

Question 14

define 4 possible consequences with instrumental conditioning

Answer 14

1. positive reinforcement (rewards; gamification)
2. extinction (removal of positive event)
3. punishment (negative event)
4. negative reinforcement (removal of negative event)

Question 15

state 4 possible reinforcement schedules with instrumental conditioning (with examples)

Answer 15

1. fixed-interval (seasonal sales)
2. variable-interval (determined with help fo secret shoppers)
3. fixed-ratio (free pizza for every 10 pizzas)
4. variable-ratio (slot machine)

Question 16

state two reasons why consumers stop using a prodcut.

Answer 16

1. extinction (no more customer satisfaction - the link btwn stimulus and rewared is broken –> enchance customer satisfaction to prevent it)
2. forgetting (customer forgets about the stimulus –> repeat the ads)

Question 17

state 4 examples of instrumental conditioning used in marketing.

Answer 17

1. free trials
2. free tastings
3. samples of skin care
4. money back guarantees

Question 18

state 3 characteristics of iconic rote learning.

Answer 18

1. learning the association is done in the absence of conditioning
2. memorising through (simple) repetition
3. consumers learn the link between the brand and benefits

Question 19

state 2 characteristics of observational learning.

Answer 19

1. process of observation and then imitation

2. for effectiveness in marketing, it should be easily doable and useful

Question 20

state 2 characteristics of reasoning.

Answer 20

1. uses creative thinking to restructure and recombine already existing information
2. often triggered by info from credible sources that contradict with existing beliefs

Question 21

state 5 influences on the strength of learning.

Answer 21

1. importance of information
2. message involved
3. antecedent state (what info the customer had before)
4. repetition
5. imagery vs text

Question 22

state three stages of the memory process. what is its input?

Answer 22

external info is the input.

1. encoding
2. storage
3. retrieval

Question 23

state the three types of memory. explain each one

Answer 23

1. sensory memory (only a couple seconds, storing input from all five senses, automatical storage)
2. short-term memory (currently activated, interpreting incoming information; marketing: imagery)
3. long-term (permanent storage: semantic (basic knowledge, feelings about concepts) and episodic (memories of life); marketing: use of acronyms, jingles)

Question 24

state 5 ways to enhance the transfer of info from STM to LTM

Answer 24

1. repetition
2. music
3. elaboration
4. pictures and sounds
5. emotional chord through images

Question 25

define the term knowledge structures.

Answer 25

= complex spider webs filled with pieces of data (different levels of abstraction and complexity - concepts, propositions and schemas)

Question 26

define the term schema and state what term is used for the schema of a brand.

Answer 26

schema = set of associations linked to a concept

schema of brand = brand image (what marketers want to influence)

Question 27

how can the brand image be influenced?

Answer 27

with positioning = a marketing strategy used to achieve a specific brand image in relatino to competing brands (perceptual maps help to visualise it)

Question 28

define the term script.

Answer 28

= a memory of how an action sequence occurs (e.g. driving, using ATM, recycling)

Question 29

what factors are needed for retrieving information?

Answer 29

physiological and situational (consumer attention, descriptive brand names, viewing environment)

Question 30

state 4 factors that influence retrieval.

Answer 30

1. mood congruence effect (if the mood is the same with seeing and retrieving, the retrieval is easier)
2. familiarity
3. salience (von Restorff effect) (=when multiple homogeneous stimuli are detected, the outlier will be remembered best)
4. visual vs verbal (visual is usually remembered better)

Question 31

state 3 problems regarding memory measures

Answer 31

1. response biases
2. memory lapses (telescoping = thinking something happened shortly in the past when in fact it did long time ago)
3. illusory truth effect (more likely to believe a familiar statement)

Question 32

why do young people respond to nostalgia marketing and retro brands?

Answer 32

retro brand = an updated verson of a brand from history

bc it proveds input for one’s self identity