Learning and Consumer Involvement

The process by which individuals acquire the knowledge and experience they apply to future purchase and consumption behaviour.

Motivation: based on needs and wants which are a catalyst for learning.Consumes are more likely to learn if the information is relevantto their needs and goals.

Cues: These stimuli give direction to consumer motives.

Response: is the way the consumer responds to cues i.e. theiractual behaviour.

Reinforcement: The feedback a consumer receives from a change in behaviour due to learning. Reinforcement can have a positive or negative outcome.
It influences the likelihood that a specific behaviour will be repeated in the future in response to a particular cue or stimulus

Reflexive responses: stimulus → automatic response

Incidental learning: Acquired accidentally or without much effort.

Intentional learning: Results from a careful search for information search. Includes:
Complex problem solving, or
The development of abstract concepts.

• Also known as stimulus response theory.
  Based on notion that observable responses to external stimuli result in learning.
  Theories in this cluster include:
  
• 1. Classical Conditioning.
  
• 2. Instrumental Conditionin

Repetition: Increases the strength of association between a conditioned stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus.

Stimulus Discrimination: The ability to select a specific stimulus from among similar stimuli because of perceived differences.

Stimulus Generalisation: The inability to perceive differences between slightly dissimilar stimuli. e.g. Pavlov found that the dogs also learned to respond to the sound of jangling keys (as well as the sound of the bell).In essence, it occurs when a consumer responds the same way to slightly different stimuli.

Requires a stimulus to be linked to a response.


In this instance, the stimulus is learned via a trial-and-error process (e.g. Consumers may buy several brands before discovering the brand that suits them best (that is, positive reinforcement)


Consumer habits are thought to emanate from the rewards received for certain responses / behaviours.


Rewarded behaviours are more likely to be repeated

• Response A = unrewarded
• Response B = rewarded

Reinforcer: any event that strengthens or increases the behaviour it follows. There are two kinds of reinforcers:

1. Positive reinforcers are favourable outcomes (or events) that are presented after the person enacts a specific behaviour. The positive reinforcer servers to strengthen that behaviour.For example, a child cleans up their bedroom and then receives praise. The praise serves to reinforce the tidy behaviour.

2. Negative reinforcers involve the removal of an unfavourable outcomes (or events) after a person enacts a specific behaviour. In other words, the behavioural response is strengthened by the removal of something the person considers to be unpleasant

Forgetting and extinction: occurs when a learned response is no longer reinforced.

Massed or distributed learning: are concerned with the timing or scheduling of the learning.

Individuals can also learn by modelling the behaviours of other people.


Watch → Remember → Imitate


For example, we may watch opinion leaders or those in a reference group and imitate their behaviours.


Opinion leader: “A person who informally influences the attitudes or behaviour of others” (p. 629).


Reference group: “A person or group that serves as a point of comparison for and individual in the formation of either general or specific values, attitudes or behaviour

Based on mental activity (e.g. problem solving).
Focuses on how information is stored in human memory and how it is retrieved.
Based on computer information processing model.

– REHEARSAL– ENCODING– STORAGE– RETRIEVAL– FORGETTING (extinction)

Rehearsal: Required to transfer information from the short term store to the long-term store.

Encoding: The process by which a word or visual image is selected and assigned to represent a perceived object

EPISODIC - ability to recall personal history or other events in context


SEMANTIC - facts and concepts which enable individual to assign meaning


PROCEDURAL- how to do things (drive a car, use a computer etc.

Tricomponent Model: CAC

Promotional Model: AIDA Attention, Interest, Desire, Action

Decision-making Model: AKEPP Awareness, Knowledge, Evaluation, Purchase, Post-purchase evaluation

Innovation adoption Model: Awareness, Interest, Evaluation, Trial, Adoption

Innovation decision process: Knowledge, Persuasion, Decision confirmation.

Brand Loyalty:A consistent preference and/or purchase of one brand in a specific product or service category. Ultimate desired outcome of consumer learning.
Brand loyal consumers form a firm basis for growing market share.

Brand Equity: The advantage that a brand, its name and symbol gives to a product in terms of increased sales or price.


The value inherent in a well known brand name.


The premium a consumer will pay for that brand.
The concept is referred to in terms of brand value and brand meaning.
Brand equity, leads to brand loyalty, to increased market share, to greater profits