BEHAVIORAL THEORIES OF LEARNING IN CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
Behavioral theories of learning in consumer behavior is an approach which defines learning in terms of an association between stimulus and response, where the stimulus is an external object/person/situation that a person senses and perceives, and response is the behavior of the person that occurs in reaction to the object/person/situation.
ASSUMPTIONS OF BEHAVIORAL THEORIES OF LEARNING IN CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
The theories are based on the following assumptions:
People learn to associate the stimulus and response: They begin to relate the stimulus and response and they generalize the relationship, across situations; whenever the stimulus occurs, there is a similar response.
Observable and predictable responses: Observable and predictable responses to specific external stimuli are reflective and symbolic of learning having taken place. Because of this, these behavioral theories are also referred to as stimulus-response theories.
Behavioral theorists do not concentrate on the dynamics of the learning process. Their major concern is on viewing learning as a response to events/happenings in a person’s external environment.
PROPONENTS OF BEHAVIORAL THEORIES OF LEARNING IN CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
The main proponents of this approach were Pavlov, who proposed the theory of classical conditioning, and Skinner, who proposed the theory of operant/instrumental conditioning. While they both spoke of the relationship between the stimulus and response, they differed on the cause and effect relationship; while Pavlov believed in the Stimulus leading to Response relationship Skinner spoke of Response leading to Stimulus relationship (Re—S). The theories by the two psychologists are elaborated upon subsequently.
CLASSICAL CONDITIONING THEORY OF LEARNING IN CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
The concept of classical conditioning was developed by a Russian physiologist, Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936).
According to Papalia, Feldman, & Olds, Thengy define the classical conditioning as:
“A behavioral learning theory according to which a stimulus is paired with another stimulus that elicits a known response that serves to produce the same response when used alone”
“Classical conditioning is type of learning based on association of stimulus does not ordinarily elicit a particular response with another stimulus that does elicit the response.”
From the definition above, we understand that the key element in classical conditioning is association. It means that if two stimuli repeatedly experienced together, they will become associated.
PAVLOV’S EXPERIMENT FOR CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
Pavlov discovered classical conditioning almost by accident. Originally, he wanted to study the role of salivation indigestion. He measured how much saliva dogs produce when given meat. After a few days in the experiment, Pavlov noticed that the dogs in his laboratory started salivating when the lab attendant entered the room with the meat dish, before meat was placed in their mouth. This aroused Pavlov’s curiosity and he pursued the issue with more experiments.
For example, he sounded a bell just before presenting his dogs with food. After hearing the bell many times right before getting fed, the dogs began to salivate as soon as the bell rang. In other word, the dogs had been conditioned to salivate in response to a new stimulus (the bell) that normally would not produce salivation. The dogs had learned to associate the bell with food.
TYPES OF STIMULUS AND RESPONSE IN CLASSICAL CONDITIONING THEORY
In classical conditioning, there are 2 types of stimulus and 2 types of response. They are unconditioned stimulus, conditioned stimulus, unconditioned response, and conditioned response.
| Classical Conditioning | |
| STIMULUS | RESPONSE |
| UNCONDITIONED STIMULUS | UNCONDITIONED RESPONSE |
| This is stimulus that can produce the response without any learning. Example: Meat | This is the unlearned or inborn reaction to the unconditional stimulus. Example: Salivation |
| CONDITIONED STIMULUS | CONDITIONED RESPONSE |
| Conditioned stimulus acquired the ability to produce the response because it was paired (associated) with the unconditioned stimulus. Example: Bell. | When a response is produced by the conditioned stimulus, it is referred to as the conditioned response. Example: Salivation |
| Unconditioned Stimuli Conditional Response | Unconditional Response Conditional Stimuli |
STEP 1: BEFORE CONDITIONING
The bell is a neutral stimulus. Neutral stimulus (ns) is a stimulus that before conditioning does not naturally bring about the response of interest.
An unconditioned stimulus (UCS) can produce an unconditional response (UCR).
STEP 2: DURING CONDITIONING PROCEDURE
During conditioning procedure, the neutral stimulus (NS) is presented. It is immediately followed by the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) to produce unconditional response (UCR).
STEP 3: TEST OF CONDITIONING
After the classical conditioning procedures, the neutral stimulus (NS) becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS). It alone can produce salivation. Here the production of salivation is known as conditioned response.
