Consumer Learning: Classical and Instrumental theories in the context of

consumer behavior.
Learning is defined as a relatively permanent change in the behavior that occurs
as a result of experience of self or others. There occurs an enhancement of
knowledge, skills and expertise which are relatively permanent. Consumer
learning is defined as a process by which people gather and interpret information
about products and services and use this information/knowledge in buying
patterns and consumption behavior.
MEANING OF CONSUMER LEARNING
The process which teaches consumption and purchase knowledge to consumers
thereby enabling them to apply it in future consumption-related activities is called
consumer learning. Although popularly it is believed that learning is intentional,
most learning is incidental. Reinforcement, cues, motivation and response are
elements that are basic to form an understanding of the learning process. Several
points in this definition are worth noting.
 First, consumer learning is a process; that is, it continually evolves and changes
as a result of newly acquired knowledge or from actual experience. Both newly
acquired knowledge and personal experience serve as feedback to the individual
and provide the basis for future behavior in similar situations.
 The role of experience in learning does not mean that all learning is deliberately
sought. A great deal of learning is also incidental, acquired by accident or without
much effort. The term ‘learning’ encompasses the total range of learning, from
simple, almost reflexive responses to the learning of abstract concepts and
complex problem solving. Most learning theorists recognize the existence of
different types of learning and explain the differences through the use of
distinctive models of learning. Despite their different viewpoints, the learning
theorists, in general, agree that in order for learning to occur, certain basic
elements must be present—motivation, cues, response and reinforcement.
Motivation Motivation is based on needs and goals. The degree of relevance, or
involvement with the goal is critical to how motivated the consumer is to search
for information about a product. Uncovering consumer motives is one of the
prime tasks of marketers who try to teach the consumer segments why their
product will best fulfil their needs.
 Cues If motives serve to stimulate learning, cues are the stimuli that give
direction to the motives. In the marketplace, price, styling, packaging, advertising
and store displays all serve as cues to help consumers fulfil their needs. Cues
serve to direct consumer drives when they are consistent with their expectations.
 Response
How individuals react to a cue—how they behave—constitutes their response.
Response is not tied to a need in a one-to-one fashion. A need or motive may
evoke a whole variety of responses. The response a consumer makes depends
heavily on his previous learning; that, in turn, depends on how related responses
were reinforced previously.
 Reinforcement
Reinforcement increases the likelihood that a specific response will occur in the
future as the result of particular cues or stimuli.
CLASSICAL AND INSTRUMENTAL THEORIES IN THE CONTEXT OF CONSUMER
BEHAVIOUR:
The behavioural learning theories are sometimes called stimulus–response
theories. A person is said to have ‘learned’ when his/her response to a recognized
stimulus is predictable. Behavioural theories are most concerned with the inputs
and outcomes of learning, not the process. Two theories relevant to marketing
are classical conditioning and instrumental (or operant) conditioning
Classical Conditioning
All organisms were regarded by the early theorists of classical conditioning as
passive recipients. Conditioning involved building automatic responses to stimuli.
Ivan Pavlov was the first to describe conditioning and to propose it as a general
model of how learning occurs. According to Pavlov, if a stimulus when paired with
another one elicits a response that is known and serves to reproduce it when
used on its own, it becomes a case of conditioned learning. To demonstrate his
theories, Pavlov used hungry dogs that were eager for food. At the sound of a bell
Pavlov presented the dogs with the sight of meat causing them to salivate. The
process was repeated a number of times. It reached a point when the dogs began
to salivate at the sound of the bell itself, i.e., even in the absence of meat. In the
consumer behaviour context, an unconditioned stimulus might consist of a well-
known brand symbol (e.g., the Microsoft ‘Windows’ icon) that implies
technological superiority and trouble-free operation (the unconditioned
response). Conditioned stimuli might consist of new products bearing well-known
symbols.
Strategic applications of classical conditioning
Classical conditioning gives rise to three basic concepts: stimulus generalization,
repetition and stimulus discrimination.
(a) Repetition works by increasing the strength of association and by slowing the
process of forgetting. After a certain number of repetitions, retention declines.
