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CHAPTER 4 Comprehension, Memory, and Cognitive Learning What Do You Think Polling Question I can usually remember more from a 30-second television commercial than I can from a 30-minute lecture. _____ Strongly Disagree _____ Disagree _____ Somewhat Disagree _____ Neither Agree nor Disagree _____ Somewhat Agree _____ Agree _____ Strongly Agree Have students access Course Mate at www.cengagebrain.com to answer the polling questions for each chapter of CB. Ask them to take the online poll to see how their answers compare with other students taking a consumer behavior course across the country. Then turn to the last page of the chapter to find the What Others Have Thought box feature. This graph is a snapshot of how other consumer behavior students have answered this polling question so far. Learning Objectives After studying this chapter, the student should be able to: 4-1Identify factors that influence consumer comprehension. 4-2Explain how knowledge, meaning, and value are inseparable, using the multiple stores memory theory. 4-3Understand how the mental associations consumers develop are a key to learning. 4-4Use the concept of associative networks to map relevant consumer knowledge. 4-5Apply the cognitive schema concept in understanding how consumers react to products, brands, and marketing agents. Lecture Example Putting the real Harley rider in the spotlight, the latest evolution of Harley-Davidson’s “No Cages” campaign poses a veritable challenge to stereotypes. The focal point of the new campaign, titled “E Pluribus Unum,” or “out of many, one,” is a series of digital videos of real Harley-Davidson riders and a corresponding stereotype. The ads are engineered to initiate conversations through social platforms and Harley-Davidson’s website. The E Pluribus Unum campaign cashes in on the element of surprise to inspire people to think about riding Harleys. Source: “Harley-Davidson Tackles Stereotypes in New Advertising Campaign,” The New York Times, March 1, 2012, http://markets.on.nytimes.com/research/stocks/news/press_release.asp?docTag=201203011410PR_NEWS_USPRX____AQ63091&feedID=600&press_symbol=145197 Lecture Outline with PowerPoint® Slides Cognitive learning focuses on mental processes occurring as consumers comprehend, elaborate and act upon information. The cognitive perspective views learning as an active mental process in which a consumer processes information, forms associations between concepts, and gains knowledge. Exhibit 4.1 shows the basic components of information processing. LO 4-1: Identify the factors that influence consumer comprehension. [Instructor PPT Slide 4] I. What Influences Comprehension? Comprehension refers to the interpretation or understanding a consumer develops about some attended stimulus based on the way meaning is assigned. Consumers don’t always comprehend messages as intended. A consumer might even see a cigarette warning label as authoritarian and end up mocking the ad, with the end result being that the ad makes smoking more appealing by reinforcing “rebellion” as a benefit. Other times, consumers may actually overestimate the dangers associated with smoking when they read a warning of “rare” side effects. The following three factors summarize some key points about comprehension: Internal factors within the consumer powerfully influence the comprehension process. Comprehension includes both cognitive and affective elements. That is, the process of comprehension involves both thoughts and feelings. As such, comprehension applies not only to consumer learning but also to consumers’ attitudes. Signal theory tells that communications provide information in ways beyond the explicit or obvious content. Consumers don’t always comprehend messages or get the desired signal, and to this extent, consumer comprehension is not always “correct.” A. Factors Affecting Consumer Comprehension Meaning and value are inseparable, and consumers must comprehend marketing messages in order to learn the intended value of a product. These factors can be divided into three categories: Characteristics of the message Characteristics of the message receiver Characteristics of the environment (information-processing situation) [Instructor PPT Slide 5] B. Characteristics of the Message Marketers believe that they can affect consumer learning by carefully planning the execution of marketing communications. Exhibit 4.2 summarizes some of the ways the message characteristics might influence comprehension about the city of Barcelona. Physical Characteristics The physical characteristics of a message refer to the elements of a message that one senses directly. These parts come together to execute a communication of some type. Here are just a few physical characteristics that can contribute to effective communication. Intensity—generally speaking, the greater the movement, the larger the picture, or the loudest the sound, the more likely a consumer is to attend and comprehend something from a message. Color—color affects the likelihood of gaining a consumer’s attention, but it can also have an impact on comprehension. Font—consumers derive meaning from both the actual text of a message and the visual presentation of the message. Font styles send meaningful signals. For instance, research suggests that different fonts signal the personality of a brand. Fonts can also signal masculinity, femininity, or strength, among other brand characteristics. Numbers—many brand managers rely on alphanumeric names, combining letters and numbers, when creating names for new products, brands, or