An essential part of every individual’s life is the process of learning, this process shapes an
individual’s behaviours, attitudes, perceptions, decisions and feelings amongst other factors
(Quester et al., 2014). Much like every other aspect of an individual’s life, consumer
behaviour is also profoundly influenced through how individuals learn. Consumer behaviour
is defined as the "the behaviour that consumers display in searching for, purchasing, using,
evaluating, and disposing of products and services that they expect will satisfy their needs."
(Schiffman and Kanuk, 2007, p. 3). Without the use of learning processes, consumers would
not be able to attain the knowledge required for them to be able to make decisions or use
products and indulge in any stage of consumption. Moreover, learning processes aren't just
limited to initial consumption but can also be used to manipulate this consumption through
affecting other factors of an individual, such as their attitudes, behaviours and perceptions.
This essay will discuss how individuals learn, how marketers make use of these theories and
ideas and the relevance of these ideas to the new ways of consumption that are developing.
Theorists discuss that there are three main approaches through which we learn. The first of
these is classical conditioning; classical conditioning is described as the process in which an
unconditioned stimulus is paired with a conditioned stimulus to elicit a similar response to
that, that the conditioned stimulus would’ve evoked (Nord and Peter, 1980). This theory
was found by Ivan Pavlovich, who inadvertently discovered it while experimenting with
dogs. This concept is quite commonly used by marketers when they pair a product with a
situation to evoke particular feelings about the product. Taking Coca-Cola as an example,
Coca Cola's ads all pair their drink with the scorching sun, this being done repeatedly allows
a consumer to draw a nexus between the heat and Coke, and therefore, whenever they will
be in the heat their mind will instantly think to/crave coke (Neese, 2018). The second way in
which individuals learn is through operant conditioning. Operant conditioning was a concept
introduced by B.F Skinner (Porpora, 1980) which concluded that behaviour is influenced by
the consequences that may prevail it (Nord and Peter, 1980), this may be a reinforcement of
good behaviour- which may, in turn, increase the likeliness of repeat behaviour- or it may be
a punishment for negative behaviour to reduce its occurrence. This concept can be
demonstrated through customer loyalty cards that offer rewards upon purchasing, there is
positive reinforcement for your spending, therefore you're more likely to spend more
money to get that reward. It may also be displayed by marketer’s enforcing the idea that if
you don’t purchase a certain item you may miss out on the benefits as a punishment, which
reduces your likeliness to ignore the product. The third way in which individuals learn is
known as the Cognitive Learning Theory (CLT). Cognitive learning refers to the mental
activities that occur when an individual is involved in coping with situations or solving
problems, it involves learning associations without being directly exposed to them or
without any form of reinforcement (Quester et al., 2014). There are three types of cognitive
learning- iconic rote learning; where two or more ideas are linked with each other as a
result of repetition. For example, when companies such as ‘The Warehouse' or ‘Pizza Hut'
use a catchy slogan such as "Where everyone gets a bargain" or a catchy jingle to remember
them or their contact details by like "0800 838383", respectively, repeatedly they're more
easily retained within consumer memory and therefore, consumers learn it. Vicarious
learning refers to individuals learning behaviours based on observation/imagination of the
outcome of certain behaviours. This is often exercised through Cognitive Social Learning,
where individuals imitate behaviour displayed, this is commonly used within marketing
where marketers will use a well-known figure to display the use of their product in order for
viewers to be more likely to imitate them in an attempt to be like them and consume the
product. For example, energy drink brands often use sports stars to make the ads more
relatable and also more attractive, which makes consumers learn the behaviour of
consuming that drink to become as active and successful as the sports stars. Lastly,
reasoning is where individuals make use of their previously kenned information in
association with their new information to create new concepts. For example, marketers will
often use this technique for products that require dynamically continuous learning, where a
product may have some new features but can also utilise previous information. These three
theories are the foundation of learning behaviours and the way in which consumers are able
to learn about products, their use and their benefits. However, these theories are also
actively used by marketers to influence consumers and their views in different ways to
achieve organisational objectives.
The type of learning that would work most effectively depends on how involved the
consumer is. Involvement serves as a motivation for the consumer, with high involvement
there's more motivation to seek information and learn therefore using theories such as
Operant Conditioning, which require the consumer to weigh out the pros and cons and
evaluate the product based on positive or negative reinforcement, will be highly effective
with a product that holds importance to the customer (Quester et al., 2014). This may be
the case when a consumer is out to purchase a new laptop which would cost them a
significant amount, in this case, they are more likely to purchase this from a brand or shop
which is either offering a discount, freebies to go with the laptop or some form of points to
help them get a reward in the future. Similarly, a CLT such as Vicarious Learning also works
well here as consumers are more likely to trust fellow consumers and their choices than a
company’s (Williams, 2019) and when it comes to a high involvement product, consumers
would want to be certain of their purchase. However, when the involvement is low,
consumers are less likely to be actively seeking information so learning theories which utilise
repeated ideas such as classical conditioning, iconic rote learning and to an extent even
vicarious learning tend to be best-suited ways to transfer information to consumers. These
repeated ideas will work to unknowingly or knowingly allow a consumer to gain the
information that they need without actively seeking it. Although there are three main ways
of learning, the ways in which consumers learn the best can be influenced by how involved
they are in the process of purchasing.