This effect is known as advertising wearout and can be decreased by varying the
advertising messages. Wear outs may be avoided by varying the message through
cosmetic variation or substantive variation. Some do not agree about how much
repetition is needed. The three-hit theory states that the optimum number of
exposures to an advertisement is three—one, to make the consumer aware of the
product; two, to show the consumers the relevance of the product; three, to
remind them of its benefits. The scale of competitive advertising that a consumer
is exposed to decides the extent to which repetition will prove to be repetitive. As
exposure increases, the potential for interference increases.
(b) According to classical conditioning theorists, learning depends both on the
ability of individuals to generalize and on repetition. Success of imitations in the
marketplace can be explained with the help of stimulus generation. It works by
exposing how consumers confuse imitations with the original products. To take
advantage of such erroneous recognitions, private manufacturers package their
products in such a way that it resembles those of the national brands. This
principle can be applied by marketers to category extensions, product forms and
product lines. As mentioned earlier, product extension involves the addition of a
new product to a trusted and known brand. This reassures its approval by the
consumers. In product line extensions, the marketer adds related products to an
already established brand, knowing that the new product is more likely to be
adopted when it is associated with a known and trusted brand name. Conversely,
it is much more difficult to develop a totally new brand. Marketers offer product
form extensions that include different sizes, different colours, and even different
flavours. Product category extensions generally target new market segments. The
success of this strategy depends on a number of factors. For example, if the image
of the parent brand is one of quality, the consumers are more likely to bring
positive associations to the new category extensions.
 Family branding: This is the practice whereby a company’s entire line of
products is marketed under the same brand. It capitalizes on the consumer’s
ability to generalize favourable brand associations from one product to the next.
Retail private branding often achieves the same effect as family branding. For
example, Wal-Mart used to advertise that its stores carried only ‘brands you
trust’. Now, the name Wal-Mart itself has become a ‘brand’ that consumers have
confidence Consumer Learning in, and the name confers brand value on Wal-
Mart’s store brands.
 Licensing: Often, a well-known brand name is affixed to products that are
manufactured by someone else. As a marketing strategy this works on the
principle of stimulus generalization. Corporations also license their names and
trademarks, usually for some form of brand extension, where the name of the
corporation is licensed to the maker of a related product and thereby, enters a
new product category. Municipal and state governments have begun licensing
their names to achieve new sources of revenue. The Vatican Library licenses its
name for a variety of products from luggage to bed linens. Producing counterfeits
has become a big business with the increase in licensing. Regardless of control
and quality, licensors add well-known names to all types of products.
(c) Stimulus discrimination is the opposite of stimulus generalization. Here, a
specific stimulus is selected from a number of stimuli that are similar. Positioning
strategy is based on the ability of the consumer to discriminate one stimulus from
another. This seeks to establish a unique image for a brand in the consumer’s
mind. The key to stimulus discrimination is effective positioning, a major
competitive advantage. The image, or position, that a product or service has in
the mind of the consumer is critical to its success. Unlike the imitator who hopes
that consumers will generalize their perceptions and attribute special
characteristics of the market leader’s products to their own products, the market
leaders wish that the consumer is able to see the difference in each stimuli.
Product differentiation strategies are therefore dedicated to designing valuable,
relevant and meaningful attributes for then so that their product would be
distinguished from those of their competitor.
It is often quite difficult to unseat a brand leader once stimulus discrimination has
occurred. In general, the longer the period of learning—of associating a brand
name with a specific product—the more likely the consumer is to discriminate,
and the less likely to generalize the stimulus. Stimulus discrimination, repetition
and stimulus generalization are the three principles of classical conditioning which
help explain consumer behaviour. They form the theoretical underpinnings of
various marketing applications.
Instrumental Conditioning:
Like classical conditioning, instrumental conditioning requires a link between a
stimulus and a response. However, in instrumental learning, the stimulus that has
been learned is the one which results in the most suitable response. Instrumental
learning theorists view learning as a trial and error process with habits shaped
because of rewards received for certain responses or behaviour.
classical conditioning is useful in explaining how consumers learn very simple
types of behaviour, instrumental conditioning is more helpful in explaining
complex, goal-directed activities. According to American psychologist, B. F.
Skinner, most individual learning occurs in a controlled environment in which
individuals are ‘rewarded’ for choosing an appropriate type of behaviour.
