Consumer Learning

Introduction:

Learning can be defined as a long-term change in behaviour that occurs as a result of experience. Schiffman and Kanuk describe learning as “the process through which consumers acquire the purchase and consumption knowledge and experience that they apply to future related behaviour” from a marketing perspective.

There are two types of behaviour: observable behaviour and non-observable cognitive activity. This means that learning can occur without any visible changes in behaviour, such as when a customer’s attitudes alter due to new information. Except for basic behaviours such as walking, determined mainly by physical development, all observable and non-observable consumer behaviour is the outcome of learning. It is a continual process that evolves due to new information and personal experiences, and it frequently serves as the foundation for future observable behaviour.

According to Kotler’s Definition, learning involves changes in an individual’s behaviour arising from experience. Most human behavior is learned over time.

Following are the features of consumer learning

• Consumer learning is a process. A process that continually changes and acquires new knowledge.
• This knowledge can be obtained from reading, discussing, observing, thinking, etc.
• Newly acquired knowledge or personal experience both serve as feedback.

Elements of Learning:

1. Motivation:

Motivation is the force that propels people to take action due to an unmet need (s). It is more likely that an individual will learn something if he or she strongly desires to learn it. Students interested in pursuing a course in computer application, for example, would be inspired to research the courses provided by various institutes and the quality of instructors and lab facilities. Uninterested students, on the other hand, are unlikely to pay attention or ignore all information concerning computer courses. An individual’s motivation to learn information or expertise about a product or service is influenced by their level of interest in the objective object. Marketers do motivation research to uncover consumer motivations and utilise the information to design marketing strategies.

2. Cues:

Cues are relatively weak stimuli that have the capacity to guide motivated behaviour but are not strong enough to activate consumers. An advertisement for a computer course, for example, is a cue that implies a technique to achieve the goal of learning computer applications. Advertising, displays, packaging, and prices are just some cues consumers are exposed to daily. These cues are designed to assist consumers in meeting their needs by choosing specific brands.

3. Response:

A response is how a person reacts to a signal or stimulus, which can be physical or mental, leading to learning. A computer marketer, for example, may continue to provide cues to a student through promotional activities but may not successfully elicit the final purchase behaviour for various reasons, even though the student is inclined to buy. It’s also possible that the student develops a positive impression of a particular model, has the funds, and purchases the computer. At the same time, consumers are bombarded with many cues that provide direction, all of which compete for their attention. As a result of response reinforcement, prior learning may significantly impact reactions to specific cues or stimuli.

4. Reinforcement:

Most researchers agree that reinforcing a specific reaction enhances the chances of reoccurring. Reinforcement can be anything that raises the power of a response while also encouraging the behaviour that preceded the reinforcement to be repeated. Edward L Thorndike writes, “According to Edward L Thorndike:

“Of several responses made to the same situation, those which are accompanied or closely followed by satisfaction (reinforcement)….. will be more likely to recur; those which are accompanied or closely followed by discomfort (punishment) …. will be less likely to occur.”

Edward L Thorndike, Animal Intelligence, The Macmillan Company, 1911.

Because reinforced behaviour is more likely to be repeated, consumers frequently learn to adopt behaviours tailored to their needs. For example, suppose a consumer discovers that an advertised remedy for a common cold provides pain relief. In that case, she or he is more likely to buy the marketed brand again if needed because the cure met expectations (reinforcement of behaviour because the remedy alleviated the painful symptoms). Suppose the advertised brand fails to deliver relief the first time. In that case, the individual is less likely to purchase it again, regardless of how often she or he is exposed to advertising or other promotions for the same brand.

Behavioural Learning Theories:

Connectionist or stimulus-response theories are terms used to describe behavioural learning theories. Observing changes in an individual’s responses as a result of exposure to specific external, environmental stimuli is something that behaviourist psychologists believe in. Behavioural theories are founded on stimulus-response orientation (S-R), which holds that learning occurs when the stimuli and response are linked. A person is said to have “learned” when responding predictably to known stimuli. Classical conditioning (also known as responder conditioning) and instrumental conditioning (also known as operant conditioning) are two significant behavioural theories relevant to marketing.

