Mod-4
Prepared By
Dr Virupaksha Goud

Learning
Prepared By
Dr Virupaksha Goud

Learning as a Process
|
Learning is defined as the process of
acquiring , assimilating, and internalizing
cognitive, motor or behavioral inputs for
their effective and varied use when required,
leading to an enhanced capability for
further self monitored learning.

Learning
• Consumer Learning is defined as the process by which individuals acquire the
purchase & consumption knowledge & experience that they apply to future
related behavior.
• For learning to happen, certain basic elements must be present, such as –
Motivation, Cues, Response, & reinforcement.
Elements of Consumer Learning
• Motivation: It is important for learning because it is based on needs & goals. Ex:
Losing weight (is the aim)
• Cues: Cues are the stimuli that give direction to these motives. Ex: Bicycle riding
reduces weight
• Response: How individuals react to a cue- constitute their response.
• Reinforcement: By reinforcement a specific cue can be strengthened. Ex:
Reinforcement of Micro-Max mobile.

Marketing Application of Learning Theories
• Repeating advertising messages about brands & their benefits,
rewarding people for purchase behavior by selling products that provide
superior benefits, getting consumers to make association among
different offerings under the same brand name, and developing brand
loyalty are all elements of consumer learning.
• How individuals learn is a matter of great interest and importance to
academicians, to psychologists, to consumer researchers, and to
marketers.
• Marketers want their communications to be noted, believed,
remembered, and recalled.
• For these reasons, they are interested in every aspect of the learning
process.

Learning theories
Behavioral Learning Theories(Stimulus Response
Theories)- inputs & outcomes of learnings
• Classical Conditioning
• Instrumental conditioning

Behaviorism
 Classical Conditioning - Pavlov
S R
A stimulus is presented
in order to get a response:

 Classical Conditioning - Pavlov

Classical Conditioning
Classical conditioning believes that all organisms (both animal &
human) as relatively passive entities that could be taught certain
behaviors through repetition (i.e. conditioning)
1. Pavlovian Model: It says that conditioned learning results
when a stimulus that is paired with another stimulus that draws-out a
known response serves to produce the same response when used
alone.
Example: Smells of dinner cooking (Unconditioned Stimulus) would
cause your mouth salivate (watering). If you usually listen 9 o’clock
news (Conditioned Stimulus) while waiting for dinner to be served,
you link 9 o’clock news with dinner. So eventaully the sounds of the 9
o’clock news alone might cause your mouth to water, even if dinner
was not being prepared.
Reflexes are developed by this kind of learning.

Classical Conditioning
2. Neo-Pavlovian Model: This theory emphasis that to create a
strong association between the conditioned stimulus (CS) and the
unconditioned stimulus (US), requires-
• Forwarding conditioning -i.e. the CS (9’o clock news) should precede
the US (Dinner preparation smell).
• Repeated pairing of the CS & the US
• CS & US that logically belong together
• CS should be novel & unfamiliar
• US should be biologically or symbolically salient.
This model is called as neo-Pavlovian model.

Strategic Marketing Applications of
Conditioning Model
Three basic concepts derive from classical conditioning: repetition,
stimulus generalization, and stimulus discrimination.
1. Repetition: Repetition increases the strength of the association between a
conditional stimulus & an unconditional stimulus and slows the process of
forgetting. Ex: Advertisements
2. Stimulus generalization: Not only repetitions but individuals ability to
generalize help in learning. Ex: a dog could learn to salivate not only to
the sound of a bell but also to the somewhat similar sounds of jangling
keys. That is why “me-too” products succeed in the market place. It also
helps in
(a). Building product line, form, & category extensions
(b). Family branding- all company’s products under one brand name Ex:
Parle
(c) Licensing – allowing well-known brand name to be affixed to products
of another manufacturer. Ex: Bingo with Coca-Cola.

Strategic Marketing Applications of
Conditioning Model
• Stimulus Discrimination: It is just the opposite of stimulus generalization
& results in the selection of a specific stimulus from among similar
stimuli.
• This is totally based on positioning strategy.
• The image – or position – that a product or service holds in the mind of
the consumer is critical to its success.
• Even retail outlet look alike are also concerning more major marketers
these days.
• Product differentiation is another way of stimulus discrimination.

