Describe Four Elements of Learning

1.MOTIVATION: The concept of motivation is important to learning theory. Remember
motivation is based on needs and goals. Motivation acts as a spur to learning. Eg men and
women who want to become good tennis players are motivated to learn all they can about tennis
and to practice whenever they can. They may seek information concerning the prices, quality
and characteristics of tennis racquets if they ‘’learn’’ that a good racquet is instrumental to
playing a good game. Conversely, individuals who are not interested in tennis are likely to
ignore all information related to the game. The goal object (proficiency in tennis) simply has no relevance for them. The degree of relevance or involvement determines the consumer’s level of motivation to search for knowledge or information about a product or service. Uncovering
consumer motives is one of the prime tasks of marketers who then try to teach motivated
consumer segments why and how their products will fulfill the consumer’s needs.

2.CUES: If motives serve to stimulate learning, cues are the stimuli that give direction to these motives. An advertisement for a tennis camp may serve as a cue for tennis buffs who may
suddenly ‘’recognize’’ that attending tennis camp is a concentrated way to improve their game
while taking vacation. The ad is the cue or stimulus that suggests a specific way to satisfy a
salient motive. In the market place, price, styling, packaging, advertising and store displays all serve as cues to help consumers fulfill their needs in product-specific ways. Cues serve to direct consumer drives when they are consistent with consumer expectations. Marketers must be
careful to provide cues that do not upset those expectations. Eg consumers expect designer
clothes to be expensive and to be sold in upscale retail stores. Thus a high-fashion designer
should sell his or her clothes only through exclusive stores and advertise only in upscale fashion
magazines. Each aspect of the marketing mix must reinforce the others if cues are to serve as
the stimuli that guide consumer actions in the direction desired by the marketer.

3.RESPONSE: How individuals react to a drive or cue-how they behave-constitutes their
response. Learning can occur even when responses are not overt. The automobile manufacturer
who provides consistent cues to a consumer may not always succeed in stimulating a purchase.
However, if the manufacturer succeeds in forming a favorable image of a particular automobile
model in the consumer’s mind when the consumer is ready to buy it is likely that he or she will
consider that make or model. A response is not tied to a need in a one-to-one fashion. A need or motive may evoke a whole variety of responses eg there are many ways to respond to the need
for physical exercise besides playing tennis. Cues provide some direction but there are many
cues competing for the consumer’s attention. Which response the consumer makes depends on
previous learning: that in turn depends on how related responses were reinforced previously.

4.REINFORCEMENT: Reinforcement increases the likelihood that a specific response will
occur in the future as the result of particular cues or stimuli. If a college student finds that an advertised brand of pain remedy has enabled him to run in a marathon despite a knee injury, he is more likely to buy the advertised brand should he suffer another injury. Clearly through positive reinforcement, learning has taken place, since the pain remedy lived up to expectation.
On the other hand if the pain remedy had not alleviated his pain when he first used it the student would have no reason to associate the brand with pain relief in the future. Because of the absence of reinforcement it is unlikely that he would buy that brand again despite extensive advertising or store display cues for the product.
Participation- this is where one plays an active role in any activity generally resulting in the acquisition of more knowledge about that activity. In marketing we see marketers organizing
certain activities in which they involve the consumers to participate in. for example; the
safaricom road shows, in which they hold contests and the customers win merchandize. In the
process of these activities the customers get to learn more about safaricom products and
services.

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Titany answered the question on November 3, 2021 at 11:42