models. Technologically meaningful brands often employ such names. Alphanumeric names also tend to convey subtle meanings through an association with incremental improvement and advanced technology. Spacing—all types of communicatiors, from salespeople to advertisers to teachers, repeat messages as a way of increasing comprehension. Actually, consumers display greater recall of an intended message when information is presented in intervals rather than in sequence. Shape—Product designers influence the comprehension of products through many factors but perhaps the shape that they choose is the most basic. Consumers prefer objects that are consistent with the golden section. The golden section refers to a ration of dimensions of about 1.62. Thus, objects that fit into a rectangle of 1.62 X 1.00 (inches, meters, feet, …) will be preferred. Simplicity Versus Complexity Generally speaking, the simpler the message, the more likely a consumer develops meaningful comprehension, which, of course, relies on a consumer’s ability to process information. Message Congruity Message congruity represents the extent to which a message is internally consistent and fits surrounding information. The conventional wisdom is that congruent content would lead to improved comprehension. However, this may not always the case. Moderate levels of incongruity motivate deeper processing than when everything in a string of messages is highly congruent. The result can be improved comprehension. Thus, if the primary goal is to create a favorable attitude rather than increased comprehension, then marketers should minimize incongruity. The incongruity of a message with a surrounding messages works in much the same way. In fact, consumers will comprehend and remember more from an ad that is presented with incongruent material surrounding it. Figure and Ground The focal image, or the object intended to capture a person’s attention, is much the same as a figure in a message. In a message, everything besides the figure should be less important and simply represents the ground (or background) relative to the central message. The contrast between the two represents the psychological figure-ground distinction. Refer to Exhibit 4.4. Q: Ask students to collect a few advertisements from magazines. They could be asked to identify the physical characteristics of the message that caught their attention. A: Students’ answers will vary according to the ads chosen. If the ad consists of images, then students can discuss the figure-ground distinction for that particular ad. [Instructor PPT Slide 6] Type of Language The choice of language can influence the meaning of products. Figurative language involves expressions that send a nonliteral meaning. Consumers use figurative language more often when describing brands that complete well on hedonic value, while literal language may work better for brands that compete better on utilitarian value. Figurative language may be most effective in describing products that are difficult to understand, like insurance or medicine. Message Source The source of a message can also influence comprehension. A source influences comprehension to varying degrees based upon characteristics like the following: Likeability Attractiveness Expertise Trustworthiness Congruence A likeable source can change the interpretation of a stimulus. Expertise refers to the amount of knowledge that a source is perceived to have about a subject. Trustworthiness refers to how honest and unbiased a source is perceived to be. Consumers associate expertise and trustworthiness with credibility. Like likeability, credible sources tend to lower the chances that consumers will develop counterarguments toward a message. Counterarguments are thoughts that contradict a message. Support arguments are thoughts that further support a message. [Instructor PPT Slide 7] C. Message Receiver Characteristics Intelligence/Ability As a general statement, intelligent, well-educated consumers are more likely to accurately comprehend a message than are less intelligent or educated consumers. With this being said, it offers two caveats. First, a great deal of knowledge is specific to particular product categories. Second, even a highly intelligent consumer would understand a simpler message better than a more complex message. Prior Knowledge The human brain matches incoming information with preexisting knowledge. This preexisting or prior knowledge provides resources or a way through which other stimuli can be comprehended. Consumers display a preference for things that are consistent with their prior knowledge. Involvement Consumers are not equally involved with every message sent their way. Highly involved consumers tend to pay more attention to messages. They also exert more effort in comprehending messages. As a result, these consumers show better recall than consumers with lower levels of involvement. Returning to the FDA labelling/instructions issue, marketers face the challenge of designing messages that either highly involved or uninvolved consumers will comprehend. Familiarity/Habituation Consumers tend to like the familiar. However, in terms of comprehension, familiarity can lower a consumer’s motivation to process a message. While some degree of familiarity may improve consumer attitude, high levels of familiarity may actually change or reduce comprehension. Habituation is the process by which continuous exposure to a stimulus affects the comprehension of and response to some stimulus. An adaptation level is a level of a stimulus to which a consumer has become accustomed. Consumers in the United