In consumer behaviour terms, instrumental conditioning suggests that consumers
learn by means of a trial-and-error process in which some types of purchase
behaviour results in more favourable outcomes (i.e., rewards) than other types of
purchase behaviour. A favourable experience is instrumental in teaching the
individual to repeat a specific type of behaviour. Like Pavlov, Skinner developed
his model of learning by working with animals. Viewed in the context of
marketing, consumers who try several brands (say, for example, of skirts) before
settling on the one that fits them the best (positive reinforcement) are engaging
in instrumental learning.
Reinforcement of behaviour
Skinner distinguished two types of reinforcement (or reward) influence which
provided that the likelihood for a response would be repeated. The first type,
positive reinforcement, consists of experiences that fortify the likelihood of a
specific response. Negative reinforcement is an unpleasant or negative result. It
encourages a specific kind of behaviour at all times. Appeals to fear in
advertisement messages are examples of negative reinforcement. Both
reinforcements, positive and negative, can elicit the response that is desired.
Negative reinforcement should not be confused with punishment, which is
designed to discourage behaviour.
Forgetting and extinction—when a learned response is no longer reinforced, it
diminishes to the point of extinction; that is, to the point at which the link
between the stimulus and the expected reward is eliminated. Forgetting is often
related to the passage of time; this is known as the process of decay. Marketers
can overcome forgetting through repetition and can combat extinction through
the deliberate enhancement of consumer satisfaction.
Strategic applications of instrumental conditioning
The objective of all marketing efforts should be to maximize customer
satisfaction. Apart from the experience of using the product itself, consumers can
receive reinforcement from other elements in the purchase situation, such as the
environment in which the transaction or service takes place, the attention and
service provided by employees, and the amenities provided. Some hotels provide
reinforcement to guests in the form of small amenities. Most frequent shopper
programmes are based on enhancing positive reinforcement and encouraging
continued patronage.
 Relationship marketing: Developing a close personalized relationship with
customers is another form of non-product reinforcement.
 Reinforcement schedules: Marketers have found that the product quality must
be consistently high and provide customer satisfaction with each use for the
desired consumer behaviour to continue. They have identified three types of
reinforcement schedules: total (or continuous) reinforcement, systematic (fixed
ratio) reinforcement, and random (variable ratio) reinforcement.
Shaping refers to the reinforcement of behaviour that must be performed by
consumers before the desired behaviour can be performed. Shaping increases the
probability that a certain desired consumer behaviour will occur.
Massed versus distributed learning: Timing has an important influence on
consumer learning. Should a learning schedule be spread over a period of time
(distributed learning), or should it be ‘bunched up’ all at once (amassed learning)?
The question is an important one for advertisers planning a media schedule
because massed advertising produces more initial learning, although a distributed
schedule usually results in learning that persists longer. When advertiser’s want
an immediate impact (e.g., to introduce a new product or to counter a
competitors blitz campaign), they generally use a massed schedule to hasten
consumer learning. When the goal is long-term repeat buying on a regular basis,
however, a distributed schedule is preferable. A distributed scheduler with
advertisements repeated on a regular basis, usually results in a more long-term
learning and is relatively immune to extinction.
Modelling or Observational Learning
Learning theorists have noted that a considerable amount of learning takes place
in the absence of direct reinforcement, either positive or negative, through a
process psychologists call modelling or observational learning (also called
vicarious learning). They observe how others behave in response to certain
situations (stimuli), the ensuing results (reinforcement) that occur, and they
imitate (model) the positively- reinforced behaviour when faced with similar
situations.
When individuals pick up behavioural patterns by observing others they are
undergoing a process called modelling. In such cases role models are usually
people they think highly of for traits such as skill, appearance and
accomplishment. Children learn much of their social behaviour and consumer
behaviour by observing their older siblings or their parents. Advertisers recognize
the importance of observational learning in their selection of models, whether
celebrities or unknowns. Sometimes advertisements depict negative
consequences for certain types of behaviour. This is particularly true of public
policy advertisements, which may show the negative consequences of smoking,
fast driving, or taking drugs.
UNIT- III: CONSUMER ATTITUDE AND COMMUNICATION PROCESS
Attitude: functions, Tri-component attitude model and Katz's models of attitude
and attitude change. Post purchase attitude change: cognitive dissonance theory
and attribution theory. Marketing communication: process, barriers, types of
communication systems, Source, Message and Medium of Communication.
