Classical, Instrumental, Cognitive Learning

INSIDE THE CONSUMER’S MIND
II
PART
CL A SSIC AL CONDITIONING
The Most Famous Dog in Psychology
We will talk about consumers in a minute, but first a story about the most famous
dog in psychology—known simply as Pavlov’s Dog. Ivan Petrovich Pavlov was a Russian
psychologist interested in understanding the learning processes of humans and animals. A
giant in the field in his time (1849-1936), with a Nobel Prize in physiology, Pavlov studied
the human learning process by experimenting on animals. In his experiments, Pavlov
harnessed a dog, gave him some meat powder, and observed that the dog salivated. This
salivation is an inherited reflex. Next, Pavlov rang a bell just before giving the dog meat
powder, and repeated this sequence several times; the dog salivated every time. Then, he
merely rang the bell without giving the dog any meat powder. Now, you wouldn’t expect
the dog to salivate just with the ringing of the bell, would you? Yet in this experiment, the
dog did!
This finding was groundbreaking in the study of human learning, but to appreciate
it fully, you must first learn a few technical terms. In this experiment, the meat powder
is called an unconditioned stimulus, and the bell is called a conditioned stimulus. An
unconditioned stimulus (UCS) refers to a stimulus to which the consumer already has a
pre-existing response. A conditioned stimulus (CS) is a stimulus to which the consumer
either does not have a response or has a pre-existing response that needs modification, so
a new response needs to be conditioned.1
In summarizing his findings, Pavlov said he had conditioned the dog to salivate to the
bell. In other words, the dog had “learned” the salivating response to the bell. Note that
the salivating response to the meat powder itself did not have to be learned, since it already
existed as an instinctual response. Rather, the transfer (i.e., conditioning) of this response
to the bell, a previously neutral stimulus, is what constitutes “learning.”
Because you may have heard this story many times, nothing may seem unusual about
it on the surface. But think deeper. The sound of the bell is not inherently appealing to
the dog, and the dog had never before salivated on hearing it. However, now the bell
successfully elicits that response.
This is classical conditioning at work—a process of learning by an extension of a
pre-existing response from one stimulus onto another stimulus through exposure to the
two stimuli simultaneously.
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Human Pursuit of Happiness
in the World of Goods
by Avery et al
© Open Mentis , 2010
Source:
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
What Does Pavlov’s Dog Have to Do with Marketing?
Believe it or not, as humans, consumers learn the same way. If we see a new product
or brand paired with a rugged terrain, then we come to perceive that brand as rugged
and masculine. On the contrary, if we see a brand in a setting with soft colors and silky
textures, then we come to identify that brand with a delicate, feminine image. Want proof?
Just check out current magazine ads for Wrangler and Dolce & Gabbana clothing.
Perhaps the most famous case of classical conditioning is the repositioning of Marlboro
cigarettes. In the 1960s, it used to be a woman’s cigarette, complete with a filter and pink
tip (so the lipstick wouldn’t smudge it)! Then the company decided to change its image.
It created a fictional cowboy, in a fictional countryside, out in the Wild, Wild West. Of
course, it also removed the pink-tip filter. Today, if consumers were asked what type of
cigarette Marlboro is, they would invariably say it is a masculine cigarette: and one for
the independent, rugged, adventuresome, macho guy (and for women who see themselves
that way). This is the power of classical conditioning!
Now you know that in the first consumer scenario mentioned above, your friend
Miguel must have learned of the brand image of Polo and Curve through classical
conditioning—by seeing the settings in which these two brands were advertised, since the
two colognes’ inherent features tell nothing about the personality of the two brands.
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
Consumer Learning, Memory, and Nostalgia
4
CHAPTER
Classical Conditioning is Everywhere
For classical conditioning to work, what is absolutely essential is constant pairing—
your brand should be constantly paired with a desirable setting or with another desirable
stimulus. The setting can include any number of things in the ad: color, look and feel of
the ad, scenery, music in the jingle or commercial, or even the event being depicted (e.g.,
two people fighting versus showing affection). Other stimuli in the ad can include other
objects or products (e.g., pair your brand of water, say, with a luxury car), sound bites (e.g.,
lyrics from an Elvis song or the voice of Will & Grace star Megan Mullally), and, of course,
specific persons (e.g., pair your brand of toupee with a tycoon or,
alternatively, a hard-working athlete).