States, Canada, Australia, and throughout Western Europe expect fairly pleasant shopping experiences in which many goods and services are readily available in a comfort setting. This hardly with many parts of the developing world, where shopping hardly exists. A decade after the breakup of the Soviet Union, consumer researchers measured the hedonic and utilitarian shopping value Russian consumers experience trying to obtain everyday goods and services. A Russian word to describe this experience is dostats, which roughly means “acquiring things with great difficulty.” Expectations Expectations are beliefs about what will happen in a future situation. They play an important role in many consumer behavior settings and can impact comprehension. In fact, studies indicate that consumers cannot even identify their “favorite” brand of beer without the label. Removing the label affects consumers’ expectations, which affects their comprehension by blocking brand-specific thoughts. Physical Limits A consumer’s physical limitations can also influence comprehension. For example, all consumers have limits in their abilities to hear, see, smell, taste, and think. Brain Dominance Brain dominance refers to the phenomena of hemispheric lateralization. Some people tend to be either right-brain or left-brain dominant. Right-brain-dominant consumers tend to be visual processors, whereas left-brain-dominant consumers tend to deal better with verbal processing. Hemispheric lateralization influences metaphor comprehension, among other things. A metaphor communicates a message figuratively rather than literally. Metaphors can increase one’s ability to remember an ad message, and they particularly affect consumers when the metaphor is processed in the right brain hemisphere. Metaphors are not limited to words, as images often depict animate objects as products and vice versa. [Instructor PPT Slide 8] D. Environmental Characteristics Information Intensity Information intensity refers to the amount of information available for a consumer to process within a given environment. When consumers are overloaded, the overload not only affects their attention but also their comprehension and eventual reaction. Framing Framing is a phenomenon in which the meaning of something is influenced by the information environment. Thus, the same event can produce multiple meanings depending on how the information is presented. Framing and the consumer adaptation level often work together to affect comprehension. Prospect theory hypothesizes that the way in which information is framed differentially affect risk assessments and associated consumer decisions. Priming is the term that refers to this cognitive process in which active concepts activate other closely related concepts, there by affecting both value perceptions and meaning. Exhibit 4.5 further illustrates this aspect of framing. Construal Level Theory Construal level refers to whether individuals are thinking about something using a concrete or an abstract mindset. Timing Timing refers to both the amount of time a consumer has to process a message and the point in time at which the consumer receives the message. For instance, consumers comprehend an advertisement for a brand of coffee quite differently based on the time of day. LO 4-2: Explain how knowledge, meaning, and value are inseparable, using the multiple stores memory theory. II. Multiple Store Theory of Acquiring, Storing, and Using Knowledge Memory is the psychological process by which people record and store knowledge. [Instructor PPT Slides 9, 10] A. Multiple Store Theory of Memory The multiple store theory of memory views the memory processes as utilizing three different storage areas within the human brain. The three areas are sensory memory, workbench (or short-term) memory, and long-term memory. Exhibit 4.6 illustrates this approach. Sensory Memory Sensory memory is the area in memory where individuals store what they encounter with their five human senses. This portion of memory is considered to be preattentive. Sensory memory is truly remarkable. For one thing, it has unlimited capacity. Sensory memory uses multiple distinctive mechanisms. Iconic storage is the storage of visual information as an exact representation of the scene. Echoic storage is the storage of auditory information as an exact representation of the sound. Another remarkable aspect of sensory memory concerns duration. Sensory memory is perishable and lasts only a very short time. Sensory memory effects are essential for cognitive learning. However, sensory memory alone creates little opportunity for intentional learning because of the short duration. The last images held in sensory memory get transferred to the next storage mechanism, where a sensory input like the touch of a package helps create meaning. The term haptic perception refers specifically to interpretations created by the way some object feels. Sensory memory works in conjunction with other memory functions this way. Workbench Memory Workbench memory is the storage area in the memory system where information is stored and encoded for placement in long-term memory and eventually retrieved for future use. Workbench memory works very closely with long-term memory. Encoding is the process by which information is transferred from workbench memory to long-term memory for permanent storage. Retrieval is the process by which information is transferred back into workbench memory for additional processing when needed. The relevancy of duration, capacity, and involvement quickly come into play. Duration—the term short-term is often used