*****Use Key Terms passive learning Here; Use Review and Discussion Question #5.6 Here;
Use Hands-on Assignment #5.13 Here *****
Outcomes and Measures of Consumer Learning
1. Market share and the number of brand-loyal consumers are the interdependent goals of
2. Recognition and recall tests are conducted to determine whether consumers remember
seeing an ad, the extent to which they have read it or seen it and can recall its content, their
resulting attitudes toward the product and the brand, and their purchase intentions.
a) Recognition tests are based on aided recall and recall tests use unaided recall.
b) In recognition tests, the consumer is shown an ad and asked whether he or she
remembers seeing it and can remember any of its salient points.
*****Use Key Terms recognition test, aided recall, unaided recall, Starch Readership Ad
Study, and recall tests Here; Use Review and Discussion Question #5.10 Here*****
3. Brand loyalty is the ultimate desired outcome of consumer learning, and measures purchase
frequency, brand switching, and commitment to buy the brand.
4. A basic issue among researchers is whether to define brand loyalty in terms of consumer
behavior or consumer attitudes.
a) Behavioral scientists who favor the theory of instrumental conditioning believe that
brand loyalty results from an initial product trial that is reinforced through satisfaction,
leading to repeat purchase.
b) Cognitive researchers, on the other hand, emphasize the role of mental processes in
building brand loyalty. They believe that consumers engage in extensive problem-
solving behavior involving brand and attribute comparisons, leading to a strong brand
preference and repeat purchase behavior.
5. An integrated conceptual framework views consumer loyalty as the function of three groups
of influences: (1) personal degree of risk aversion or variety seeing; (2) the brand’s
reputation and availability of substitute brands; and (3) social group influences and peers’
recommendations.
(3) premium loyalty.
*****Use Key Terms brand loyalty, covetous loyalty, inertia loyalty, premium loyalty Here;
Use Table 5.2 Here; Review and Discussion Question #5.10 Here*****
7. Brand equity refers to the value inherent in a well-known brand name.
a) This value stems from the consumer’s perception of the brand’s superiority, the social
esteem that using it provides, and the customer’s trust and identification with the brand.
*****Use Key Term brand equity Here; Use Review and Discussion Question #5.9
Here*****
REVIEW AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
5.1 How can the principles of (a) classical conditioning theory and (b) instrumental
conditioning theory be applied to the development of marketing strategies?
Classical conditioning is now seen as cognitive associative learning; not the acquisition of
new reflexes, but the acquisition of new knowledge about the world. Marketers can use
product line extensions, family branding, and licensing to capitalize on the principles of
classical conditioning. The consumer may be viewed as an information seeker who uses
logical and perceptual relations among events, along with his or her own preconceptions, to
5.2 Describe in learning terms the conditions under which family branding is a good policy
and those under which it is not.
The main advantage of family branding is that marketers can build on the good reputation of
their existing products through stimulus generalization. This makes the introduction of new
5.3 Neutrogena, a company known for its “dermatologist recommended” skin care
products, introduced a line of shaving products for men. How can the company use
stimulus generalization to market these products? Is instrumental conditioning
applicable to this marketing situation? If so, how?
According to classical conditioning theorists, learning depends not only on repetition, but
also on the ability of individuals to generalize. Stimulus generalization explains why
imitative “me too” products succeed in the marketplace: consumers confuse them with the
original product they have seen advertised. In extending its product line, 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.
5.4 Which form of learning—classical conditioning, instrumental conditioning,
observational learning, or cognitive learning—best explains the following consumption
behaviors: (a) buying a six-pack of Gatorade, (b) preferring to purchase jeans at a
Diesel Store, (c) buying a smartwatch for the first time, (d) buying a new car, and (e)
switching from one cell-phone service to another? Explain your choices.
Students’ responses may vary based on their perceptions of these products. Classical
conditioning, in a consumer behavior context, an unconditioned stimulus might consist of a
5.5 Define the following memory structures: sensory store, short-term store (working
memory), and long-term store. Discuss how each of these concepts can be used in the
development of an advertising strategy.
Sensory store—receives what the senses deliver but retains information for only a fraction
of a second. For marketing, this means that although it is easy to expose consumers to
5.6 How does information overload affect the consumer’s ability to comprehend an ad and
store it in his or her memory?
When consumers are presented with too much information (called information overload),
they may encounter difficulty in encoding and storing it all. It has been argued that
consumers can become cognitively overloaded if they are given a lot of information in a
limited time. The result of this overload is confusion, resulting in poor purchase decisions.
One study found that consumers make less effective choices when presented with too much
5.7 Discuss the differences between low- and high-involvement media. How would you
apply the knowledge of hemispheric lateralization to the development of TV
commercials and print advertisements?
The research called hemispheric lateralization, or split-brain theory, suggests that the left
brain is responsible for cognitive activities, such as reading, speaking and processing verbal
information, and that the right brain processes nonverbal and pictorial information and forms
5.8 Why are both attitudinal and behavioral measures important in measuring brand
loyalty?
