The Cognitive Learning Theory

The Cognitive Learning Theory

Cognitive learning theory revolves around the idea that people are rational being they obviously make choices that seem the most sensible or make the most sense when purchasing a product (Lisa Fritscher 2014). A big convenience for companies on persuading customers that they need a product. This is due to the perception that people determine their choices largely based on the best way to solve a problem. Marketers take advantage of this problem solving approach and provoke underlying intention in consumers or boast the need for their specific product to resolve needs due to superiority, social behavioral situations or convenience. A great Example of this would be the “AHH bra” infomercials that are on prime time television.





Despite fact that its not the traditional lingerie bra showing elegance and sexiness. The marketers of “ahh bra” have created a very successful campaign by being able to appeal to sense of women needing to solve the problems that ‘every day’ bras create by promising their audience that the ahh bra will not cut you into portions and will immediately adapt to your size.

While behavioral learning theories propose that all learning was the outcome of organization formed by conditioning, reinforcement and punishment based on Ivan Pavlov research. Cognitive learning theory stresses the importance of internal mental process. Albert Bandura is physiologist who conducted an observational learning research 1961 where he proposed that learning can also take place simply by observing the actions of others. Which revolves around the idea that people learn through observation to their own experience. Bandura's  argued that people can learn new information and behaviors by watching other people. One important aspect of a cognitive learning perspective is observational learning. Change in people’s actions and behaviors that takes place as a result of watching others. When an observer’s behavior changes after viewing the behavior of a model. An observer’s behavior can be affected by the positive or negative consequences – called vicarious reinforcement or vicarious punishment – of a model’s behavior. (Bandura 1986)when an observer’s behavior changes after viewing the behavior of a model. An observer’s behavior can be affected by the positive or negative consequences – called vicarious reinforcement or vicarious punishment – of a model’s behavior. (Bandura 1986). This type of learning is a complex process; people store these observations in memory as they accumulate knowledge, perhaps using this information at a later point to guide their own behavior. 

Modelling Process 

Modelling is the process of imitating the behavior of others. For example, a woman who shops for a new kind of perfume may remember the reactions her friend received when she wore a certain brand several months earlier, and she will mimic her friend’s behavior with the hope of getting the same feedback. Not all behaviors are effectively learned. Components that involves both model and learner can emulate social learning success. Achieve this there are certain requirements and steps to follow which is part of modelling/observational learning process.







This model illustrates the modelling process of how an advert would catch the attention of the consumers. Retention is where the consumers recall the behavior and process the ability to use the product. Finally for the observation learning to be successful the consumer has to be motivated  to imitate the behavior that has been modeled.


Bandura and other researchers discovered that there are many factors that influence the likelihood that an observer will imitate a model. If the model is perceived by the observer as similar to him or her, the behavior is more likely to be copied than if the model is perceived as different. Also, if the model is modeling simple behaviors, those are more likely to be mimicked than complex behaviors. Regardless of the attributes of the model or the observer, if the behavior itself is associated with a reward that is meaningful to the observer, modeling is more likely to occur than if the behavior is followed by no such reward.

Subway advertisement is an example of how ads were created in which a model (in the Bandura sense or the fashion industry sense) illustrates the rewards or punishments of a particular behavior e.g by eating healthy sandwich could result to weight lose and that athletes eat this as well. This attempts to sell people a particular product that center around the benefits that the product has brought to a model. "Jared," who has been featured in ads for Subway® restaurants for years, is one such model. Jared's basic message has been that by eating Subway sandwiches, he lost a significant amount of weight. The implication, of course, is that viewers can learn from Jared's experience and enjoy similar results.

Reference

Houghton Mifflin Textbook - To Learn More. (2016). College.cengage.com. Retrieved 13 April 2016, from http://college.cengage.com/psychology/engler/personality_theories/7e/students/learn_more/ch09.html

Bandura and Observational Learning. (2016). Boundless. Retrieved from https://www.boundless.com/psychology/textbooks/boundless-psychology-textbook/learning-7/cognitive-approaches-to-learning-48/bandura-and-observational-learning-203-12738/

Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.

Solomon, M. (2011). Consumer behavior. [S.l.]: Prentice Hall.