when describing workbench memory because this memory storage area, like sensory memory, has limited duration. Capacity—unlike sensory memory, workbench memory has limited capacity. Generally, the capacity limit for workbench memory is between three and seven units of information. Involvement—the capacity of workbench memory expands and contracts based on the level of a consumer’s involvement. Q: Ask students to devise an experiment to test how the level of consumer involvement affects the capacity of workbench memory. Ask them to explain the method they chose and why they think this will test the concept. A: Students’ answers will vary. LO 4-3: Understand how the mental associations consumers develop are a key to learning. [Instructor PPT Slide 11] III. Making Associations with Meaning as a Key Way to Learn Four mental processes help consumers remember things: Repetition is a process in which a thought is held in short-term memory by mentally repeating the thought. Dual Coding is the process in which two different sensory “traces” are available to remember something. A trace is a mental path by which some thought becomes active. Meaningful Encoding is the process that occurs when preexisting knowledge is used to assist in storing new information. Chunking is the process of grouping stimuli by meaning so that multiple stimuli can become a single memory unit. Meaningful encoding and chunking rely heavily on making associations between new information and meaning that is stored in long-term memory. Repetition Repetition is a commonly employed way of trying to remember something. This process is known as rehearsal. However, one major problem with this approach is cognitive interference. Cognitive interference simply means that other things are vying for processing capacity when a consumer rehearses information. Dual Coding Dual coding can be more effective than repetition. Any two senses can be combined to result in dual coding, including scent. Images can also assist with dual coding. Meaningful Encoding Meaningful encoding involves the association of active information in short-term memory with other information recalled from long-term memory. By this process, new information is coded with meaning. Chunking Chunking is the process of grouping stimuli by meaning so that multiple stimuli can become one memory unit. A chunk is a single memory unit. Retrieval and Workbench Memory When a consumer retrieves information from long-term memory, the retrieved information once again ends up on the workbench memory. Through a process of response generation consumers reconstruct memory traces into a formed recollection of the information they are trying to remember. Meaning and knowledge are the keys to effective coding and cognitive learning. Marketers can help with meaningful coding by exposing consumers to concepts of shared meaning. Another way marketers can help is through integrated marketing communications that try to provide a unified promotional message across all consumer media. Q: Conduct the following activity in class. Divide students into two groups. Show a bank account number to one group of students and ask them to recall it without looking at it again. Show the same account number and ask the other group to memorize it by thinking of it repeatedly. Which of the two groups would recall it more accurately? Explain this with reference to the functions of memory. A: The second group would recall the number more accurately. By repeatedly thinking the number, they hold the thought in their short-term memory. This process is known as repetition. Long-Term Memory Long-term memory is a repository for all information that a person has encountered. This portion of memory has unlimited capacity and unlimited duration. Information stored in long-term memory is coded with semantic coding, which means the stimuli are converted to meaning that can be expressed verbally. A memory trace is the mental path by which some thought becomes active. Psychologically, a memory trace shows how cognitive activation spreads from one concept to another. This process is known as spreading activation. Marketers want their brand names to cause cognitive activation to spread to favorable, rather than unfavorable, thoughts. Mental Tagging In psychological terms, a tag is a small piece of coded data that helps individuals get that particular piece of knowledge onto the workbench. If consumers do not tag information in a meaningful way, the encoding process results in errors. Stimuli that consumers pay attention to but do not really comprehend or elaborate upon tend to be poorly tagged. Rumination Rumination refers to unintentional, spontaneous, recurrent memory of past and sometimes long-ago events that are not necessarily triggered by anything in the environment. These thoughts frequently include consumption-related activities. Not all rumination is bad, however, and nostalgic rumination may include positive associations with brands. Nostalgia, a mental yearning to relive the past, produces emotions of longing. Often product and brand associations can generate nostalgia. Nostalgia can motivate product purchases as consumers attempt to relive the pleasant feelings of the past. Elaboration Elaboration refers to the extent to which a person continues processing a message even after she develops an initial understanding in the comprehension stage. With elaboration, increased information is retrieved from long-term memory and attached to the new information and understanding. This means more and richer tags and a better chance of recall. In particular, personal elaboration, in