The magic of such pairings is constantly at work in ads
everywhere. Thus, CK perfume is “youthful” because of the
teenage models used in the brand’s advertising, and Giorgio is
“mature” and “richer” because of its Beverly Hills heritage. CocaCola uses real life vignettes (with the tag line “Life is Good.
Coca-Cola.”) to convey its “real-thing” image, while Pepsi uses
Britney Spears and Halle Berry to promote its “New Generation”
image.2
(Courtesy: Stacy Adams)
How do consumers learn which
brand of shoes (and clothing) is
for whom? Stacy Adams shows its
shoes and clothing with fashionable, urban, trendy, young men;
the brand and the wearer add to
each other’s allure. (Allure? See
the admiring woman behind.) Here
Classical conditioning is at work,
superbly, alluringly!
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INSTRUMENTAL LEARNING
Or How a Pigeon Learns to Peck
The second learning mechanism takes us to other animals. Psychologist B.F. Skinner
experimented with pigeons. He built two doors in a pigeon feed box, one fake and one
real. Peck on the fake one, and nothing happens. However, peck on the real one, and food
grains fall out. After a few trials, the pigeons learned to peck on the right door. This is
instrumental learning (also called instrumental conditioning or operant conditioning)—a
process where one learns behavior because it is rewarding. That is, we learn a response
because it is instrumental to obtaining a reward. This is the familiar way we get children to
learn good behaviors—“Eat your vegetables, and you’ll get dessert,” we tell them.
Can marketers use this method to help consumers learn? Absolutely. By rewarding
the consumer if he or she buys the marketer’s brand. Buy my product, and you get a
chance to win a prize. Shop at my store, and you get a “double your coupon” deal. Use my
credit card, and you get some cash back. Fly my airline, and you earn loyalty points good
for a free trip—in fact this is how your friend Christèle must have learned to always fly
with Delta Airlines.
This reward comes in two forms: extrinsic and intrinsic. An extrinsic reward is external
to the product; e.g., coupons, sweepstakes, rebates, and loyalty programs such as frequent
flyer or frequent hotel stay rewards. Cigna, an insurance company, offers incentives to
get its members to engage in pro-health behaviors. In contrast, an intrinsic reward is the
reward built into the product itself—consumers learn to buy and use a product because
My CB Textbook I .com
INSIDE THE CONSUMER’S MIND
II
PART
they find the product itself rewarding. For example, we learn to use Bed Head shampoo
because it renders our hair just the way we want it, and we learn to drink Fruitopia because
we savor its taste. We learn to visit the video game arcade Gameworks because we have
a good time there, and we learn to buy Twelve Girls Band’s new CD Romantic Energy
because we found their previous releases—Eastern Energy, Journey to Silk Road, and
Shining Energy—enchanting. (Check it out at www.twelvegirlsband.com.)
This distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic rewards is important to marketers.
If the product is not, in itself, rewarding to the consumer (or not any more rewarding than
competitors’ products), then, to get the consumer to buy their product, marketers have to
resort to extrinsic rewards, such as coupons, rebates, and frequent buyer rewards. However,
consumer patronage won through such giveaways is rarely lasting. Rather than luring
consumers through constant rebates and promotions, as marketers we should instead
make our product itself intrinsically rewarding to the consumer. That way, the consumer
buys our product not merely because of a coupon or sale (an extrinsic reward), but because
he or she likes our product itself more. That is, as marketers, we have to get the consumer
to learn to respond primarily to our product, not to extrinsic rewards. Frequency award
programs, and indeed all extrinsic rewards, should serve, at best, as proverbial icing on the
cake, but the real lure should be the cake itself.
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MODELING
Human Pursuit of Happiness
in the World of Goods
by Avery et al
© Open Mentis , 2010
Source:
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
Monkey See, Monkey Do
Let’s continue with animals. This time, a monkey—actually, a bunch of them. Watch
them sometime. One monkey would start scratching his head, or making faces, or swinging
from a tree branch, and then all the other monkeys would do the same. This is the third
mechanism of learning, called modeling—a process whereby learning occurs by observing
others.3
This “monkey see, monkey do” phenomenon is very much present in humans as well.
Children learn much of their social behavior by observing and imitating their elders. We
also learn from teachers, celebrities, coworkers, and other role models we admire. Many
teenagers adopted the grunge look sported by teen music artist Avril Lavigne or rapper
Nelly. You now realize that in the third consumer scenario described above, this is how our
neighbor’s son, David, must have learned to dress the way he does.