1. Classical Conditioning :

We think of conditioning as an instinctive response to something that develops over time as a result of frequent exposure. For example, if a child gets enthusiastic every time she or he thinks of going to McDonald’s, the reaction could be conditioned by previous positive experiences at the restaurant. Classical conditioning connects one stimulus with another that already elicits a response; over time, the new stimulus will begin to elicit the same or similar response.

Russian psychologist Ivan Pavlov was the first to investigate classical conditioning. Since his hungry canines salivated (unconditioned response) when they saw food (unconditioned stimulus), he found that the link between food and salivation is not taught and is simply a reflex reaction. Pavlov reasoned that if a neutral stimulus, such as the sound of a ringing bell, was closely connected with the unconditioned stimulus, it may also trigger the dogs to salivate (food). Pavlov tested his theory by ringing a bell while feeding the dogs. The dogs learned the connection between bell and food after a sufficient number of repeats. Even without food, they were salivated when they heard the bell (conditioned stimuli) (conditioned response).

Classical conditioning was once thought to be a reflexive action. Still, modern thinking now views it as cognitive, associative learning, leading to acquiring new knowledge about the world, according to N J Mackintosh. The combination of conditioned (bell) and unconditioned (bell and food) stimuli altered dogs’ “expectations,” which in turn altered their behaviour (salivation). According to Chris Janiszewski and Luk Warlop, conditioning enhances attention to the marketed brand in subsequent ads.

Learning through the associative process is dependent on two variables. The first is proximity (conditioned and unconditioned stimuli must be close in time and space). The repetition is the second factor (the frequency of association). The greater the link between unconditioned and conditioned stimuli develops as their frequency of occurrence increases. Through the associative process, consumers can be conditioned to form positive thoughts and images of companies.

Three essential principles for understanding consumer behaviour derive from classical conditioning: repetition, stimulus generalisation, and stimulus discrimination.

• ​ Repetition:

People tend to forget, and repetition is a proven strategy of enhancing learning retention. Repetition functions by strengthening the association tie and reducing the forgetting process. The learning curve is a pattern that occurs when it comes to learning. The ‘x’ axis in Figure reflects the number of repeats, whereas the ‘y’ axis reflects the amount of learning. In most cases, learning occurs rapidly in the early phases. As the amount of information learnt grows, the rate of learning each repeat drops. This demonstrates that there is a limit to how much repetition will help you learn, and if you reach that limit, your attention and learning rate will suffer.

Ad repetition, according to Julian L Simon and John Arndt, appears to produce a learning curve similar to that seen in Figure  Advertisers must decide whether the learning curve’s broad pattern matches their items in their circumstances. It’s likely, for example, that in low-involvement buying circumstances, fewer exposures are required to register basic facts like brand names or brand identification. There are some significant consequences when the standard learning curve is suitable. An advertiser, for example, must be willing to repeat an ad message numerous times. Because of this, a brand name is frequently repeated multiple times in a single advertisement. The advertiser only pays for fractional advances in consumer learning after a certain number of repetitions. Another implication is the phenomenon of advertising wear-out, which occurs due to excessive exposure to recurrent advertising, resulting in boredom, apathy, and diminished attention and recall of the message. According to David W Schumann, Richard E Petty, and D Scott Clemons, changing the ad message can reduce the advertising wear-out effect. This can be done by reiterating the same message or topic in several execution formats. Change Pepsi advertisements, for example, to feature different settings and endorsers, but the punch line “yeh dil mange more” remains the same. FeviQuick commercials continue to feature the theme “chutki mein chipkae” in various comedic contexts. Because there is no substantial difference in the message content of different adverts in this type of advertising variation strategy, some researchers refer to it as cosmetic variation. Substantive variety refers to changing the advertising content in multiple versions of the same commercial without changing the cosmetic aspects. Consumers exposed to advertising with substantive variation process more information about product qualities, and the established attitudes are more resistant to alter, according to Curtis P Haugtvedt, David W Schumann, Wendy L Schneier, and Wendy L Warren.

