Principles of classical conditioning are of limited usefulness in marketing because of the required link between the conditioned stimulus and response. Such a link required automatic response behavior. Classical conditioning is more relevant to marketing in terms of the possibility of establishing associations between symbols and brand names by repetition and contiguity. An effective tool in classical conditioning is advertising with a repetitive jingle or theme. Instrumental Conditioning Instrumental conditioning views behavior as a function of the consumer s assessment of the degree of satisfaction obtained from the action.
Satisfaction leads to reinforcement and to an increase in the probability of repurchasing.
Instrumental conditioning also requires developing a link between a stimulus and response. The individual determines the response that provides the greatest satisfaction. No previous stimulus-response connection is required. The behavior results in an evaluation of degree of reward or punishment obtained. There is a very close link between habit, learning, and brand loyalty.