Chapter 5

Memory
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
Buying, Having, and
Being

ELEVENTH EDITION

Michael R. Solomon

Consumer Behavior 4-1

 Learning Objectives
1. Understanding how our brains process
information about brands to retain them in
memory.

2. How do marketers measure our memories

about products and ads.

3. Understanding how products help us to retrieve

memories from our past.
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 Brains process information to retain in memory

The role of memory in learning

(Mind = computer = input/output)
The contemporary approach to memory, assumes
the mind is like a computer; data is input,
processed, and output for later use in modified
form.
During the consumer decision-making process, we
combine internal memory (what we retrieve) with
external memory (e.g. product details).

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 The Memory Process
Data In the encoding In the storage During retrieval,
(the stimuli or stage, information stage, we integrate we access the
events perceived enters in a way the this knowledge with desired
from the outside system will what is already in information.
world) are input recognize. memory and
“warehouse” it until
it is needed.

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 Brains process information to retain in memory

The role of memory in learning

• Memory: is an information processing approach

of acquiring information through encoding it to
be stored and retrieved when needed.

• Encoding: is the process where information

from short-term memory is entered into long
term memory.

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 Brains process information to retain in memory

The role of memory in learning

• Storage: is the process of creating a more

permanent record (when knowledge enters long
term memory)

• Retrieval: is the process of recalling and

recollecting information (where the desired
information is accessed from long term memory)

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 The Memory System
• There are three different memory systems:
• Sensory memory
• Short-term memory
• Long-term memory

• Each plays a role in processing brand-related

information.

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 The Memory System
• Types of Meaning

• A consumer may process a stimulus simply in terms

of its sensory meaning (such as its color or shape)

• Semantic meaning refers to symbolic associations

(such as the idea that fashionable men wear earrings)

• Episodic memories are events that are personally

relevant (Flashbulb memories are those that are
especially vivid and narrative or story)

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 The Memory System

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 The Memory System
• Sensory memory stores the information we receive
from our senses. This storage is temporary. If the
information is retained for further processing, it
passes through attention gate and transfers to short-
term memory.

• Short-term memory also stores information for a

limited period of time, and it has limited capacity. This
system is working memory. It holds information we
are currently processing.

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 The Memory System
• A cognitive process we call elaborative rehearsal
allows information to move from short-term memory to
long-term memory.
• Long-term memory is the system that allows us to
retain information for a long period of time.
• Marketers may help the elaborative rehearsal process
when they invent catchy (appealing) slogans or jingles
that consumer repeat on their own.
• Recent research suggests that long-term memory and
short-term memory are interdependent systems.

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 How Our Memories Store Information?
• Activation models propose that an incoming piece of
information is stored in an associative network that
contains many bits of related information organized
according to some set of relationships that is shaped
by our own unique experiences.

• The more effort it takes to process information, the

more likely it is that information will transfer into long-
term memory.

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 How Our Memories Store Information?
• These storage units are known as knowledge
structures (as spider webs full of pieces of data).
• This information is placed into nodes that are
connected by associative links within these structures.
• Pieces of information that are seen as similar in some
way are grouped together under a category are known
as evoked sets.
• The task of the marketer is to position itself as a
category member and to provide cues that facilitate its
placement in the proper category.

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 Example:
Associative Network for Perfumes
Preference Category
(evoked sets)

Type of
Meaning

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 Spreading Activation
• Consumers go through a process of spreading
activation as they search between levels of meaning.
• The way we store a piece of information in memory
depends on the type of meaning we initially assign to
it.
• Then, this meaning determines how and when
something activates the meaning.
• Memory traces are sent out and linked to related
nodes.

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 Type of Meaning
• Refers to memory stored in terms of the
Brand-specific claims the brand makes.

• Refers to memories stored in terms of the

Ad-specific content of the ad itself.

Brand • Is memory stored in terms of the brand

Identification name.

Product • Is memory stored in terms of how the

Category product works or where it should be used.

Evaluative • Is memory stored as positive or negative

Reactions emotions.

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 Level of Knowledge
• Within a knowledge structure, we code elements at
different levels of abstraction and complexity.

• We may combine these concepts into a larger unit we

call a proposition or a belief. A proposition links two
nodes together to form a more complex meaning.
• Propositions are integrated into a schema (a
cognitive framework that is developed through
experience).
• We encode information faster when it is consistent
with an existing schema.

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 Measuring Memory for Marketing Stimuli
• Two basic measures of impact are recognition and
recall.
• Recall tends to be more important in situations where
consumers do not have product data and need to rely
on memory to generate the information (recall does
not translate into first choice for the product).
• Whereas, recognition is important in a shopping
context where consumers are exposed to lots of
stimuli and need to recognize a package.
• Recall and recognition measures may not accurately
capture the impact of ads.
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 Measuring Memory for Marketing Stimuli
• Many things affect our ability to retrieve information.
• Retrieval is the process whereby we recover
information from long-term memory. It depends on
how the marketer presents the information.
• Recall does not translate into preference for the
product.
• Recall is enhanced when we pay more attention to
the message, which may give an advantage to a
pioneering brand relative to a follower because we
are more likely to remember the pioneering brand’s
information. Ex: smart phones means apple
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Measuring Memory for Marketing Stimuli
How we retrieve memories when we decide what to
buy?
• Differences in retrieval ability among people can be
attributed to individual
• Cognitive factors
• Physiological factors
• Situational factors
• The viewing environment
• Post-experience advertising effects
• Familiarity (mystery ads)
• Visual memory versus verbal memory
Co
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 Measuring Memory for Marketing Stimuli
• This explains why unusual advertising or distinctive
packaging tends to facilitate brand recall.
• The intensity and type of emotions we experience at
the time also affect the way we recall the event.
• It is important for marketers to understand what can
help us to remember so that messages can be planned
appropriately.

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 Problems with Memory Measures
What makes us Forget?

• Decay (memories just faded with time)

• People suffer from memory lapses (forgetting

information or retaining inaccurate memories).

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 Problems with Memory Measures
What makes us Forget?
• Retroactive Interference: Consumers may forget
stimulus-response associations if they subsequently
learn new responses to the same or similar stimuli.

• Proactive Interference: When prior learning interferes

with new learning.

• State-Dependent Retrieval: we are better able to

access information if our internal state is the same at
the time of recall as when we learned the information.
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 The Marketing Power
Products as Memory Markers
Marketers may bring back to life popular
characters and memories of the past
• Nostalgia: describes a bittersweet emotion
where we view the past with both sadness and
longing. We reference the good old days.

• Retro brand: is an updated version of a

brand from a historical period.

Ex: The Volkswagen's New Beetle are both

retro brands.
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