Consumers lose most of a message if it is not repeated, and repetition becomes critical only to maintain their level of learning. Advertisers are convinced of the value of the repetition concept. However, there is debate over how many repeats are necessary to have the intended impact. According to some researchers, three ad exposures are the optimum number. This is known as the three-hit theory. They believe that the first exposure is necessary to educate customers about the product or service, that the second exposure is required to demonstrate the product or service’s relevance, and that the third exposure is necessary to remind customers. Any repetitions after three exposures are considered a waste of time. Other researchers believe that an average exposure frequency of eleven to twelve is required to enhance the likelihood of audiences being exposed three times. Most advertisers seemed to have settled on three exposures as the minimum. Ad exposures of less than three are regarded insufficient, whereas exposures of more than ten are considered overexposure.

Four prerequisites have been identified by Frances K McSweeney and Calvin Bierley for the classical conditioning idea to be effective in influencing consumers:

1. There should be no other stimuli that could overshadow the unconditioned stimulus.
2. Unconditioned stimuli should have no previous associations with other brands or product categories.
3. The unconditioned stimulus should not be overly familiar and should be presented alone.
4. Classical conditioning is more effective when the conditioned stimulus is new. Consumers generally have established associations with well-known products and brands.

• Stimulus Generalisation:

Pavlov also established that dogs could learn to salivate when they heard a sound similar to jingling keys in his tests. This was a case of dog stimulus generalisation. When two stimuli are seen to be identical, the effects of one might be replaced for the effects of the other, known as stimulus generalisation. According to this principle, a new but similar stimulus or stimulus circumstance will elicit a response that is the same or comparable to the original stimulus. The more similar the new stimulus is to the conditioned stimulus, the more likely it will elicit the same conditioned response. The process of stimulus generalisation appears to occur naturally until it is interrupted by discriminating learning, according to Bernard Brelson and Gary A Steiner. Consumers’ lives are made more accessible by stimulus generalisation, which allows them to simplify the evaluation process by eliminating the need to make individual judgments for every stimuli. Unless there is a compelling reason to differentiate between the stimuli, just one answer can be used for matching or identical stimuli. There is less chance of stimulus generalisation when there is more dissimilarity between two stimuli.

As new products grow, customers categorise them using stimulus generalisation based on previous experience. Some local or regional marketers employ this idea by packaging their items substantially identically to those of well-known companies. This approach can also be seen in different cooking oils from sunflower or soybean brands and various brands of iodized table salt. Some businesses pursue a stimulus generalisation policy, while others do not.

• Product line extension:

The approach of releasing variations of the same product is known as product line extension. Colour, packaging, size, flavour, and other aspects of the product may differ, but the essential product value remains the same. Palmolive soap, for example, comes in pink, white, and light bluish packs. Maggi noodles come in a variety of flavours.

• Product form extension:

“product form extension” refers to the same product’s availability in various physical forms, such as Dettol soap cake and Dettol liquid soap. Many medications can be taken as tablets, syrups, injections, or inhalers.

• Product category extension:

Product category extension is about diversifying into various categories while keeping the same established brand name. For example, Maggi noodles and Maggi tomato chilli sauce, Lux toilet soap and Lux shampoo, Ponds talcum powder and Ponds soap, and so forth.

The success of a product category extension plan is determined by the parent brand’s quality image because only then will consumers be more inclined to associate the new category extensions with positive connections. Milkmaid has successfully expanded its product category and developed Milkmaid Gulabjamun, Kesar Kulfi, Shahi Rabri, and Milkmaid pudding on the strength of Milkmaid condensed milk.