Instrumental Conditioning
• Instrumental conditioning believes that learning occurs through a trial-
and-error process, with habits formed as a result of rewards received
from certain responses or behaviors.
• Example: Consumers learn which stores carry the types of clothing they
prefer at prices they can afford to pay by shopping in a number of stores.
Once they find such store which meets their needs, they patronize the
store.
• Every time they purchase some thing there, they feel rewarded
(reinforced), & the patronage increases.
• Instrumental conditioning is more goal-oriented & help in studying
complex behaviors when compared to classical conditioning which
studies very simple kinds of behaviors.
• Positive & negative (ex: fear appeal) reinforcements
• Extinction & forgetting: This happens if customer is not satisfied with the
products of a store any more.

Marketing Applications of Instrumental
Conditioning
• Marketers effectively utilize the concepts of consumer instrumental
learning when they provide positive reinforcement by assuring
customer satisfaction with the product, the service, and the total
buying experience.
• Some of the strategic marketing activities of Instrumental
conditioning are:
a. Customer satisfaction (Reinforcement)
b. Relationship marketing:-
i. Reinforcement Schedules: Reinforcement has schedules patron Ex: Mega mart
ii. Shaping: Retailer recognize that they should first attract consumers before
they can expect them to make heavy purchases. So they give discounts or
other offerings to attract the customers to the stores.

6. The Elaboration Likelihood Model
• Elaboration Likelihood model proposes the more global view.
• It says that consumer attitudes are changed by two distinctly different
“routes to persuasion”: a central route or a peripheral route.
• Central route: Here the customer is actively searching information about
the product/brand and in this case they are willing to exert the effort to
understand, learn, or evaluate the available information about the
product. Here attitude change occur via the central route.
• In contrast, when a consumer’s motivation or assessment skills are low,
learning or attitude change tend to occur via the peripheral route. Here
secondary inducement (stimuli) should be shown. Ex: coupons, free
samples, beautiful background scenery, great packaging, or the
encouragement of celebrity endorsement.

Involvement Theory
• It is also called as Split Brain Theory.
• The left hemisphere of brain is responsible for cognitive activities such as
reading, speaking, & attributional information processing. It is rational,
active & realistic
• The right hemisphere is nonverbal, pictorial. It is emotional, impulsive, &
intuitive.
• Media Strategy: Passive learning occurs through repeated exposures to a TV
commercial which impact consumer behavior
• Central-Peripheral Route to Persuasion: It believes that a High involvement
product requires cognitive thinking (central route to persuasion) Ex: Cars.
And for low-involvement product peripheral route to persuasion.
• Elaboration Likelihood Model: ELM says person’s level of involvement
during message processing is a critical factor in determining which route to
persuasion.
• Measures of Involvement: There is no specific measure for involvement.

Attitude
• Basics & Nature of Attitude
• In Consumer Behavior context, an attitude is learned predisposition
(tendency) to behave in a consumer favorable or unfavorable way with
respect to a given object.
• Consumer researchers assess attitudes by asking questions or making
inferences from behavior.
• Example: If a researcher determine from questioning a consumer that he
consistently buys Secret deodorant and even recommends the product to
friends, the researcher is likely to infer that the consumer possesses a
positive attitude towards this brand of deodorant.
• The attitudes are not directly observable but must be inferred from what
people say or what they do.

Basics & Nature of Attitude
• The attitude “Object”: If we are interested in learning consumer’s
attitude toward three major brands of popularly priced watches, our
“Object” might include- Titan, Timex, & Rolex. It can be product, product
category, brand, service, possessions, product use, causes or issue,
people, advertisement, internet site, price, medium, or retailer.
• Attitudes are a learned predisposition: Attitudes are generally learned.
Attitudes are formed as a result of direct experience with the product,
word-of-mouth information, exposure to mass-media advertising, the
internet, and various forms of direct marketing etc..
• Attitudes have consistency: Attitudes are consistent. But despite their
consistency, attitudes are not necessarily permanent; they do change.
• Attitudes occur within a situation: Event or circumstances that, at a
particular point in time, influence the relationship between an attitude
and behavior.