In our day-to-day lives, we observe people we like or aspire to be like, and we learn
what they consider good to wear, eat, and do. Thus, clothing with specific designer names
becomes popular because influential people wear it. Hairstyles become popular on college
campuses based on peer observations. And we choose careers because someone inspires us
as a role model. Marketers harness this learning mechanism, for example, when they send
product samples to influential and well-respected people, hoping that their followers will
adopt the product when they see their leaders and role models using it.
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
Consumer Learning, Memory, and Nostalgia
4
CHAPTER
COGNITIVE LEARNING
What an Amazing Supercomputer Our Mind Is!
For this fourth and last method of learning, we move from animals to machines. When
people talk about learning, they often are thinking of cognitive learning (rather than the
other three forms). Cognitive learning refers to learning by acquiring new information
from written or oral communication. When we acquire information about something,
whether incidentally and passively or deliberately and actively, we learn cognitively. It is
through cognitive learning that we come to know what or who Nanette Lepore is (it is a
boho designer brand of clothing for young women) or what Wexley School for Girls is (it
is not really a school, much less for girls only; rather, it is the name of a quirky, Seattlebased ad agency). And in reading this book (and in listening to your instructor), you are
actually learning cognitively.
Much of our learning about products also happens this way. Before we purchase
technical products, we read product brochures, ask salespeople questions, and examine
product features. In the fourth consumer scenario, this is how Mary Louise, the friend you
met at Sydney Harbor, must have learned about the various features of Ericsson’s soon-tobe-released model 3G K618 cell phone. And of course, much of our learning about life
or things that are useful to us every day also comes from cognitive learning—by reading
informative articles in newspapers, magazines, or on Web sites, and by listening to words
of wisdom from sages, consultants, soothsayers, and personal advisors. Read Exhibit 4.1,
for example, courtesy of Solis Belt University. (Yes, such a thing really exists!) If you learn
anything about belts, then, well, you have just
experienced cognitive learning.
EXHIBIT
Cognitive learning occurs on two levels: rote
4.1
memorization and problem solving. With rote
memorization, we rehearse the information until
The belt you wear, and how you wear it, matters. Make
it gets firmly lodged in our long-term memory.
your belt an afterthought at your own risk. Here are
Rote memorization can result from active rehearsal
seven tips that will keep you looking good in your belt
no matter the situation
(as in trying to memorize the directions to that
sushi place in Dallas, Deep Sushi), or from passive,
1 Match your belt to your shoes. As with any fashion
repeated exposure to the information (seeing
advice, there are exceptions to this rule, but belts in
Deep Sushi ads often). A great deal of advertising
general should be the same color as your shoes.
aims simply to create a rote memory of the
2 Wear a belt that fits your waist. If you’re a 36 men’s, a
brand name or slogan by repeated presentation.
32 inch belt will only emphasize your denial about it.
Thus, most consumers around the world have
3 If you’re going to own one belt, make it black leather
learned by heart such slogans as “Coca-Cola: The
one with a silver buckle. (Go with a regular buckle.) It’s the
classic look. Canvas, suede, and studded belts work best
Real Thing,” and “Pepsi: The Choice of a New
if you’re aiming for more of a casual or street look. A black
Generation.” After being exposed to brand names
leather belt is the right choice for dress pants and suits
and slogans about a thousand times, consumers
and it works in most casual situations as well.
end up learning them so well that, at the time
4 Don’t wear a belt with suspenders, unless you’re trying
of purchase, they remember and look for those
to look goofy.
brands.
5 If you’re going formal, get a dress belts that’s an inch
In problem solving, we actively process
and a quarter without braids or special designs. Special
information to reach certain judgments. Suppose
designs and braids are for a more casual look.
you are wondering if you need to buy a T6 If you’re wearing gold jewelry, wear a belt with a gold
mobile phone; you look at information about
buckle; if you’re wearing silver jewelry, go with a silver
buckle. Belts look best when they match your accessories
its features, weigh it in your mind, and then say,
7 If you’ve got an elastic waist, cover it with a belt.
“Now I understand what T-mobile is and what it
Q. Did you learn anything from the above guide? Which
will do for me.” This is cognitive learning about
model of learning did you just experience?
the T-mobile phone. This form of information
Source:
http://store.soliscompany.com/belts.html
utilization to form judgments is pervasive in
My CB Text book
Courtesy: Solis Company.
our lives as consumers as we make brand choice
decisions.
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