Attitude:
Attitudes can be inferred from the manner in which an individual behaves. They
can not be seen and nevertheless it is crucial that attitudes are measured. This is
because an individual with a positive attitude towards a goods or service is more
likely to make a purchase. Attitudes can be determined by observation,
qualitative studies and quantitative techniques (or rating scales). Attitudes are
formed after a learning process.
Attitude clusters The tripartite (C-A-C) model of attitude maintains that attitudes
are unlikely to exist in complete isolation. Robertson, Zielinski, and Ward propose
the view that ‘an individual’s cognitions about music, for example, may tend to
relate to cognitions about entertainment or relaxation. Therefore, attitudes as a
whole are thought to form clusters with consonant attitudes within the
individual’s attitudinal system.
Attitude measurement Attitude research is undertaken to analyse the behaviour
and motivations of people as consumers. Most research of this type is undertaken
using quantitative methods as a result of the great complexity of human
behaviour.
Attitude: Functions
Attitudes can be classified into four functions:
 Utilitarian Function
 Ego-defensive Function
 Value-expressive Function
 Knowledge Function
 Utilitarian Function: Consumers usually view a commodity favourably if it has
been valuable earlier. Marketers should emphasize its useful features and suggest
such uses of the commodity which should not be too apparent.
 Ego-defensive Function: These are products that are purchased by the
consumers in order to boost their confidence and guard their self-image.
 Value-expressive Function: Quite often, a consumer’s personal values are
articulated with the help of brands bought by them. Marketers try to relate their
products with this significance.
 Knowledge Function: It is very natural for a consumer to want to know the
people they come in contact with and the products they buy. Often, strategies to
position a product or brand are developed around this ‘need to know.’
Tri-Component Attitude Model
Tricomponent Attitude Model accords that attitudes have three major
components: cognition, affect and conation.
Cognitive component: Cognitions refers to previous knowledge or experiences
with or about an object. This previous knowledge/experience allows the
consumer to form perceptions or beliefs about the product. This component
comprises rational judgements, beliefs, and perceptions related to various aspects
of the object. For instance, Amul butter has good taste, it is easily available, it is
reasonably priced, etc.
Affective component: Consumer Attitude This component is based on buyer's
emotion or approach. Explorer continuously consider these sentiments and
thoughts as evaluative in nature. Emotionally-charged states, such as sadness and
happiness, articulate affect-laden experiences. These states may enhance positive
or negative experiences for the consumer. Consumer researchers try to measure
this element using global evaluative measures. An emotional component relates
to the object. For instance, Amul butter being an integral part of breakfast while
growing up, or remembering good times that were enjoyed while eating it, etc.
Behavioural component: The possibility of a consumer behaving in a different
way or act in a typical manner is considered by conation. The conative component
might as well as think the real behaviour. Marketing and consumer research
treats it as an articulation of the consumers’ purchase intentions. The likelihood
that a consumer will buy a particular product or that he will act in a certain way is
assessed using the intention-to-buy scale. It refers to the intention or likelihood of
acquiring the object when required. For instance, when buying butter next time,
how likely is the customer to buy Amul butter?
 It is important to remember that any of the beliefs may or may not be factually
accurate. But, these are beliefs held by the customer that he thinks are true.
 Also, cognitive and affective components of the attitude can be held for various
parts of the object, though the affective component must be held for the entire
object. This follows from the fact that the intention to buy must be for the entire
object, not for parts of it.
 The more positive the cognitive and affective components of the attitude, the
more likely is the customer to purchase or use the object. Therefore, attitudes are
consistent with the types of behaviour.
Katz’s Model of Attitude
As per psychologist Daniel Katz and his Functional Theory of Attitudes, attitudes
encourage social conduct; they are utilitarian for the individual and are controlled
by an individual’s thought processes. Practical attitude hypothesis (FAT) proposes
that convictions and mentalities are powerful to different mental capacities.
