Two Ways of Learning Brand Associations

Four studies show that consumers have not one but two distinct learning processes that allow them to use brand names and other product features to predict consumption benefits. The first learning process is a relatively unfocused process in which all stimulus elements get cross-referenced for later retrieval. This process is backward looking and consistent with human associative memory (HAM) models. The second learning process requires that a benefit be the focus of prediction during learning. It assumes feature-benefit associations change only to the extent that the expected performance of the product does not match the experienced performance of the product. This process is forward looking and consistent with adaptive network models. The importance of this two-process theory is most apparent when a product has multiple features. During HAM learning, each feature-benefit association will develop independently. During adaptive learning, features will compete to predict benefits and, thus, feature-benefit associations will develop interdependently. We find adaptive learning of feature-benefit associations when consumers are motivated to learn to predict a benefit (e.g., because it is perceived to have hedonic relevance) but find HAM learning when consumers attend to an associate of lesser motivational significanc

Evaluative Conditioning 2.0: Referential versus Intrinsic Learning of Affective Value

Evaluative conditioning is an important determinant of consumers’ likes and dislikes. Three experiments show that it can result from two types of learning. First, stimulus-stimulus (S – S) or referential learning allows a conditioned stimulus (e.g., a brand) to acquire valence by triggering (unconscious) recollections of the unconditioned stimulus (e.g., a pleasant image). Second, stimulus-response (S – R) or intrinsic learning allows a conditioned stimulus to bind directly with the affective response that was previously generated by the unconditioned stimulus. We show when each type of learning occurs and demonstrate the consequences for the robustness of conditioned brand attitudes

Attentional contrast during sequential judgements: A source of the number-of-levels effect

As the number of intervening attribute levels increases, the derived importance weight of an attribute increases. In three studies, we show that attentional processes contribute to this number-of-levels effect. When there is inequality in the number of attribute levels across attributes, any given profile will include levels of one attribute that are relatively more novel than levels of the accompanying attributes. A process of attentional contrast directs attention toward the relatively novel attribute levels within each profile. Increased attention to the relatively novel attribute levels results in a larger derived importance weight for the attributes defined on those levels

In Defense of Consciousness: The Role of Conscious and Unconscious Inputs in Consumer Choice