• Family Branding:

The technique of promoting a company’s full product mix under the same family brand name is known as family branding.  The company aims to capitalise on consumers’ proclivity for generalising positive brand associations from one successful product to the next. For instance, Lakme Ponds, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Tata, Sony, Nikon, Canon, Epson, Microtek, and Hewlett Packard, among others, produce various items with the same brand name.

• Stimulus Discrimination:

The reverse of stimulus generalisation is stimulus discrimination. Discrimination is a response to distinctions among comparable stimuli, as opposed to similarity of stimuli. It takes practice to distinguish between stimuli. For example, frequent customers of a brand can better detect minor variations between brands in the same product category. Marketers, not wanting to take any chances, employ advertising to highlight brand differences that would be difficult to communicate through physical qualities alone. The concept of “product or brand positioning” is based on stimulus discrimination, which creates a distinct brand image in consumers’ minds. Marketers who sell me-two products try to get customers to generalise stimuli. In contrast, innovators and market leaders try to persuade customers to distinguish their brands from generic items and other brands in the same category. The entire Maggi Hot and Sweet Tomato Chilli Sauce ad campaign, for example, was aimed at persuading customers that “it is different” and positioning the brand. The corporation urged consumers to discriminate based on stimulation in this situation.

After stimulus discrimination, it is exceedingly challenging to unsettle a leader brand. In the case of Vicks VapoRub or Maggi noodles, for example, there is nothing special or mysterious about the contents. They are leaders because they were the first to market and had a longer time ” teaching” people to link the brand name with a product through various marketing messages. Consumers are more likely to learn to discriminate and identify a brand name with a product over a longer time if the learning period is more significant. Consumers are exposed to various marketing stimuli daily, some encouraging stimulus generalisation and others discriminating. Effective product or brand positioning is crucial to achieving stimulus discrimination.

2. Instrumental Conditioning (Operant Conditioning):

Instrumental conditioning is similar to classical conditioning in that it includes the subject discovering a proper answer that will be reinforced. Any response elicited is under the subject’s conscious control. Assume, for example, that in a Pavlovian experiment, dogs or rats are given two levers instead of simply one. Pushing one lever will result in food (reward) while making the other will produce an electrical shock (punishment). When hungry, the animals quickly learned to press the food-producing lever and avoid the electrical-shock-producing lever. Learning comes as a result of a rewarding outcome through repeated behaviour.

B F Skinner was a leading proponent of instrumental conditioning. The subjects in his trials were allowed to respond in various ways. In his trials, Skinner used small animals like rats and pigeons. He created a box named after himself, the “Skinner box,” in which he kept experimental animals. Food was given to the animals whenever they made certain motions, such as pressing a lever or pecking keys (reward). Classical conditioning relies on an already known stimulus-response relationship, whereas instrumental conditioning requires the learner to identify and reinforce a “right” or proper behaviour through trial and error. The experimental animal learns a link between the lever or key (unconditioned stimulus) and pushes it over several reinforced trials (response). According to instrumental conditioning learning theory, behaviour results from its consequences.

In terms of consumer behaviour, instrumental conditioning argues that most learning occurs through a trial-and-error process, with some purchases yielding more pleasant results (outcomes or rewards) than others. Positive outcomes reinforce the behaviour and enhance the possibility of it being repeated, i.e., the buyer will buy the product again; negative outcomes reduce that possibility.

Distinction between Conditioning Methods:

Classical Conditioning	Instrumental Conditioning
Classical conditioning involves an already established response to another stimulus	No previous stimulus-response is necessary. The learner must discover the “correct” response.
The outcome is independent of the learner’s actions.	The outcome is dependent on the learner’s actions
Effects development and changes in opinions, tastes and goals. behaviour.	Influences changes in goal-oriented behaviour.

 

• Reinforcement:

Anything that raises the strength of a response and tends to cause a repeat of the behaviour that precedes it is referred to as reinforcement. The likelihood of a response being repeated is influenced by reinforcement or repeated favourable outcomes. There are two types of reinforcement: positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement. Positive reinforcement occurs when a positive consequence is presented to enhance the likelihood of a given behaviour. If you use a cold treatment that relieves the uncomfortable symptoms, you’re likely to buy it again in the future if you need it. Negative reinforcement is an unfavourable or unpleasant outcome that strengthens and encourages the likelihood of a given behaviour by ending or removing an unfavourable result.