Models of Attitude
1. Tri-Component Model of Attitude
• According to this model, attitudes consist of 3 major components:
cognitive component, an affective component, and a conative
component.
• Cognition: The cognitive component is developed by previous experience
& related information about a product.
• Affect: A consumer’s emotions or feeling about a particular product or
brand constitute the affective component of an attitude.
• Conation: The conative component is concerned with the likelihood or
tendency that an individual will undertake a specific action. Ex: It is
consumer’s intention to buy.
Conation
Cognition
Affect

Models of Attitude
2. Multi-attribute Attitude Models
This model portrays consumer’s attitudes with regard to an attitude
object as a function of consumer’s perception & assessment of key
attributes or beliefs held with regard to the particular attitude object.
a. The attitude-toward-object model: This believes that consumers
generally have favorable attitudes toward those brands that they
believe have an adequate level of attributes that they evaluate as
positive, & vice-versa.
b. The attitude-toward-behavior model: This model speaks on attitude
about the act (of purchasing) rather than attitude about the object
itself.
c. Theory-of-reasoned-action model: This theory speaks about attitude
toward the behavior & subjective norm (consumer’s feelings as to
what relevant others like- family, friends, roommates, coworkers).

Attitude Change Strategies
• The formation of consumer attitudes is strongly influenced by personal
experience, the influence of family, direct marketing, mass media, and
the internet.
• Primary mean by which attitudes towards product or service can be
changed by improving consumer’s direct experience in trying &
evaluating them. Example: By giving them trial coupons, discount, offers
so that at-least if consumers try the product, there could be positive
impression on the product.
• Niche marketing is one of the strategies involved to change the
consumers attitude towards the product or services.
• Direct marketing has shown favorably influencing target consumer’s
attitudes. Ex: Direct marketing- like melas.
• Mass media communication provide an important source of information
which influences the formation of attitudes. Ex: TV channels, magazines,
newspapers etc..

Attitude change based on Tricomponent Model
• Changing the cognitive component: By changing the kind of
experience consumers get by consuming the product and
also by improving the kind of information about the product.
• Changing the affective component: By changing the
emotional. i.e. by creating emotionally appealing advertising
messages.
• Changing the behavioral component: By changing the
consumer’s intention to buy to an definitely buying behavior.
Example: By showing a not sure consumer who becomes
sure about buying the brand in the end; will definitely
influence this component.

Other Attitude Change Strategies
1. Changing the basic motivational function
2. Associating the product with a specific group,
event, or cause
3. Resolving two conflicting attitudes
4. Altering the components of the multi-attribute
model
5. Changing benefits about competitors brands
6. The Elaboration Likelihood Model

1. Changing the basic motivational function
• An effective strategy for changing consumer attitudes toward a
product or brand is to make particular needs prominent.
• According to this approach, attitudes can be classified in terms of 4
functions. These 4 functions have to be changed to change the
attitudes.
1. The utilitarian function (to focus on brand utility)
2. The ego-defensive function (to highlight the sense of security &
personal confidence. Ex: John Abraham ad- Garnier – “Just believe
what you see”)
3. The value-expression function (to reflect the characteristics of the
consumers values, lifestyle, or outlooks, in the ads.)
4. The knowledge function (by satisfying consumer’s need to know & by
emphasizing the advantages again & again)

2. Associating the product with a specific group, event, or
cause
• Attitudes are related to certain groups, social events, or causes.
• It is possible to alter attitudes towards companies and their products,
services, and brands by pointing out their relationships to particular
social groups, events, or causes.
• Example: Micro-Max mobile company associated with Cricket sponsoring
has changed the company’s China mobile image to a good image.

3. Resolving two conflicting attitudes
• Attitude-change strategies can sometimes resolve actual or potential
conflict between two attitudes.
• Example: A person loves to buy a higher end mobile with good features
(attitude 1). The same person is worried about quick depreciation of
mobiles (attitude 2). If a company launches mobile which has good new
features with less price, then his conflicting attitude will be change to
positive attitude for purchase.

4. Altering the components of the multi-attribute model
Altering the components of the multi-attribute model, the attitude
can be changed. The following components have to be changed:
1. Changing the relative evaluation of attributes: To find good &
beneficial segment for the product. Align the positioning strategy of
attributes.
2. Changing brand beliefs: This is done to suit the current trend in the
market. Example: Manichand’s strategy after increasing the price.
3. Adding an attribute: Example: Ford Figo has come up with Bluetooth
facility. Maruti 800 came up with MPFI engines.
4. Changing the overall brand rating: It can be a claim that sets the brand
apart from all its competitors. Example: “this is the largest-selling
brand” or “the one all others try to imitate”.