Three experiments demonstrate that the same primed construct (e.g., a formal event) has different effects on the subsequent choices of different groups of people (e.g., men and women). Further, these differences in prime effects are attributable to the different associations these groups have with the primed construct. These effects are demonstrated with three different primes and choice domains, and differences in effects are shown with both demographic (e.g., gender) and personality (e.g., extraversion) characteristics. These results highlight the importance of understanding unique, personal associations to primes and demonstrate that segmentation is also important for predicting more automatically driven choices. [url]: http://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/12797/volumes/v34/NA-34 [copyright notice]: This work is copyrighted by The Association for Consumer Research. For permission to copy or use this work in whole or in part, please contact the Copyright Clearance Center at http://www.copyright.com/. 155 Advances in Consumer Research Volume 34, © 2007 SPECIAL SESSION SUMMARY From First to Second Generation: Moderated Nonconscious Behavior Effects Christian Wheeler, Stanford University, USA SESSION SUMMARY Consumer behavior researchers are becoming increasingly aware of the variety of nonconscious influences on behavior (e.g., The first presentation, by Wheeler and Berger, shows that the same prime can have different, and sometimes opposite effects on choice, depending on the unique personal associations recipients have with the prime. Across three experiments and using both demographic and individual difference segmentation variables, they show that the effects of primes on choices of different groups of people can be predicted by understanding their personal prime associations. The experiments further demonstrate that the differential priming effects are be mediated by the unique personal associations the recipients have with the prime. The second presentation, by Dalton and Chartrand, examines how exposure to relationship partners affects goal pursuit. Whereas previous research has demonstrated that exposure to relationship partners leads to pursuit of the goals they have for the prime recipient, the current studies show that these effects can be reversed. The first study shows that accessibility of overly controlling relationship partners actually leads to pursuit of goals incompatible with those the relationship partner has for recipients, presumably in an attempt to restore personal freedom. The second study lends additional evidence for this account by showing that low reactance individuals pursue the goals of salient relationship partners, but high reactance individuals do not. Hence, reactance can automatically moderate nonconscious goal pursuit and can manifest both as a function of prime targets and individual differences. The final presentation, by Smeesters, Wheeler, and Kay, examines direction of focus as a moderator of whether primes will affect behavior via perceptions of others or more directly. They hypothesized that when features promote focus on other individuals in the situation, perceptions of those individuals will be biased by activated constructs, and changes in behavior will be mediated by such perceptions. When features promote self-focus, on the other hand, behavioral changes will not be mediated by perceptions of other people. Across a series of studies, and using both manipulations and measurements of self-focus vs. other-focus, they supported these hypotheses. Their studies show that primes can generate the same effects on economic decisions, but via different mechanisms, depending on the level of other focus. References EXTENDED ABSTRACTS "Same Prime, Different Effects: Segmentation in Nonconscious Behavior Influence" S. Christian Wheeler, Stanford University Jonah Berger, Stanford University Segmentation has long been recognized as a critical procedure in influencing consumer behavior. The varying needs, wants, experiences, and psychological characteristics of different consumer groups require individualized marketing attempts tailored to these subsets of people. Although the need for segmentation has been widely acknowledged for traditional marketing campaigns, the importance of segmentation for more non-conscious influence attempts has not been recognized. Indeed, one part of the power of such influence techniques is the assumed potential for them to influence different people in similar ways. Because such influence techniques rely on basic associative processes, it has been implicitly assumed that stimuli should exert consistent effects across different types of people. In the present experiments, we demonstrate that the same primes can exert different, and sometimes opposite effects on recipients, depending on the unique personal associations they have to the primed stimulus. Much as unique experiences and associations can affect responses to more deliberate influence attempts, we show that they can also affect less overt influences. Across three studies, and using both demographic and individual difference segmentation variables, we show that different subgroups of consumers exhibit predictable differences in their responses to primes. Specifically, we show that primes can significantly affect consumer choice, but that the effects differ across subgroups of individuals who tend to have different prime associations. The first experiment used the domain of clothing shopping. Pretests indicated that men and women have different shopping associations. Whereas men tend to be more "purpose-driven" or pragmatic and efficient, women tend to be more "possibilitydriven" and browse just to see what is out there. We predicted that these different tendencies, once activated, would influence participants' subsequent choices in an unrelated task. Thus in the main experiment, men and women were randomly assigned to write about either clothes shopping or a control topic (i.e. geography). / From First to Second Generation: Moderated Nonconscious Behavior Effects Then in an ostensibly unrelated study they were asked to make a series of hypothetical choices, some of which between more "purpose-driven" and "possibility-driven" options (e.g., driving a direct route cross-country vs. taking the scenic route). Results indicated that the effect of the prime on subsequent choices differed based on participants' gender; writing about shopping (versus geography) led women to make more possibility-driven choices in the subsequent context whereas it led men to make more purpose-driven choices. The second experiment used the domain of formal events. Pretests indicated that when attending a formal event, men have a goal to dress rather similar to others, whereas women have a goal to dress rather differently from others. Thus in the main experiment, men and women were instructed to write about attending a formal event (or geography) before choosing between different products. Results again indicated different effects of the prime based on gender; women who wrote about the formal event (versus geography) subsequently chose more unique items whereas men who wrote about the formal event tended to choose more common items. In the final experiment, introverts and extroverts were instructed to write about attending a party (or geography) before selecting different items they would like to receive in a drawing. Previous research has demonstrated that introverts and extroverts have different optimal levels of arousal. Introverts are aroused more easily than extroverts. As a result, they prefer lower-arousal situations and tend to be more easily over-aroused than extroverts. Consequently we predicted that thinking about a party would affect the subsequent choice of introverts and extraverts differently; introverts should be subsequently more likely to choose more lowarousal prizes, consistent with their desire to lower arousal at parties, whereas extroverts should be less affected by the prime. Results confirmed this hypothesis. Further, additional analyses showed that these different effects were mediated by the different associations (i.e. level of stimulation) that introverts and extroverts have with parties