There are 3 common phenomena in classical conditioning i.e.
- Generalization
- Discrimination
- Extinction
Generalization occurs when similar stimuli to a CS produce the CR. A student may generalize his fear to physics and chemistry tests although he had performed poorly only on mathematics test. In this case, the physics and chemistry tests were similar stimuli to the mathematics test and they produced the CR by themselves.
Discrimination is the opposite of generalization. It refers to the ability to differentiate between similar stimuli. For example, a student may feel fear during mathematics test but not during physics or chemistry tests. This shows that the student is able to discriminate between appropriate and in appropriate situations for a response.
Extinction is the process of unlearning a learned response because of the removal of the original source of learning. In classical conditioning, extinction is done by repeatedly presenting the CS without the US. This action will decrease the frequency of previously CR. Eventually, the CR disappears. In the example mentioned above, if the student repeatedly passes the mathematics tests, his fear of mathematics tests will disappear.
OPERANT CONDITIONING THEORY OF LEARNING IN CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
Operant or instrumental conditioning is a form of learning in which the consequences of behavior lead to changes in the probability that the behavior will occur. Thondike (18741949) was the pioneer in studying this kind of learning. His famous formulation of Law of Effect lies at the heart of the operant conditioning. The Law of Effect states that:
“Behavior that brings about a satisfying effect or reinforcement is apt to be performed again, whereas behavior that brings about negative effect or punishment is apt to be suppressed.”
In operant, or instrumental, conditioning, there are many research techniques that involve operant conditioning. One of the modern techniques is “Trial and error learning” Pavlov was working out the details of classical conditioning in Russia at the turn of the century. Meanwhile, the American psychologist Edward L. Thorndike was studying trial and error learning.
In his experiments, Thorndike put a cat in a puzzle box with a trick door. To escape, the cat had to open the door by pulling down a string, pushing a bar, or emitting some other response. The cat usually tried a variety of wrong responses in attempting to get out of the box. Thus, it was called trial and error learning. By accident, most cats finally opened the door.
Instrumentally conditioned response states that the behavior of the animal in the learning situation is the basis of reinforcement. The organism gets nothing until he emits the desired response.
FOUR TYPES OF INSTRUMENTAL CONDITIONING
There are four (4) kinds of instrumental conditioning.
They are all similar in that the learned response is instrumental in getting the organism biologically ahead. The simplest kind is called primary reward conditioning where the learned response is instrumental in obtaining a biologically significant reward, such as a pellet of food or an amount of water. Escape conditioning is one where the organism learns a response that is instrumental in getting out of a place one prefers not to be in.
Avoidance conditioning is a kind of learning where a response to a cue is instrumental in avoiding a painful experience. Secondary reward conditioning is where there is instrumental behavior to get a stimulus which has no biological utility itself but which has in the past been associated with a biologically significant stimulus.
Reinforcement is a consequence that increases the probability that a behavior will occur. On the other hand, punishment is a consequence that decreases the probability a behavior occur. Put it another way, reinforcement will strengthen a behavior while punishment will weaken a behavior.
There are 2 forms of reinforcement and punishment, when something is added or presented, the process of learning is called positive and when something is removed or taken away, the process of learning is called negative.
Operant, or instrumental, conditioning is a learning process in which the frequency or probability of a response is increased by giving reinforcement whenever that response takes place. The basic process is simply a matter of timing the reinforcement so that it immediately follows the response to be learned.
To aid in studying the processes involved in operant conditioning, B. F. Skinner developed a piece of apparatus which is now called the Skinner box. How is it used? One way is simply to place a hungry rat in the box. Set up the box so that every time a lever is pressed a single small pellet of food (about the size of a BB-pellet) will drop into the food cup. Then you can demonstrate trial and error learning in a much more sophisticated piece of equipment — but you really haven’t moved past Thorndike. More fun, however, is to use a process called the Method of Successive Approximations.
STEPS INVOLVED IN THE METHOD OF SUCCESSIVE APPROXIMATIONS
- Step one is to train the rat to eat from the food cup — a process called magazine training. If the animal has been deprived of food for 23 hours, it will explore the chamber actively when placed in it. If the food delivery apparatus is repeatedly operated, the rat will soon start eating when it first hears the sound of the apparatus being activated. This portion of the training is pure classical conditioning where the CS food apparatus sound is conditioned to yield a CR which will serve as a secondary reinforcer for the following steps.