5. Challenging the benefits about competitors brands
• Another approach to attitude-change involves changing consumer beliefs
about the attributes of competitive brands or product categories.
• This can be done by giving comparative advertisements.
• Example: Clorox Clean-Up claimed that Mr. Clean cannot remove certain
types of tough stains that Clorox Clean-Up can. This is also done by Rin to
its competitor Tide.
• But some times such comparative advertising can boomerand by giving
visibility to a competing brand & their claims.

TIPS for Improving Your Own Attitude
• Don’t associate with people who have hostile
attitudes, you might get infected
• Remember other coworkers.
• Practice optimism and positive self-talk (inner
voice).
• Dwell on positives.
• Maintain perspectives/choose battles
carefully.

Tips (con’t)
• Give others the benefit of the doubt.
• Become a problem-solver.
• Be alert.
• Utilize self-control.
• Manage stress.
• Stay physically healthy
• Empathize

Job Tips
• Look for creative ways to make tasks more
interesting.
• Try sharing or trading tasks-tedium v.
challenge.
• Ask for more responsibilities.
• Adjust your schedule to best manage
boredom.
• Look for a alternatives.

Persuasive Communication
• Changes in attitudes can result in the absence or
presence of rewards.
• Acceptance or resistance to an attitude or
opinion is dependent on the incentives/rewards
that are offered in communication with those
involved.
(Hovland, Janis & Kelly, 1953)

Persuasive Communication
• Communication is the transmission of a message from a sender to a
receiver via a medium (or channel) of transmission.
• In addition to the previous four basic components-sender, receiver,
medium, and message – the fifth essential component of communication
feedback.
• This alerts the sender to check whether the sent message is received or
not.
Sender Message
Channel
(Medium) Receiver
Feedback

Communication Strategy
• In developing communications strategy, the sponsor must establish the
primary communications objectives.
• These might consist of creating awareness of a service, promoting sales
of a product, encouraging (or discouraging) certain practices, attracting
retail patronage, reducing post-purchase dissonance (conflict), creating
goodwill or a favorable image, or any combination of these and other
communications objectives.
• Models for persuasive communication- cognitive model (where exposure
to message leads to interest & desire and ultimately purchase) and
advertising model (perception, experience & memory leads to purchase)
• Another essential component of a communication strategy is selecting
the appropriate audience.

Media Strategy
• Media strategy is an essential component of a communications plan.
• It calls for the placement of ads in the specific media read, viewed, or
heard by each targeted audience.
• To accomplish this, advertisers develop, through research, a consumer
profile of their target customers that includes the specific media they
read or watch.
• A cost-effective media choice is one that closely matches the advertiser’s
consumer profile to a medium’s audience.
• Many advertisers use a multimedia campaign strategy- with one major &
few minor other categories for supplemental support.
• Web is the newest advertising medium.

Message Strategies
• The message is the thought, idea, attitude, image, or other information
that the sender wishes to convey to the intended audience.
• While encoding the message, the sender must know exactly what the
objectives are and what the message is intended to accomplish.
• The sender must also know the target audience’s personal characteristics
in terms of education, interests, needs, and experience.
• A message should appeal to 3 different personalities:
1. Righteous buyer: (who believes only Consumer Reports)
2. Social buyer: (who relies on friends, celebrity endorsements)
3. Pragmatic buyer: (who looks for best value for the money)
• It should also suite Central & peripheral routes to persuasion.

Message Structure & Presentation
• Some of the decisions that marketers must make in designing the message
include the use of resonance, positive or negative message framing, one-
sided or two-sided messages, comparative advertising, and the order of
presentation.
• Resonance: Creating double meaning. Ex: Pepsi – “Hit the beach topless”.
Like this ads will be noticed
• Message framing: Positive message framing.
• One-sided versus two-sided messages: Showing some reasonableness
towards other brands before attacking them. It will mean fair in examining
the issues.
• Comparative advertising: Ex: Rin’s comparative ad with Tide.
• Order effects: Ad should be presented 1st or last? Usually, 1st ones are
recalled easily.
• Repetition: Repetition is an important factor in learning.

Message Structure & Presentation
• Advertising appeals: Factual appeals, emotional appeals, fear appeals,
humor appeals etc.
• Abrasive Advertising: Studies have revealed that unpleasant ads that
annoy viewers may dissolve overtime, leaving only the brand name in
the minds of consumers. Ex: Used by Pharmaceutical companies.
• ( Unusal things )in Advertising: These themes get the attention but
studies show that they rarely encourage actual consumption behavior.
• Audience participation: Message should contain some part which should
facilitate receivers participation. This reinforces the message.