Brand loyalty is the ultimate desired outcome of consumer learning. There is, however, no
single definition of this concept. Marketers agree that brand loyalty consists of both
attitudinal and actual behaviors toward a brand and that both must be measured. Attitudinal
5.9 What is the relationship between brand loyalty and brand equity? What roles do both
concepts play in the development of marketing strategies?
As mentioned in Question 5.8, brand loyalty is the ultimate desired outcome of consumer
learning. The term brand equity refers to the value inherent in a well-known brand name.
The value stems from the consumer’s perception of the brand’s superiority and the social
5.10 How can marketers use measures of recognition and recall to study the extent of
consumer learning?
Recognition and recall tests are conducted to determine whether consumers remember
seeing an ad, the extent to which they have read it or seen it and can recall its contents, their
HANDS-ON ASSIGNMENTS
5.11 Imagine you are the instructor of this course and that you are trying to increase
student participation in class discussions. How would you use reinforcement to achieve
your objective?
Instructor’s Discussion
From an instrumental (operant) conditioning viewpoint, a professor should use positive
reinforcement and reward students for participation through praises, keeping count of the
number of times students participate, and giving a grade for class participation. If these
means are used, however, students will learn to expect external motivations/rewards and, if
5.12 Visit a supermarket. Can you identify any packages where the marketer’s knowledge
of stimulus generalization and stimulus discrimination was incorporated into the
package design? Note these examples and present them in class.
Instructor’s Discussion
Because the average package on the supermarket shelf has about one-tenth of a second to
make an impression, astute marketers usually try to differentiate their packages sufficiently
to ensure rapid consumer recognition. Thus, national manufacturers create packages that
5.13 Find two ads: one targeting the left side of the brain and another targeting the right
side. Explain your choices.
Instructor’s Discussion
The American Airlines ad in the text provides one example. The left hemisphere is the
center of human language; it is the linear side of the brain and primarily responsible for
S.T.A.R. PROJECTS
Ethical Issues in Consumer Behavior
S.T.A.R. Project #1
As indicated in the chapter, behavioral learning theories are sometimes referred to as stimulus-
response theories because they are based on the premise that observable responses to specific
external signals that learning has taken place. Behavioral theories are not so much concerned
with the process of learning as they are with the inputs and outcomes of learning, that is, in the
stimuli that consumers select from the environment and the observable behaviors that result.
Which of the behavioral learning theories relate most closely conduct of good business ethics?
a. Review each of the behavioral learning theories and briefly describe the theories that you
perceive to be most closely associated with the ethical transmission of information for the
purpose of learning.
b. Create an example to illustrate your position in the above question.
Instructor’s Discussion
Small Group Projects
S.T.A.R. Project #2
Your group’s assignment is to learn about how Internet brokerage firms attempt to teach you
about online trading. Have one part of your group analyze eTrade.com and the other part analyze
Charles Schwab (www.charlesschwab.com). Each sub-group should construct a table that
indicates how each of the Web sites attempts to enhance consumer learning. What behavioral
learning theories does each Web site appear to be using? Gauge effectiveness of the effort. Share
the information with one another.
Instructor’s Discussion
S.T.A.R. Project #3
Family branding is the practice of marketing a whole line of company products under the same
brand name. This strategy capitalizes on the consumer’s ability to generalize favorable brand
associations from one product to others. Your group assignment is to analyze two separate
family branding giants—Kellogg’s and C.W. Post cereals. Go to both of the company’s Web
sites and make a list of all the products that are under the respective corporate umbrellas. After
reviewing the material in the chapter on family branding, evaluate which organization appears to
be superior. How did your group determine this? What behavioral learning principles does each
appear to be using? Provide supportive evidence.
Instructor’s Discussion
Using the Internet to Study Consumer Behavior
S.T.A.R. Project #4
Recognition and recall tests are conducted to determine whether consumers remember seeing an
ad, the extent to which they have read it or seen it and can recall its content, their resulting
attitudes toward the product and the brand, and their purchase intentions. A number of
syndicated research services conduct recognition and recall tests. One such organization is the
Starch Readership Service (see www.starchresearch.com). This service evaluates the
Instructor’s Discussion
S.T.A.R. Project #5
As indicated in the chapter, the basis of co-branding (in which two brand names are featured on a
single product) is to use another product’s brand equity to enhance the primary brand’s equity.
Notice the synergy that occurs when Nabisco combines its name with Ocean Spray to form
Cranberry Newton’s. Your assignment is to go to the Web and find three examples where
companies doing business on the Internet have formed co-branding opportunities. List the
examples you have found and comment on what you perceive to be the strategies behind these
moves. Lastly, suggest a co-branding opportunity among e-commerce companies that has yet to
materialize. Comment on why your suggested opportunity would be a good one.
Instructor’s Discussion