For instance, a commercial for Colgate toothpaste depicts the consequences of poor breath and encourages viewers to purchase Colgate toothpaste. The terms “punishment” and “negative reinforcement” are not interchangeable. Punishment is used to deter bad behaviour. Fines for driving under the influence of alcohol, for example, are a sort of punishment designed to deter motorists from driving after consuming alcoholic beverages.

Advertisers of toothpaste, anti-wrinkle treatments, headache and cold treatments, mouthwash, deodorants, burglar alarms, life insurance, and various other products and services use fear appeals based on negative reinforcement. These advertisements offer the consumer a way to avoid bad outcomes by purchasing the offered goods or services.

The consumer goes through a choice process while purchasing a product for the first time (high or low involvement). Repeated reinforcement (positive outcomes) arising from product usage increases the possibility that the consumer will continue to buy the same brand until he acquires a habit. Only if the previous buying behaviour is reinforced will habit formation occur.

Instrumental conditioning theories explain how, when a learned behaviour is no longer reinforced, it fades to extinction, and the consumer stops buying out of habit. Extinction occurs when the link between stimulus and the desired consequence is broken, resulting in a quick drop in the likelihood that the buyer will purchase the same brand again.

There is a distinction to be made between extinction and forgetfulness. When a stimulus is no longer repeated or is not seen by the consumer, forgetting occurs. Maintaining competitive parity in advertising spending can help a company avoid severe customer levels of amnesia. Marketers can battle forgetting by repeating advertising, preferably not the same commercial because that would be dull or aggravating, but expressing the same basic idea with only the execution-style changing.

For example, commercials for Pepsi and Coca-Cola are shown every day, with only the scenery changing. Promise toothpaste has seen a drop in sales and a loss of market share due to less advertising.

Reinforcement occurs when repeated exposures to advertising enhance the likelihood of repurchase. Extinction, on the other hand, rapidly reduces that likelihood because there is no reward or favourable consequence even if the consumer is frequently exposed to the product advertisement.

Due to a drop in advertisement frequency, forgetting occurs, resulting in a gradual and somewhat long-term fall in repurchase likelihood. Another factor contributing to forgetting is competitive advertising and advertising clutter, which can lead to consumer confusion and weaken the link between stimulus and favourable consequences.

Instrumental conditioning is helpful in marketing since it can influence the chances of a customer purchasing a product or service again. They will repurchase only if they are satisfied with the usage or consumption experience.

It is called shaping when an attempt is made to shape persons by gradually influencing their learning. The reward of subsequent actions leads to the desired behaviour pattern. For example, a retail store may offer customers a discount or premium if they frequent the store for three or four weeks. This will encourage them to buy things. Their behaviour is reinforced every time they go to the store. This method allows customers to continue to buy at the store frequently even if the reinforcing incentives are removed.

3. Cognitive Learning Theory:

The results of deliberate choices, such as a consumer’s purchase of a product or service, can result in positive or negative reinforcement. Positive reinforcement of a certain behaviour (in this case, the purchase of the product) is induced by rewarding experiences, which increases the possibility of repeat purchases of the same product. Bad experiences with the product would result in negative reinforcement, and the consumer would most likely avoid purchasing the same thing again. Premiums, discounts, and displaying happy customers are all tactics to encourage people to buy specific products.

Behavioural learning models have been chastised for taking a mechanical perspective of consumers, emphasising external stimuli while overlooking essential interior psychological processes. In recent years, the cognitive learning technique has dominated the field of consumer behaviour. Cognitive learning is defined as learning that occurs as a result of mental activity. Because consumer behaviour often involves choices and decision-making, cognitive theorists do not believe that learning is based on repetitive trials leading to establishing linkages between inputs and responses. In their opinion, learning is a mental activity that includes complex cognitive processes such as motivation, perception, brand belief construction, attitude development and modification, problem-solving, and insight. When someone is confronted with an issue, they may experience sudden learning. However, we are more likely to seek accurate information, analyse, assess what we discover, and make a well-informed conclusion. Our cognitive ability and learning to compare numerous product qualities improve as we get more expertise and familiarity with different products and services.