Mentalities can be persuasive on numerous cycles, for example, being utilitarian
(helpful), social, identifying with values, or a decrease of intellectual discord. They
can be useful and assist individuals with communicating the world. The capacity
of a mentality is a higher priority than whether the attitude is exact or right. As
per Katz, Consumers can have various purposes behind having a similar attitude. A
business-like methodology that centres on how attitudes encourage social
conduct; mentalities exist since they serve some capacity for the individual:
utilitarian, esteem expressive, personality cautious, information capacity and
social changed attitude.
 Utilitarian attitudes: Many attitude serve a utilitarian capacity by serving to
enhance remunerates and limit the disciplines accomplished from objects in the
climate. The models of utilitarian attitude are consequentialist hypotheses: that
which makes right acts is their results. It alludes to speculations of right activity
though the correct demonstration to pick in any circumstance is the one that will
accomplish the most elevated equilibrium of delight over agony for every
influenced being. At the point when no demonstration is accessible to which will
create net delight, the demonstration which is correct will deliver the most un-net
agony. A person with a utilitarian mentality is worried about how an item will help
with improving their personal satisfaction.
 Social-adjustive attitudes: Social-adjustive capacities are those which manage
connections and empower people to ascend the social stepping stool through
outward shows of status which are guessed to make the individual more
appealing or famous according to esteemed gatherings. A person with a social-
adjustive disposition is worried about status, notoriety, and how they are seen by
others and will look for objects that help with building up their ideal social
picture. Attitude serving a social-adjustive capacity elevate the ability to interface
with proper social gathering individuals or to dazzle appealing others. Attitude
may frequently serve differentiating capacities for individuals who contrast in self-
checking. High self-checking people ordinarily endeavor to tailor their conduct to
the social or relational necessity of the circumstances they experience, to find a
place with others, along these lines inferring that they may regularly hold
attitudes that serve a social-adjustive capacity.
 Value expressive attitudes: The most hard to conceptualize and influence,
esteem expressive capacities aid the outward articulation of inborn qualities. A
few attitudes are significant to an individual since they articulate convictions that
are characteristic for that individual’s self-idea. The disposition is, therefore,
“essential for what their identity is” and the outflow of that mentality conveys
significant things about that individual to other people. Worth pertinence as a
sign of the apparent utility of a disposition to accomplish an ideal end-state. It is
an immediate proportion of the connection between a worth and a disposition, as
opposed to a proportion of the declaration of attitude that are connected to
individual qualities. Focusing on worth expressive correspondence of a disposition
instead of worth importance permits correspondence conduct to become the
dominant focal point in thinking about the connection between qualities, attitude,
and practices. Worth expressive attitudes fill no direct outward need, and can be
best perceived as existing to fulfil a person’s need to feel special and consistent
with self. People with esteem expressive attitude are not worried about a lot
other than being consistent with themselves.
 Ego-defensive attitudes: Ego-defensive capacities serve to shield the person
from both interior and outer repulsiveness. It permits individuals to try not to
acknowledge unpalatable or shocking parts of self or of the outside world. It can
advocate rationing one’s own confidence. An ego-defensive attitude, in which
one’s disposition is held to shield oneself from undermining or unfortunate facts.
 Knowledge attitudes: The fifth capacity, i.e., information, helps people in
understanding their general surroundings. People with an information attitude
look to comprehend events out of the longing to know, not on the grounds that it
is quickly pertinent to their requirements, but since they basically need to
comprehend. Attitudes that serve an information work help individuals pick up
more noteworthy comprehension of the structure and activity of their reality. The
world that individuals possess is amazingly intricate, and that attitude may
encourage sorting out that world without serving needs other than
comprehension.
ATTITUDE CHANGE:
Attitudes are general assessments of articles, thoughts, and individuals one
experiences for the duration of one’s life. Attitudes are significant in light of the
fact that they can manage thought, conduct, and emotions. Mentality change
happens whenever an attitude is altered. Hence, change happens when an
individual goes from being positive to negative, from marginally sure to positive,
or from having no attitude to having one. Due to the useful estimation of
attitudes, the cycles that transform them have been a significant concentration
since the commencement of social brain science.
As indicated by double cycle models of mentality, changes are as per the
following:
(1) Those that happen when one invests moderately minimal psychological
energy,
(2) Those that happen with generally high psychological exertion. The measure of
thought and exertion utilized in some random circumstances is dictated by
numerous factors, all of which influence one’s inspiration or capacity to think.
Attitude changes can occur by following techniques: