MKTG 450 Midterm

What is Consumer Behavior?

The study of the processes involved when individuals or groups select, purchase, use, or dispose of products, services, ideas, or experiences to satisfy needs and desires.

- Referred to as "Buyer Behavior"

- Is actually an "Ongoing Process"

The challenge for marketers is to understand the needs and wants of different consumer segments.

Example: Buying a coffee because you’re tired and need energy is consumer behavior — it shows how people choose and use products to meet their needs.

A Branded World

• A brand enables consumers to identify a particular company, product, or individual

• We increasingly live in a branded world

• Consumers form strong loyalties with their favorite brands or stores

Example: Someone always chooses Nike over other shoe brands because they trust its quality and style — this shows brand loyalty in a branded world.

Consumers, Society, and Technology: A Moving Target

• Social Media: The Horizontal Revolution

– Social media → Social media has ushered in the horizontal revolution, in which information flows directly between individuals and bypasses traditional hierarchies.

Example: Instead of relying on news outlets, people share breaking news on Twitter/X — showing how social media lets info spread person-to-person, not top-down.

• Artificial Intelligence and The Metaverse

– Internet of Things (IoT)

– M2M (machine-to- machine communication)

– Artificial intelligence (AI)

– Digital native

Internet of Things (IoT)

The growing network of connected devices embedded in everyday objects that can “speak” to each other and share data.

Example: A smartwatch that tracks your steps and syncs the data to your fitness app is a typical example of the Internet of Things, where connected devices share data seamlessly.

M2M (machine-to- machine communication)

Artificial intelligence (AI) applications that get better over time via machine learning.

Example: Self-driving cars use M2M communication to share data with each other and traffic systems, improving route planning and safety. As they collect more data, machine learning helps them perform better over time.

Digital Native

Consumers that have grown up "wired" in an always-on world where digital technology has always existed.

Example: A teenager who’s been using smartphones, social media, and streaming services since childhood is a digital native — they’ve never known a world without the internet.

Big Data (2)

• Relationship Marketing

• Database Marketing

Big Data

Collection and analysis of extremely large datasets.

Example: Amazon uses ___ ____ to recommend products based on what millions of people have searched, viewed, and bought.

Relationship Marketing

Building relationships between brands and customers is key to success and interaction is frequent.

Example: Starbucks sends you birthday rewards and personalized offers through its app — this helps build a lasting relationship with customers.

Database Marketing

Tracks specific consumers' buying habits closely and crafts products and messages tailored to people's wants and needs.

Example: Spotify tracks your music taste and creates personalized playlists and ads — that’s database marketing in action.

Consumer Trends: Keeping Up with the Culture That Won’t Stand Still

1. Sharing economy 

• Things people used to buy aren't being purchased nowadays but rather shared

• Newer ways of generating revenues

Example: Using Airbnb to rent someone’s home for a trip instead of booking a hotel is part of the sharing economy.

2. Authenticity and personalization

• Huge backlash against cookiecutter advertising/lack of transparency

• Messaging today feels more authentic but not entirely, doesn't feel like straight up branded advertising but rather personalized

Example: On TikTok, a creator casually shows how they use a skincare product — it feels real and personal, not like a traditional ad.

3. Blurring of gender identity and gender roles

• Roles aren't as clear cut anymore and advertising no longer separates the two

• Can now target multiple groups

Example: A laundry ad shows both a dad and a mom doing chores equally — reflecting today’s more blended gender roles.

4. Diversity and multiculturalism
   

5. Social shopping

• Can crowdsource information - bring in people who aren't there and bring them into the conversation

Example: Someone sends friends a poll on Instagram to help choose between two outfits before buying — that’s social shopping.

6. Income inequality

• Can affect consumers purchasing abilities

Example: A luxury brand releases a cheaper product line so more people can afford it — showing how income inequality affects buying power.

7. Healthy and ethical living

• Cleaner and more sustainable products

Example: A shopper chooses plant-based milk over regular milk to support a healthier and more sustainable lifestyle

8. Simplification

• Experiences and less stuff rather than purchasing things

Example: Instead of buying new clothes, someone spends money on a weekend getaway — choosing experiences over things.

9. Interconnection and the Internet of Things

• Al, growth of technologies, typically ease of use

Example: A smartwatch that tracks your health and syncs with your phone to suggest workouts shows how interconnected smart devices make life easier.

10. Anonymity

Example: Someone leaves a product review online without using their real name — that’s using anonymity to share honest feedback.

Consumption: From Problem to Solution?

• What do we need---really?

• Need

• Want

• Toward responsible consumption and responsible business

• Responsible marketing

Example: Patagonia ran an ad saying “Don’t Buy This Jacket” to encourage people to think before buying. They wanted to reduce waste and promote mindful shopping. It’s a clear example of responsible marketing and responsible consumption.

Where Do We Find Consumer Researchers?

• Just about anywhere we find consumers

• Consumer researchers work for manufacturers, retailers, marketing research firms, governments, and nonprofit organizations—and, of course, colleges and universities

• You’ll find them in laboratories, running sophisticated experiments that involve advanced neural imaging machinery, or in malls, interviewing shoppers

• They may conduct focus groups or run large-scale polling operations

Stages in the Consumption Process (3)

1) Prepurchase

2) Purchase

3) Postpurchase

SATISFICE

is making a "good enough" decision that does not involve thinking slowly.

Example: Choosing the first phone you see that fits your budget without comparing all options is satisficing — it’s quick and “good enough.”

CHOICE OVERLOAD

is when choosing between a wide range of options negatively affects the decision making process (e.g., the jam in Italy).

Example: At the store, someone sees 30 kinds of pasta sauce and feels overwhelmed, so they leave without buying any — that’s choice overload.

ALPHA mode

• A state where the brain is actively engaged and paying full attention.
  

• Used when processing information to make decisions or navigating new environments.
  

• It can be mentally exhausting to stay in alpha mode for long periods (e.g., during a test or while adapting to change).
  

Example: During an exam, your brain is in alpha mode — fully focused and processing lots of information, which can be tiring.

BETA mode

• A zombie-like, autopilot state where you're present but not fully engaged.
  

• Common during routine tasks (e.g., grocery shopping, commuting).
  

• People naturally revert to beta mode to conserve energy.
  

  ~ Consumers are predisposed to beta mode but switch to alpha mode to make buying decisions.

Example: Walking through the grocery store and grabbing the same cereal you always buy without thinking — that’s beta mode.

Word of Mouth

• The most powerful influence on consumer behavior affects purchase decisions.

• More trusted than advertisements, especially when recommendations come from people we know—or even influencers we follow online.

Example: After seeing their favorite influencer rave about a skincare product, someone decides to try it too

Sequence of events

Script where you end up doing something or how you are expected to behave or act

• Learn alot about consumers mainly by watching and observing the behavior of consumers

Example: At Starbucks, most people know to stand in line, order at the counter, give their name, and wait for their drink — this routine is a consumer script.

"A brand is a promise that must be fulfilled."

• Brands were created to:
  

  • Differentiate products in the market (especially after the Industrial Revolution).
    

  • Make products non-interchangeable (e.g., soap is no longer "just soap"—now it’s Ivory, Dove, etc.).
    

  • Build consumer trust and justify higher prices by offering consistent quality.

Another example: Dove isn’t just soap — it’s a brand that promises gentle care and moisturization, helping it stand out and earn consumer trust.

Sensation (5)

• Vision

• Scent

• Taste

• Touch

• Sound

→ The more marketers account for all of the senses, the more likely consumers are to buy something. Marketing communication is more effective when it appeals to all of the customer’s senses.

Sensory Marketing

Companies think carefully about the impact of sensations on our product experiences

Example: A bakery pumps the smell of fresh bread outside to attract customers — using scent to enhance the shopping experience through sensory marketing.

Vision

• Illuminance

• Shape

• Surface color

• Materiality

• Location

The choice of a color palette (trade dress) is a key issue in package design

→ a way from words to images; a lot of adverts were driven by words in the past but it has now moved to visuals

Trade dress

is the overall commercial image of a product, like their choice of a color palette.

Example: Tiffany & Co. uses its iconic robin’s egg blue box — the color and packaging style are part of its trade dress.

Dollars and Scents

• Like color, odor can also stir emotions and memory.
  

• Scent Marketing is a form of sensory marketing that is often used in retail settings and in product design.

Example: Abercrombie & Fitch stores use a signature scent so shoppers associate that smell with the brand — a strategy called scent marketing.

Scent → The most immediate of the senses, connected to the limbic system. When retailers use scent in stores, it can increase sales by creating positive emotional associations (e.g., euphoria).

Sound (3)

1) Pitch: whether it's a high pitch or low pitch → if the message in the commercial is delivered in a high pitch, people are more likely to behave morally vs. a low pitch

Example: A Pampers commercial uses a gentle, high-pitched female voice to talk about helping babies in need — the higher pitch encourages moral behavior like donating or supporting the cause.

2) Sound symbolism - can communicate the brand image

Example: The brand name “Ziploc” sounds sharp and snappy, matching the product’s sealing function — that’s sound symbolism shaping brand image. 

3) Phonemes - hard consonant sound → more likely to remember a brand that has a hard sound in it

Example: The brand name Pepsi has strong “P” and “S” sounds, making it catchy and easier to remember — that’s phonemes in action.

Key Concepts in the Use of Sound

• Audio Watermarking - A musical or audio sound that a brand uses as a signature watermark
  

Example: The Netflix "ta-dum" sound that plays before every show is an audio watermark — it signals the brand instantly.

• Sound Symbolism - The way a word sounds influences our assumptions about what it describes and attributes.

Example: The ice cream brand name “Haagen-Dazs” sounds premium and exotic — even though it’s made-up, the sound influences perceptions of luxury.

Touch (4)

• Endowment effect

• Psychological ownership

• Haptic

• Contamination effect

~ Consumers who participate in the creation of a product may experience a feeling of psychological ownership – even if a few parts are left over when they’re done

Example: After building their own IKEA bookshelf, a customer feels proud and more attached to it — that’s psychological ownership through touch and effort.

Endowment Effect

Encouraging shoppers to touch a product encourages them to imagine they own it, and researchers know that people value things more highly if they own them. (Visualizing/Imagining Ownership)

Example: In a store, someone picks up a mug and starts imagining using it at home — making them more likely to buy it due to the ________________

Psychological ownership

Consumers feel a greater level of attachment to a product after touching it, thus boosting what they are willing to pay for it ~ Feeling (Emotional Connection)

Example: In a store, a customer runs their hand over a leather bag and instantly feels connected to it — the physical touch increases their attachment and makes them more willing to pay for it, showing ______________

Haptic

Science of touch → if you touch something you are more likely to buy it (TEXTURE)

Example: In a store, someone touches a soft sweater and instantly feels how cozy it is — making them more likely to buy it. That’s haptic marketing at work.

Contamination Effect

You know that people have touched a prior item, so you end up grabbing one in the back → feeling that something has been contaminated so you don’t purchase something

Example: At the grocery store, a shopper sees others handling the front loaf of bread, so they reach for one in the back

Taste (2)

Taste is a huge driver behind the $46 billion Americans spend on food and beverages in a year.

• Gastrophysics

• Hedonic escalation

Gastrophysics

The science of eating that considers how physics, chemistry, and psychology influence how people experience what they put in their mouths.

Example: Cheetos are designed to melt quickly in your mouth, have the perfect crunch, and leave a cheesy residue on your fingers — a perfect example of gastrophysics, where texture, sound, and multi-sensory cues influence how addictive and satisfying a snack feels.

Hedonic Escalation

The idea that enjoyment increases as you keep consuming something — the more you eat, the better it tastes (at least up to a point).

Example: The first bite of chocolate cake is good, but by the third or fourth bite, it tastes even more satisfying.

Bliss Point

The ideal combination of sugar, salt, and fat that maximizes pleasure and keeps people coming back for more, without becoming overwhelming.

It’s the point where the product tastes “just right” and is hard to stop eating.

Example: Lay’s potato chips are carefully designed to hit this — the ideal mix of salt, fat, and crunch — making them so irresistible that people often eat more than they intend to, without even realizing it.

Figure 3.1 An Overview of the Perceptual Process

• Exposure

• Attention

• Interpretation

Stage 1: Key Concepts in Exposure (STAR)

• Sensory threshold

• Psychophysics

• Absolute threshold

• Differential threshold

• JND

• Weber’s Law

Sensory threshold

The point at which a stimulus is strong enough to make a conscious impact on an individual's awareness — it's the minimum intensity needed for the brain to detect a stimulus.

Example: A candle’s scent is so light that you only notice it when you're right next to it — that means the scent has reached your sensory threshold.

Psychophysics

The study of how people perceive physical stimuli through their senses — like how we detect and interpret light, sound, taste, or touch

Example: A researcher tests how loud a sound must be before people can hear it .

Absolute threshold

The minimum amount of stimulation a person can detect on a given sensory channel. (lowest detectable level)

Example: The smallest amount of perfume someone can smell in a large room — that’s their absolute threshold for scent.

Differential threshold / JND

The minimum difference between two stimuli that a person can detect.

Example: A shopper notices a cereal box is slightly smaller than before — that small change in size is the ___

Weber’s Law

suggests that a bigger initial stimulus requires a bigger change to be noticed

Example: You notice a $1 price increase on a $3 coffee, but not on a $100 jacket — according to Weber’s Law, the bigger the original price, the bigger the change needed to notice.

Stage 2: Attention (STAR)

• Attention is the extent to which processing activity is devoted to a particular stimulus

• Consumers experience sensory overload

• Eyeball economy

– Marketers fight for your attention

Example: On TikTok, brands use bold visuals and trending sounds to grab your attention in the first few seconds — that’s the eyeball economy at work

.

• Brain drain

– A deficit of cognitive resources.

Example: After hours of online shopping and comparing options, you feel mentally exhausted and can’t make a decision — that’s brain drain.

How Do Marketers Get Attention?

Personal Selection: people pay attention to only a small percentage of the stimuli they are exposed to.

~ Perceptual filters

Perceptual vigilance – we are more likely to be aware of stimuli that relate to our current needs

Perceptual defense – we tend to see what we want to see, and we don’t see what we don’t want to see

Adaptation: the degree to which consumers continue to notice a stimulus over time. Adaptation occurs when we no longer pay attention to a stimulus because it is so familiar.

Personal Selection

people pay attention to only a small percentage of the stimuli they are exposed to.

Example: While walking through a busy mall, you only notice the ad with your favorite celebrity — that’s _______________ in action.

Perceptual Vigilance

we are more likely to be aware of stimuli that relate to our current needs

Example: If you’re hungry, you’re more likely to notice food ads

Perceptual Defense

we tend to see what we want to see, and we don’t see what we don’t want to see

Example: A smoker may ignore health warnings on cigarette packs

Adaptation

The degree to which consumers continue to notice a stimulus over time. Adaptation occurs when we no longer pay attention to a stimulus because it is so familiar.

Example: You stop noticing the scent of your air freshener after a few days — that’s adaptation from repeated exposure.

Stage 3: Interpretation (STAR)

• The meaning we assign to a stimulus depends on the schema, or set of beliefs, to which we assign it

• This, in turn, leads us to compare the stimulus to other similar ones we encountered in the past

• As a result, interpretation is very much based on our subjective experiences, our cultural background, our personal sensitivities, our expectations, etc.

Schema

determines the meaning we assign to a stimulus and how we compare it to other stimuli.

Example: When you walk into a fancy restaurant, your schema helps you expect quiet music, formal service, and higher prices — based on past experiences with similar places.

Semiotics

The field of semiotics helps us understand how consumers create meaning out of symbols.

Example: Lamborghini uses a bull in its logo to symbolize power, strength, and performance — semiotics helps explain how consumers interpret that imagery.

Interpretational Biases: The Eye of the Beholder

• Gestalt: The whole is greater than the sum of its parts

– Closure: people perceive an incomplete picture as complete

– Similarity: consumers group together objects that share similar physical characteristics

– Figure-ground: one part of the stimulus will dominate (the figure) while the other parts recede into the background (ground)

Many company logos use the figure-ground principle. Do you see the arrow embedded inside the FedEx logo?

Gestalt

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts

Example: The Apple logo is just a simple shape, but when you see it, you think of innovation, quality, and design — that’s Gestalt: the brand meaning is bigger than just the logo itself.

Closure

People perceive an incomplete picture as complete

Example: When you see the Coca-Cola logo with part of the letters cut off but still recognize it — that’s closure at work.

Similarity

Consumers group together objects that share similar physical characteristics

Example: Abreva and Kroger cold sore creams have similar packaging colors and design, so consumers may group them together or assume they work the same — that’s similarity in action.

Figure-ground

One part of the stimulus will dominate (the figure) while the other parts recede into the background (ground)

Example: In a McDonald’s ad, the Big Mac is front and center while everything else is blurred — the burger is the figure, and the rest is the ground.

Who Owns Brand Meanings?

• Positioning strategy: a fundamental component of a company’s marketing efforts as it uses elements of the marketing mix (i.e., product design, price, distribution, and marketing communications) to influence consumers’ interpretation of its meaning in the marketplace relative to its competitors

• Ultimately, brand meanings live in consumers’ minds

Positioning Strategy

A fundamental component of a company’s marketing efforts as it uses elements of the marketing mix (i.e., product design, price, distribution, and marketing communications) to influence consumers’ interpretation of its meaning in the marketplace relative to its competitors

Example: Tesla positions itself as a premium, innovative electric car brand through sleek design, high-tech features, and luxury pricing — setting it apart from other automakers in the market.

Intergenerational Effect

→ when you grow up around a brand, particularly a family member; it becomes something you are familiar with and when you become an adult, you start to buy the product as well

refers to your family’s impact on the brands that you purchase and use.

⇒ Family is the biggest influence on consumer behavior

Example: Someone grows up watching their mom use Tide laundry detergent, so they buy the same brand as an adult.

Qualitative Methods

• Interviews
  

• Focus Groups
  

• Projective Techniques
  

• Ethnography
  
  

  • Observation – Watching consumer behavior directly (can be part of ethnography).
    

• Netnography
  

• Shop-along
  

• Pantry Checks (Closet Checks)

• Garbology 

Interviews

are one-on-one discussions where the interviewer asks a respondent questions about their purchase decisions and product use.

• Compared to focus groups, interviews work better for more sensitive issues.

Example: A skincare brand conducts one-on-one interviews with customers to learn about their struggles with acne — since it’s a sensitive topic, interviews work better than focus groups.

Focus group

is a carefully curated group of people led by a moderator discussing a topic.

• Typically, researchers offer an incentive for respondents to participate in a __________.

Example: A snack company invites 8 teens to try new chip flavors and share their opinions in a group discussion — each gets a gift card for participating in the focus group.

Projective techniques

involve analyzing respondents’ oral or written reactions to ambiguous images.

• A Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMET) elicits both conscious and unconscious thoughts by exploring people’s non-literal expressions (magazines).

Example: A researcher shows someone an ad with no clear message and asks, “What do you think is happening here?” — their response reveals hidden feelings through projective techniques.

Ethnography

involves immersing oneself in a subject’s environment to observe and understand their behaviors.

• Unlike observation, the subject is aware that they are being observed.
  

• In an ethnographic study, LEGO learned that young girls disliked that their figures were short and anonymous. This led to the creation of the LEGO Friends line.

Example: A researcher lives with a family for a week to observe how they use kitchen appliances in daily life

Netnography

analyzes posts on social media to determine consumers’ thoughts and feelings about a product.

~ using Google Reviews, TikTok, Reddit, or IG comments to see how people talk about a product or brand

Example: A beauty brand analyzes TikTok comments to see how people feel about a new lipstick launch

Shop-along

involves an interviewer accompanying people while they shop, asking questions but not shaping their behavior.

Example: A researcher walks through Target with a shopper, asking why they choose certain brands or skip others — that’s a _________, where real-time insights are gathered without influencing the shopper’s actions.

Pantry Check (Closet Checks)

involves researchers visiting people’s homes to track what foods and beverages they have in their fridge and shelves.

Example: A researcher visits a family's home and checks their fridge and pantry to see what snack brands they regularly buy — that’s a pantry check used to understand real consumption habits.

Garbology

Definition: The study of consumer behavior through analyzing household garbage. Reveals true usage patterns and addresses gaps in self-reported data.

~ A technique that involves sifting through trash to determine what residents actually consume

Example: Researchers go through household trash and find more fast-food wrappers than participants claimed in a survey — garbology reveals the real consumption habits that people may not report accurately.