- Step Two involves delivering a pellet of food only when the animal is in the general neighborhood of the cup.
- Step Three is yet more demanding. Now a food pellet may be delivered only when the rat is close enough to the bar to touch it, even though we are not yet demanding that it do so.
- Step four means that food is delivered to the animal only when its foot is raised or touching the bar.
- Finally, in Step Five, food is delivered only when the rat presses the bar itself. That action will close a switch to operate the food delivery mechanism. Now the animal has fed itself and operant conditioning is complete. Steps two to five are called shaping.
Reinforcement leads to an increased frequency of the responses. For example, suppose you are using operant conditioning to train your dog. Suppose as you reward her for the first time for the complete act of sitting up and barking (“speaking”), your dog touches their nose to the ground at your feet. And suppose that just by accident your dog happens to touch their nose to the ground just before barking correctly and being reinforced the second time.
By now your dog is beginning to learn that sitting up and barking leads to a small piece of food. However, she is also touching her nose to the ground just as often and just as regularly. Yet the nose touching the ground has nothing to do with getting the food. Your dog has been rewarded for sitting up and barking, but she’s also been rewarded for touching her nose to the ground. In short, your dog has accidentally conditioned herself in error.
REINFORCEMENT AND PUNISHMENT IN OPERANT CONDITIONING
Operant conditioning is accomplished through the systematic reinforcement of an organism’s responses. For example, a circus trainer often gives an animal a positive reinforcement (small pieces of food) after the animal correctly performs a trick. A positive reinforcer is any event which increases the frequency of the behavior being emitted just prior to the event. The trainer is using the reinforcer and principles of operant conditioning to increase or maintain the frequency of the animal’s doing the trick correctly. This is the Law of Effect in action.
In addition to the use of positive reinforcement, operant conditioning can also be achieved using negative reinforcement. Negative reinforcement is any event the removal or reduction of which leads to an increase in the behavior being emitted just prior to the event. A negative reinforcer is any event the decrease or removal of which leads to an increase in the frequency of the behavior preceding it. Contrast negative reinforcers with punishers. A punishment causes a decrease in the frequency of the behavior preceding it.
| FORM OF CONSEQUENCES | DESCRIPTION | EXAMPLE |
| Positive reinforcement | Receiving something pleasant will increase behavior occurrences. | A student is praised for asking question. Subsequently, the student asks more question. |
| Negative reinforcement | Removing something unpleasant will increase behavior occurrences | A son who is tied of hearing his father’s nagging will does his homework. He does the homework to remove the nagging. |
| Positive punishment | Receiving something unpleasant will decrease behavior occurrences | If a teacher frowned when his student asked a question, the student would be less likely to asks question again. |
| Negative punishment | Removing something pleasant will decrease behavior occurrences. | A misbehaving student is removed from the class. |
In continuous reinforcement like this, a student learns very rapidly but when the reinforcement stops, the behavior decreases rapidly too. Therefore, the schedule of reinforcement was developed. The schedule will determine when a behavior will be reinforced.
SCHEDULES OF REINFORCEMENT IN OPERANT CONDITIONING THEORY OF CONSUMER LEARNING
There are 4 types of schedule of reinforcement, they are fixed-ratio schedule, variable-ratio schedule fixed, fixed-interval schedule, and variable-internal schedule.
| Fixed ratio schedule | Variable ratio schedule | Fixed interval schedule | Variable interval schedule |
| A behavior is reinforced after a set of number of responses have occurred. | On a variable ratio schedule, the number of responses needed to gain the reinforcement is not constant. | A behavior will be reinforced after a certain period of time. No matter how often it occurs, the behavior will not be reinforced until the time is up. | Based on time passing but the time period keeps changing. |
| Example: A student may be given a bar of Kit kat chocolate for every ten mathematical problems solved. | Example: Rewards could be given after 3,5,9 and 15 mathematical problems solved. | Example: Students are given a quiz every Wednesday | Example: Students are given pop-up quizzes. |
Decisions about the proper role of punishment in modern society are constantly being made, but those decisions are never easy.