Chapter-12: Learning and Memory

Chapter-12: Learning and Memory

Learning Defined:

Learning can be defined as a relatively permanent change in behavior occurring as a result of experience. The term behavior is used to refer to non-observable   cognitive activity as well as to overt actions. Therefore, it is very possible for learning to occur without any change in observable behavior. Learning results in relatively permanent changes in behavior excluding the effects of physical damage or to the body or brain and of natural human growth.   

Types of Learned Behavior:

(i) Physical behavior: We learn many physical behavior patterns useful in responding to a variety of situations faced in everyday life. For example, we learn to walk, talk, and interact with others. As a consumer we learn methods of responding to various situations as result satisfactions and dissatisfactions may occur.

(ii) Symbolic learning and problem solving: People learn symbolic meanings that enable highly efficient communication through the development of languages. Symbolic also allows the marketer to communicate with the consumers through such vehicles as brand names (Sony, Kodak etc.)

(iii) Active learning: Consumers learn many of their wants, goals, and motives as well as products satisfy these needs. Learning also influences consumers’ development of favorable or unfavorable attitudes toward a company and its products. These attitudes will affect the tendency to purchase various brands.

Principal Elements of Learning:

Consumers learn in several basic ways. However, four elements seem to be fundamental. The extent nature and strength of these components influence what will be learned, how it will be learned, and the rate it which learning will occur.

(i) Motive: motives arouse individuals, thereby increasing their readiness to respond. These arousal activities are essential, since it activates the energy needed to engage in learning activity. Any success at achieving the motivational goal or avoiding some unpleasant situation, tend to reduce arousal.

(ii) Cues: a cue may be viewed as a weak stimulus not strong enough to arouse consumer, but capable of providing direction to motivated activity. That is, it influences the manner in which consumer respond to a motive.

(iii) Response: a response may be viewed as mental or physical activity the consumer makes in relation to a stimulus situation. Responses appropriate to a particular situation are learned over time through experience in facing that situation. A hungry baby is more likely to cry or exhibit behavior than other responses.

(iv) Reinforcement: reinforced behavior tends to be repeated; consumers can learn to develop successful means of responding to their needs or changing condition. One important type of reinforcement achieved through reducing motive arousal. This occurs through removing a negative reinforcer (something that generates discomfort and is avoided), or receiving a positive reinforcer (something that generates pleasure and is sought).

Learning Classifications:

Various theories have been developed to explain different aspects of learning. These theories however, can be grouped into several major categories: Learning connections and cognitive interpretations.

Learning connections: some learning theorists maintain that learning involves the development of connections between a stimulus and some response to it. That is, the association of a response and a stimulus is the connection that is learned.

(i) Classical conditioning: Essentially, classical conditioning pairs one stimulus with another that already elicits a given response. Over repeated trials, the new stimulus will also begin to elicit the same or a very similar response. Experiment conducted by Pavlov, reasoned that because food (unconditioned stimulus) already caused his dog to salivate (unconditioned response), it might be possible to link a previously neutral stimulus to the food so that it too would be able to make the dog salivate.

(ii) Instrumental conditioning: this method also involves developing connections between stimuli and responses, but in a different way. A box named Skinner box, in one wall there is button which when pressed will deliver food to the pigeon in the box. When placed in the box, the pigeon will respond in a variety of ways. Eventually, it pushes the specific button and receives the food, and eats it with great enjoyment. As the push of the button will lead to reinforcement, this will help the pigeon to learn.

Cognitive interpretations: Instead of viewing learning as the development of connections between stimuli and responses, cognitive theorists stress the importance of perception, problem solving, and insights. This viewpoint contends that much learning occurs not as a result of trial-and-error or practice but through discovering meaningful patterns, which enable us to solve problems. As long as an individual has not solved a problem, a state of incompleteness produces tension to motivate continued search for a solution. Problem solution results in closure, which reduces the motivation tension and is reinforcing.

Memory:

As everyone’s experience has demonstrated, material that consumers have learned is not always readily retrievable by them. Some information, such as popular brand names or the location of merchandise in a supermarket, is easily remembered. Other information appears to end up lost, or at least it does not appear to be readily obtainable.

Memory processes are of considerable importance to the understanding of consumers. Basically, this is so because to a large extent, consumers act on the basis of their cognitions, or their knowledge or beliefs about the word. These cognitions are stores in memory and they influence how incoming stimuli are interpreted. They also form the basis for attitudes, behavioral intentions, and brand choice.

A representation of memory system: Several views exist regarding the structure of memory and its operation. One termed the multiple store approach, views memory as viewing composed of three distinctive storage registers (sensory, short-term, long-term) which differ in capacity, storage duration and functioning.

(i) Sensory memory: information is first received by sensory memory. Information is in the form of sensations that have been produced by the sensory receptors. Memory registers exist for sensations being produced by the visual, auditory, and other sense organs. The capacity of these registers is very large – capable of storing all that the sensory receptors transmit. A good illustration of the nature of these representations is the after-image we see in our minds eye immediately after observing an object and closing our eyes.  

(ii) Short-term memory: To a large extent, short-term memory can be viewed as the workplace for information processing. That is, it is a portion of memory activated to temporarily store and process information in order to interpret it and comprehend its meaning. This is accomplished by combining incoming information with other information (past experience, knowledge, and the like) stored in long term memory.

Although the duration of this memory register is considerably longer than that of sensory memory, it still is very brief, lasting less than one minute. In addition, the capacity of short-term memory is quite limited. Approximately, seven items or groupings of items are all that can be stored at any one time. 

(iii) Long-term memory: This memory system can be thought of as the relatively permanent storehouse for information that has undergone sufficient processing. Material can be maintained in long-term memory for as little as a few minutes to as long as many years. This system has the capacity to store an almost unlimited amount of information.

A predominant key to coding material for storage in long-term memory is meaningfulness, the personal understanding an individual can derive from the information. That is, through elaborative rehearsal the individual uses his existing knowledge to interpret incoming information and code it in a way that is consistent with his existing cognitive structure (knowledge base).

Some people claim that we never really forget anything that has been transferred to long-term memory. They argue that, what is forgotten is the key, which tells us where the material is located in our memory.

Advertising Applications of memory:

(i) Advertising messages with unique aspects have a greater potential for being remembered. Because material with unusual aspects is least affected by the process of forgetting.

(ii) The order in which material is presented seems to influence how well it will be retained, with the middle portion being most easily forgotten. The beginning and ending message stand out the most in remembering event.

(iii) Messages that encourage immediate rehearsal of material stimulate its retention. Maintenance rehearsal keeps material in short-term memory, and elaborative rehearsal will encourage the transfer to long-term memory.

(iv) More information can be processed and retained if it is chunked. The capacity of short-term memory is approximately seven items.

(v) The amount of information that can be transferred to long-term memory is a function of the time available for processing.

(vi) Memory is cue-depended, and presentation of relevant cues will stimulate recall. Certain cues present during the learning context associated with the material in the memory.

(vii) Material retained in long-term memory can be quite different from the information presented in a leaning situation. Some information will be lost from the short-term memory.

(viii) Material that is meaningful to the individual is leaned more quickly and therefore has a greater chance of being retained than does non-meaningful material. Some methods may be visual material, interactive imagery, showing mistakes, incomplete message, may be helpful for the marketer to increase individual learning more quickly.

Again, it should be stressed that the above list of general guidelines regarding consumers’ memory is not by any means exhaustive. In addition, the specific situation must be considered for employing any of them. However, the list is illustrative of the potential benefits of applying such concepts to the design of marketing communications.