Stories, Photos, Diaries

Definition: Consumers document their experiences through storytelling, photography, or diaries. These tools help capture rich, contextual detail about product usage and emotions.

Example: A skincare company asks users to keep a photo diary of their skin over 30 days while using a new product — this helps capture real experiences and emotional reactions.

Depth interviews and focus groups

• Involve selecting people who share a common trait (e.g., Gen Z who enjoy thrifting)
  

• Depth interviews are one-on-one and used for more sensitive or personal topics
  

• Usually last no more than 1–2 hours
  

• Participants are often offered incentives to join
  

• A prepared list of open-ended questions is used to guide the conversation
  

• It's important to stay neutral and keep your own opinions out of it

Incidental learning

when consumers learn something about a brand or product without actively trying to, just by being exposed to it. 

Example: Someone might remember a catchy jingle from a fast food ad they heard in the background, even though they weren’t paying full attention.

Behavioral learning theories

focus on stimulus-response connections

~  focus on how people learn through associations between a stimulus and a response.

Example: If a customer gets a free sample every time they visit a store, they may start going more often to get the reward.

Cognitive theories

perspectives that regard learning as a set of internal mental processes that acquire and construct knowledge from observing what others say and do

~ see learning as an internal process where people actively think and make sense of what they see and hear. 

Example: A consumer watches a YouTuber explain why they love a skincare brand. The viewer mentally processes this information, evaluates the YouTuber’s reasoning, and decides to try the product, believing it must be high quality. This shows _________ learning through observation and internal thought.

Behavioral Learning Theories (2)

• Classical conditioning

• Instrumental conditioning (also, operant conditioning)

Classical conditioning

 a stimulus that elicits a response is paired with another stimulus that initially does not elicit a response on its own

~ happens when a brand pairs something neutral with something that triggers a reaction, so over time the neutral thing creates the same response. 

Example: A perfume ad that always plays romantic music can make viewers associate the perfume with feelings of love and romance.

Instrumental conditioning (also, operant conditioning)

the individual learns to perform behaviors that produce positive outcomes and to avoid those that yield negative outcomes

~ when people learn to repeat behaviors that get rewarded and avoid ones that don’t. 

Examples: A customer who gets loyalty points every time they shop at a store is more likely to keep going there to earn more rewards. (POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT)

An online store removes shipping fees for customers who sign up for a subscription.
➡ The behavior (subscribing) increases because an unwanted cost (shipping) is removed. (NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT)

A streaming service charges a late fee if you don’t update your payment info on time.
➡ The behavior (ignoring payment updates) decreases due to the added penalty. (PUNISHMENT)

• Classical Conditioning Principle

– Brand equity

 a brand has strong positive associations in a consumer’s memory and commands a lot of loyalty as a result.

~ In _________ conditioning, ______ ______ builds when a brand is repeatedly paired with positive feelings or experiences. 

Example: Coca-Cola ads often show happy moments with friends or family, so over time, people associate Coca-Cola with joy and togetherness, leading to strong loyalty.

Marketing Applications of Repetition

• Repetition increases learning

• More exposures = increased brand awareness

• When exposure decreases, extinction occurs

• However, too much exposure leads to advertising wear out

Stimulus generalization

tendency for stimuli similar to a conditioned stimulus to evoke similar, unconditioned responses

– Family branding

– Product line extensions

– Licensing

– Look-alike packaging

• Consumer confusion

~ happens when consumers respond to products that look or sound similar to a known brand because they expect the same experience.

Example: A shopper might buy a store-brand cereal with packaging that looks like Froot Loops, expecting it to taste the same. This is also why brands use family branding, product line extensions, and licensing—to trigger positive responses linked to the original brand.

Instrumental Conditioning

• Positive reinforcement

• Negative reinforcement

• Punishment

Positive reinforcement occurs after consumers try a new product and like it

Loyalty programs

• What kind of reinforcement is being used when stores offer this?

Are a popular way for marketers to apply instrumental conditioning

~ _____________ use positive reinforcement from instrumental conditioning by rewarding customers for repeat behavior.

Example: A coffee shop that gives a free drink after every 10 purchases encourages customers to keep buying coffee there to earn the reward.