Rom J Markin, Jr, compares the cognitive and behaviourist orientations:

“The behaviourist is inclined to ask, “What has the subject learned to do?” Conversely, the cognitivist would be inclined to ask, “How has the subject learned to perceive the situation?” The cognitivist is interested in examining a learning situation in terms of such factors as motivation, the perceived goals, the overall nature of the situation and the beliefs, values and personality of the subject – in short, the range of the subject’s psychological field. Instead of the behaviourist, the cognitivist contends that consumers do not respond simply to the stimuli but instead act on beliefs, express attitudes and strive towards goals.”

(Rom J Markin, Jr, Consumer Behaviour: ‘A Cognitive Orientation’. McMillan, 1974)

Wolfgang Kohler’s work with apes in the 1920s provided significant insight into cognitive learning. One of his tests involved putting a chimp in a cage with a box and a bundle of bananas hanging from the top of the cage out of the monkey’s reach. The chimp placed the box under the banana cluster and leapt from the box top to retrieve the bananas after several futile attempts. The chimps’ learning in this experiment was not based on trial and error. The instant insight into the problem solution directly resulted from cognitive effort. Some may argue that the chimp was rewarded for reaching the bananas, but what matters in this experiment is the problem-solving method that was the product of focused thinking. When a student solves a complicated mathematical problem, there appears to be no obvious reward in many circumstances. Einstein’s intellectual abilities resulted in various complicated theories about light, space, and other topics.

The concept of closure (the reader may refer to the topic “Perception”) is significant in cognitive learning theory and is regarded as a reinforcing feature. When confronted with a difficulty, most people do not give up and are determined to find a solution. A sense of incompleteness causes tension, and solving the problem leads to closure and a reduction in tension, which leads to reinforcement. Reinforcement is a well-known component of cognitive learning because learning requires awareness of goal achievement. In instrumental conditioning, the respondent is only aware of the reward after the behaviour has been elicited.

In circumstances of high-involvement purchases, cognitive learning theory is quite helpful in understanding the consumer decision process. In the case of complex buying behaviour (extensive problem solving), the consumer recognises a need, conducts an information search, and assesses available alternatives to meet the need (motivated or goal-oriented purposive behaviour), purchases a product or service that she/he believes would most likely meet the need (insight), and does a post-purchase evaluation to determine the deficiency (insight) (goal achievement).

Measures of Consumer Learning:

Recall and recognition tests, cognitive responses to advertising, and attitudinal and behavioural brand loyalty measures are examples of consumer learning measures.

Marketers utilise recall tests to assess their customers’ recall abilities. A cued recall test, a free recall test, or a serial recall test are all common ways for marketers to evaluate different parts of short-term memory or a person’s capacity to recall information that was just learned.

Cued recall, or stimulus/response, entails memorising a series of facts in any way you like. Free recall is a memory test in which participants memorise a short series of pictures, figures, or phrases over time. Serial recall assesses a person’s ability to recall information in a specific order or events over time.

Marketers utilise recognition tests to evaluate the effectiveness of advertisements. People from the target market are chosen and asked to peruse a magazine before recalling adverts they’ve seen.

One of the most common disagreements among researchers is whether to define brand loyalty in terms of consumer behaviour or attitude toward the brand. Brand loyalty refers to the extent to which customers are loyal to a specific brand, as seen by their repeated purchases, regardless of marketing pressure from competitors. Both attitudes and actual behaviours toward a brand must be measured to determine brand loyalty. Understanding how consumers learn is vital for marketers because it allows them to teach their customers that their brand is the best and generate brand loyalty.