Unit 2: The Consumer Learning Process
Consumers acquire their attitudes, values, and beliefs through learning. The learning process occurs over time through such elements as culture, friends, family, and mass media. Marketing managers, therefore, are very interested in the nature of consumer learning.
Consumer motivations are energizing forces that activate behavior and provide purpose and direction to that behavior. Although the concept sounds simple, motives for even the most basic products can be complex. The two most widely-used theories of motivation are Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and McGuire's Psychological Motives.
This unit covers the many characteristics involved in how consumers learn about a product and their motivation for making a product purchase.
Completing this unit should take you approximately 6 hours.
Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- identify why it is important for marketers to understand how consumers learn about products and services;
- explain that learned associations can generalize to other things, and why this is important to marketers;
- compare the differences between classical and instrumental conditioning;
- explain why it's important for marketers to recognize that products can satisfy a range of consumer needs; and
- evaluate how the way we evaluate and choose a product depends upon our degree of involvement with the product, the marketing message, and/or the purchase situation.
2.1: Consumer Learning
There are two primary levels of learning involvement: high and low. High-involvement learning occurs when an individual is motivated to gather information themselves. For instance, an expensive purchase, such as a luxury car or a new house, typically requires a high level of involvement. On the other hand, low-involvement learning occurs when a consumer pays only limited or indirect attention to an ad or other marketing message. Low-involvement learning tends to pertain to items of less importance, such as candy bars or toothpaste.
Read this chapter on the different consumer decision-making involvement levels. Low-involvement decision-making involves low-risk items, such as deodorant. High-involvement decision-making involves high-risk items, such as a car. Pay close attention to the chart distinguishing how the marketing process impacts each. Lastly, review the six ways marketers can increase involvement levels and think about how many of them you engaged with in the last week.
Read these chapters to distinguish between the two types of learning theories: behavioral and cognitive. They are both at the heart of most advertising efforts. Under each theory are subcategories of learning theories marketers utilize to sell their products. Each learning theory has several sub-theories. Classical conditioning is one of the sub-theories under behavioral learning and is based on the work of Ivan Pavlov and his dog experiments. This is where the term "Pavlov's dog" originated. We have conditioned responses to external stimuli. Sometimes these responses take a long time to develop. Sometimes, it only takes a single experience. While behavioral learning focuses on external stimuli, cognitive learning examines the internal mental processes behind a person's response. These theories are important for marketers to understand, and we are subject to them dozens of times each day. After reading these chapters, think of the many behavioral and cognitive messages you are subjected to daily.
2.2: Consumer Memory
Memory is the accumulation of all prior experiences. It can be either short-term or long-term, and it is the result of learning.
Short-term memory is considered to be active. The information stored in short-term memory is currently being analyzed and considered by the individual, and eventually, it will either be discarded or stored permanently. Long-term memory is information from previous processing that is stored for a long time, perhaps forever. Long-term memory undergoes continual restructuring as new information is acquired.
The goal of marketers is to create long-lasting memories that the consumer will retain and retrieve when they are making a buying decision. Read this chapter to learn about the three types of memory systems psychologists have identified and the role each of them plays in processing brand-related information. The challenge for marketers is to get consumers to access these memories before or at the time of the purchase decision. Some tools marketers use include slogans, jingles, repetition, and even colors. Look at the brands you interact with daily and recall their slogan or tagline.
2.3: Consumer Purchasing Motives
Consumer motivations are energizing forces that activate behavior and provide purpose and direction to that behavior. Although the concept sounds simple, motives for even the most basic products can be complex. The two most widely-used theories of motivation are Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and McGuire's Psychological Motives.
Motivation can be described as behavioral responses to reduce stress or attain goals as we move from our current state to our desired state. Read this chapter to examine the motivational theories and models. Carefully review Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, as it provides a prism through which marketers view the needs, wants, and goals in consumer purchase motivations. This topic is further discussed in the next section.
McGuire's Psychological Motivations is a classification system that organizes motives into 16 categories that help marketers determine what motives are most likely involved in different scenarios. As you read this article, examine the motives that comprise each category.
This chapter covers key factors that influence consumers' buying behavior. The social situation, time, reason for the purchase, and lifestyle are among the multiple factors covered. Which influences factor most in your buying behavior?
Unit 2 Study Resources
This review video is an excellent way to review what you've learned so far and is presented by one of the professors who created the course.
Watch this as you work through the unit and prepare to take the final exam.
- Unit 2 Review Slides File PDF document
You can also download the presentation slides so you can make notes.
We also recommend that you review this Study Guide before taking the Unit 2 Assessment.
Unit 2 Assessment
- Receive a grade
Take this assessment to see how well you understood this unit.
- This assessment does not count towards your grade. It is just for practice!
- You will see the correct answers when you submit your answers. Use this to help you study for the final exam!
- You can take this assessment as many times as you want, whenever you want.