Frequency marketing

Casino operators program slot machines to deliver rewards on an unpredictable schedule to keep players interested

~ Another example of this using instrumental conditioning is airline frequent flyer programs.

Travelers earn miles every time they fly, and as they accumulate more miles, they get rewards like free flights or upgrades—encouraging them to keep choosing the same airline.

Cognitive Learning Theory

• Internal mental processes

• Observational learning--modeling

• How kids develop cognitive skills—theory of mind

• Kids message comprehension

• Marketing application of cognitive learning principles

Example: A child watches a YouTube toy review and imitates how the influencer plays with the toy. Through observational learning, the child understands how the toy works and imagines themselves playing similarly. This shows how kids develop cognitive skills (theory of mind) by modeling others, and marketers use this by targeting ads that demonstrate product use in relatable, kid-friendly ways.

Observational Learning

• Social default and modeling

• The consumer’s attention must be directed to the appropriate model

• The consumer must remember what the model says or does

• The consumer must convert this information into actions

• The consumer must be motivated to perform these actions

Example: A teen watches a TikTok influencer do a makeup tutorial using Rare Beauty products. They remember the steps and techniques shown, then later try the same look using their own makeup. They’re motivated to copy the look because they admire the influencer and want to fit in with current beauty trends

Types of Memory (3)

• Sensory Memory

• Short-Term Memory

• Long-Term Memory

Sensory Memory

Temporary storage of information received from senses

Capacity: Low
Duration: Less than 1 second
↓ Attention

Example: When a customer glances at a bright, flashing SALE sign, hears a short jingle, or smells cookies near a store entrance, that information enters sensory memory.

Short-Term Memory

Brief storage of information currently being used

Capacity: Limited
Duration: Less than 20 seconds
↓ Elaboration

Example: Someone tells you their phone number, and you repeat it in your head until you can type it into your contacts.

Long-Term Memory

Relatively permanent storage of information
 

Capacity: Unlimited
Duration: Long or permanent

Example: You still remember the jingle from a childhood commercial or your best friend’s birthday.

What Makes Us Forget?

• Decay

• Interference

• Motivated forgetting

• Memory efficacy

Marketing Applications of Consumers’ Memories

Marketers may resurrect popular characters to evoke fond memories of the past

• Nostalgia

• Retro brand

Example: General Mills brought back the classic 90s version of the Trix cereal with the original fruity shapes and bright colors. By reviving this retro version, they tapped into millennials’ childhood memories to boost sales.

How Do We Organize What We Know (2)

• Associative network

• Knowledge structures

Associative Network

A mental map of concepts (called nodes) that are linked together in memory based on associations. These connections help consumers retrieve brand-related information.

Example: When you think of Nike, you might also think of “Just Do It,” athletic shoes, Serena Williams, the Swoosh logo, and motivation. These linked ideas form Nike’s _____________ in your mind.

Knowledge Structures

Organized systems of related information stored in memory. These structures help consumers make sense of brands, products, and experiences.

Example: Your _____________ for "fast food" might include McDonald's, fries, quick service, low price, and drive-thru. It helps you quickly recognize and evaluate fast-food options.

Spreading Activation

• Brand-specific

• Ad-specific

• Brand identification

• Product category

• Evaluative reactions

Example: You see a Dove body wash ad with soft skin and a calming shower. This triggers brand-specific thoughts (gentle, moisturizing), ad-specific memories (real women, positivity), brand identification (Dove logo), product category comparisons (Olay, Aveeno), and evaluative reactions (comfort and self-care).

What is the SUPERordinate Level in categorization?

The most general level — broad and abstract.

Example: Food

Marketing Use: Helps identify basic consumer needs like hunger or nutrition.

What is the Basic Level in categorization?

 - The everyday, most commonly used level.

Example: Dessert

Marketing Use: Most advertising and product placement target this level because it aligns with how people naturally think and shop.

What is the SUBordinate Level in categorization?

- The most specific level — includes particular brands or types.

Example: Ice cream → Ben & Jerry’s Half Baked

Marketing Use: Useful for brand positioning and comparing against direct competitors.

Give an example of all three levels of categorization using ice cream.

• Superordinate: Food
  

• Basic: Dessert
  

• Subordinate: Ice cream → Ben & Jerry’s Half Baked