Several products come out into the market and are unable to get the responses that were
anticipated by organisations for them. In this case, marketers try to change attitudes and
perceptions of these products to be able to meet organisational objectives, marketers are
often able to do this by engaging with the learning theories and making use of them to
positively influence attitudes towards their own products/services or negatively influence
attitudes towards a competitor’s products/services. Nowak and Washburn (2000) through
their study, of the extent to which attitudes towards a cause could be influenced, illustrated
the way in which the association of stimulus’ can influence the attitudes formed. Their study
concluded that when causes were associated with strong corporate sponsors, they were
more likely to be supported and have positive attitudes associated with them. Similarly,
marketers also consider the ideas that are associated with their products in order to
influence consumer attitudes in the desired manner. Consumer attitudes can be influenced
by either changing the affective, behavioural or cognitive component of a product, classical
conditioning looks to change the affective component of attitudes- the way people feel
about products. This is often seen in the fashion industry when some risky designs are put
out and people have negative attitudes towards them, designers often associate an
influencer with that product, as influencers are often associated with being fashionable, to
change consumer attitudes towards it. Additionally, operant conditioning can be used to
affect the behavioural component of attitude. Consumers experience this every time they
come across free samples or rewards in a shop. These samples/rewards attempt to
outweigh the risks associated with trying a product/service and provide an incentive to
make a behavioural change, that is to indulge in the product/service. Learning theories are
commonly used to influence consumer attitudes as illustrated above, classical and operant
conditioning tend to be the most effective in achieving this as they look to alter the feelings
and beliefs consumers hold towards a product as well as providing an opportunity to try a
product with incentive.
Furthermore, marketers also use learning theories to affect the way consumers associate
products with themselves. Sartre (1943) suggested there are three ways in which we
associate objects with ourselves, one of these was through knowing the product. A study
conducted by Cone Communications (2017) concluded that 87% of people purchase
products that align with their personal values, this links in with Satre’s ideas because as
individuals gain knowledge about a product, they’re able to understand whether that
product fits in with their personal brand. Marketer’s effectively influence this through the
use of cognitive learning theories such as vicarious learning, as knowingly or unknowingly
consumers are influenced by factors outside of themselves, and their decisions can be
influenced by things such as behavioural mimicry (Tanner et al., 2008). To become their
‘ideal-self’ consumers tend to follow figures that currently represent the values they intend
to have, this involves consuming products they consume or endorse, which is why
marketers quite often use well-known figures within their advertisements to influence the
personal component of a consumer to learn to adopt the same behaviour i.e. purchase a
product or indulge in an idea as consumers would believe it would help them attain their
ideal-self.
With the introduction of the new ways in which consumers consume and receive
information about products and brands, a question that persists is whether these learning
theories are still relevant in the field of marketing and how so. The rapid increase in
different medias such as online-stores and social media, marketers now play a role more
central to the organisation than before (Kumar, 2015). The development of technology not
only means more complex products are being produced but also signify an increase in
competition with the ease of production, therefore, it is crucial for marketers to be able to
understand the ways in which a customer learns and the impact of this on their
consumption (Duggal, 2018). Furthermore, with the introduction of new technology and
ideas, there is also a rise in consumer anxieties regarding these changes, negative feelings
and attitudes are associated with certain products such as Smart-Home products which
raise security concerns regarding the information being shared and processed (Stewart,
n.d). Therefore, it is essential for theories like classical conditioning, operant conditioning
and cognitive learning to be used to allow consumers to learn to associate positive ideas
with these products. Social media being so commonly used provides an outlet for marketers
to be able to put out the way they want their products to be perceived, marketers often
make use of humour to make the company seem more relatable and have positive
connotations, others may have a more professional outlook to create an image of
seriousness and quality. These new mediums although may play a big part in influencing
consumers and the way in which they acquire information and learn, they make use of
learning theories throughout the layout used, the words put out, the photos used etc. This
goes to show that the use of learning theories is still just as relevant if not more than it was
before. Consumption is engaged in more now than before, which also means that
consumers look for information on a daily basis, mainly from online platforms and social
media which means marketers have more of a chance to be able to influence them and
manipulate the things they learn.
In conclusion, theorists have summarised three main theories that describe the ways in
which individuals acquire information, these include classical conditioning, operant
conditioning and cognitive learning theories. These theories also form the foundation for
consumer behaviour theory as it allows us to understand the ways in which a consumer
would learn behaviours such as consumption or the ways in which they acquire knowledge
about products. As a result of this marketers can use these theories to influence the type of
behaviours consumers learn, their attitudes towards a product, their perceptions and also
influence the way in which they could relate to certain products/services/ideas. Learning is a
continuous process and with the introduction of new ideas, media, products and technology
it is more important than ever for consumers to educate themselves about products and
brands, it is also more important than ever for marketers to understand the ways in which
consumers do this in order to be able to understand the most efficient way in which they
can make use of learning theories to influence the intake of information, in-turn
manipulating consumer behaviour.