which people imagine themselves associating with a stimulus being processed, provides the deepest comprehension and greatest chance of accurate recall. In a marketing context, therefore, appeals to a consumer to appreciate aspects of their own lives are likely to lead to deeper comprehension and better recall. LO 4-4: Use the concept of associative networks to map relevant consumer knowledge. [Instructor PPT Slide 12] IV. Associative Networks and Consumer Knowledge A. Associative Networks Knowledge in long-term memory is stored in an associative network. An associative network, sometimes referred to as a semantic network, is a network of mental pathways linking all knowledge within memory. Exhibit 4.8 demonstrates how a portion of a consumer’s associative network for the Southwest Airlines brand concept spreads activation. B. Declarative Knowledge Declarative knowledge is a term used in psychology to refer to cognitive components that represent facts. Declarative knowledge is represented in an associate network by two nodes linked together by a path. Nodes simply represent concepts in the network, while paths represent association between nodes. Examples of declarative knowledge based on the associative network are shown in Exhibit 4.8. LO 4-5: Apply the cognitive schema concept in understanding how consumers react to products, brands, and marketing agents. [Instructor PPT Slides 13, 14] V. Product and Brand Schemas Consumers’ knowledge for a brand or a product is contained in a schema. A schema is a portion of an associative network that represents a specific entity and thereby provides it with meaning. Exhibit 4.9 illustrates a product schema for snack food. A. Exemplars An exemplar is a concept within a schema that is the single best representative of some category. Exemplars can differ from one person to another based on their unique experiences. The exemplar provides consumers with a basis of comparison for judging whether something belongs to a category. Exhibit 4.10 illustrates other possible category exemplars. Q: Students could be asked to mention their exemplars for the following: toothpaste, an airline, a smartphone, and ice cream. Why, in their opinion, are these brands exemplars for the category? A: Students’ answers will vary. For example, the exemplar for toothpaste could be Colgate, Pepsodent, or Crest. The exemplar for airlines could be Delta, American Airlines, or US Airways. B. Prototypes Some categories are not well represented by an exemplar. For instance, a “pharmaceutical sales rep” category likely does not evoke a specific person who best represents that category. However, an image in associated in one’s mind with the category. That image contains the characteristics most associated with a pharma rep. Several characteristics may come to mind and are active in one’s mind. This type of schema is known as a prototype. Whether represented by a prototype or an exemplar, consumers compare new and unknown examples to the standard by comparing features with those found in the schema. C. Reaction to New Products/Brands When consumers encounter new products or brands, they react to them by comparing them to the existing schema. Sometimes new products fail because they are too different or just way ahead of their time. Q: Explain how consumers compare new products or brands with existing schema. How will these be affected when a consumer is in a foreign country? Explain with the help of examples. A: Students’ answers will vary. [Instructor PPT Slide 15] D. Script A script is a schema representing an event. Consumers derive expectations for service encounters from these scripts. For example, salespeople employ scripts in performing their jobs. E. Episodic Memory Closely related to the concept of a script is episodic memory. Episodic memory refers to the memory for past events, or episodes, in one’s life. Brands associated with positive events stored in episodic memory receive something of a halo and tend to be preferred by consumers. Episodic memories and scripts both can include knowledge necessary for consumers to use products. F. Social Schemata A social schema (or social stereotype) is the cognitive representation that gives a specific type of person meaning. A stereotype captures the role expectations of a person of a specific type. Consumers generally like when a service provider matches an existing stereotype. Consumers are comforted by a surgeon who looks and acts like a surgeon. In fact, a service provider who does not fit the social schema for that category can alter behavior. A social schema may be based on practically any characteristic that can describe a person, including occupation, age, sex, ethnicity, religion, and even product ownership. Consumers also realize that, as consumers, they belong to certain categories of person types. This phenomenon falls under the general heading of social identity, the idea that individual identity is defined in part by the groups to which one belongs. Many consumers will try to match the characteristics associated with a desired stereotype. Also, attempts to “demarket” a product can be implemented by stigmatizing consumption with a negative stereotype. Q: Students could be asked to relate an episodic memory in their life with a brand or product. A: Students’ answers will vary. Brands associated with positive events stored in episodic memory receive something of a halo, and tend to be preferred by consumers. Video material for this chapter is starting on page 24 of the IM. Instructor Manual for CB Consumer Behaviour Barry J. Babin, Eric G. Harris 9781305403222, 9781305577244
