Schemata and Consumer Behavior

a tutorial by

Brenna Will

Introduction

A schema represents a network of associations around a concept for some individual. A schema is conceptual representations of environmental regularities (Donohew, Higgins, Sypher, 1988) - it is the meaning we attribute to some thing. Schemas exist for every object - we have schemas for tangible objects, for interpersonal traits, a sequence of action or abstract concepts  (Donohew, Higgins, Sypher, p.33). In other words, there is a schema for everything that can be conceptualized.

A schema can be partial to an individual’s knowledge and experience - meaning they may vary from person to person. One person’s thoughts towards Pepsi may be different than another person’s thoughts about Pepsi; but both are based on the fixed value that they represent a drink. For example, say there are two people, Bob and Josh, and they are at the store and both are thirsty for a cola. Various options of colas are present and let’s say Coca-cola, Pepsi, and Royal Crown are the alternatives that exist for them. When Bob chooses to buy Pepsi over the other choices, there was a thought process prior to the purchase. Different thoughts and feelings based on his prior experience and knowledge came into play to make the final decision of choosing Pepsi; those thoughts and feelings make up the schematic memory. Josh decides to go for Coca-cola over the others for different reasons based on his schematic memory. Even though any one of the colas could have satisfied Bob and Josh, each chose one over the others for reasons that is based on the schematic memory of each.

Schemata are of significance to the field of consumer behavior and to practitioners in marketing because schemata relate to brand image. A schema is one’s interpretation when they see or hear a brand (Hawkins, Best, Coney, 2004). The way a brand is seen is important when presenting a product to potential buyers. If a brand conjures negative feelings, then it is likely a company will do poorly or even fail because there would not be a sufficient amount of sales. For example, we all remember the incident that happened with Firestone. If not, I’ll give you a brief rundown. The perception is that the company was trying to pump out so many tires that they got lazy with testing them for safety. They supplied tires to companies that were not up to par and in turn many accidents occurred (due to the poor quality of the tires). People were injured and some even died. Now, many consumers might not consider Firestone as an option of tire due to the incident that happened. Others will always remember what happened and associate the negative event with their brand, regardless of the accuracy of the perception or of future actions - the association has been planted and a schema for Firestone tires has been altered.  Firestone must always consider the negative feelings people may have towards them when promoting their tires, and must take extra precautions when deciding how to do so. It is crucial to a company to be knowledgeable of what people may think and feel when they come across your brand. Things like this are hard to reverse and may leave a stigma associated with the brand. It is up to the marketer to do research to become more knowledgeable of what their audience thinks of their brand and then decide on how to promote their brand.

Explanation of the Topic

Frederic Bartlett is recognized as the researcher who first suggested the concept of schema. His conclusions were based on his memory research in which subjects recalled details of stories that were not actually there. The studies focused on people’s recollection of materials that were culturally unfamiliar to the participants. Specifically, Bartlett's research was conducted using the folk stories of  England and North American Indians. Using a method called serial reproduction, he asked people to listen to the story. Then they were asked to recall the stories and pictures several times over a long period or to tell the story to another person. The results showed that the story and pictures were personalized in the retelling so that the unfamiliar elements were replaced by culturally more familiar ones (Bartlett, 1932). Interpreting the story involves retrieving information from memory, and retrieving this information from memory triggers incorporating things that are already familiar to the storyteller. What the storyteller remembers is based upon what he/she knows and has experienced in the past.  This memory forms structures called schema (or schemata, plural).

Further development of this theory did not occur until almost four decades later. In the 1970’s and 1980’s, theories incorporated Bartlett’s concept of the schema in ideas about knowledge structures. In 1974, Minsky came up with the idea of frames. The essence of the theory is that when an individual comes up against something new (or significantly different), we recall infromation from memory to fit the present situation.  The result is a memory structure called a frame (Minsky 1974). Rummelhart (1975) and Mandler and Johnson (1977) use schema to suggest that stories are hierarchical organized. In other words, memories are goal-directed behaviors to resolve a problem. Thus, a story has a background and an event structure, the event structure is made up of occurrences, and those occurrences have a beginning which leads to the end (Orton, 1995). Schank and Abelson (1977) introduced scripts which are a particular version of schema, proposed as a method for knowledge representation and the solution of recurring problems (Kersten and Cray, 2004). All these theories utilize relatively similar schema-like concepts. They all had the following characteristics:

Social schemata are cognitive structures that are categorized into four groups. The first is called self schemata. This is the structure that contains information about one’s own personality, appearance, and behavior; it is what you think of yourself. Next is person schemata, which is the focus on traits and behaviors common to types of people, like different cultures. The third is role schemata or person-in-situation schemata. This group includes information about people and their typical behavior in specific social situations. The way one would act at the dinner table of a wedding versus at a table with a bunch of college buddies. Finally, event schemata or scripts are the fourth category. This includes knowledge about the expected sequence of events in a given situation. Like what one would do in the event that their child just broke their leg, one would most likely rush them to the hospital (Erasmus, Boshoff, Rousseau, 2002).

As mentioned earlier, schemas are related to brand image. Brand image can be defined as the schematic memory of a brand (Best, Coney, Hawkins, 2004). This means that when a consumer is presented with a brand, the consumer will make connections to their knowledge and experiences (i.e., memories)of how they think and feel about a brand. A brand image can hurt as well as help products. If one has had a negative experience with a certain brand, then the odds of that person purchasing it is declined. For instance, say one tried Lipton tea and did not like the flavor. When presented with Lipton rice or another brand of rice, the consumer is likely to remember the bad flavor associated with the Lipton name and associate it with other Lipton products. On the other hand, if one loves Lipton tea and must make a decision between Lipton rice and other competing brands, the positive associations with the Lipton name are likely a significant influence on consumer behavior.

Brand image is what the consumer perceives about the brand, so it is up to the marketers to try and create positive associations with the brand. Knowing as much as possible about your target market is a great place to start when attempting to create associations between their knowledge and experiences with your brand. The more you know about your audience, the easier it may be to create such a connection. Such as, knowing the major events that may have influenced them, and situating your brand around ideas central to those influences will facilitate them conjure up those memories and then relate you to that experience, as long as it was a good one of course.

Furthermore, brand image can be used to create a general knowledge. The ways you promote your brand can influence what one will learn about your brand and then in turn make those associations. For illustration, General Mills does a good job of this by linking Cheerios to a lifetime of healthy choices, from childhood to adulthood. By providing extra beneficial information about the importance of a healthy heart increases the consumers’ knowledge.  They provide information through commercials, websites and even on the box about how to be healthy and how Cheerios is good for you. In turn, one relates Cheerios as being good for you, and almost watching out for you since they give you extra information on your health. If you never provide information about your brand then how is one supposed to learn enough to make a purchase? They probably will not because they know nothing of your brand. In contrast, if there is a plethora of information available through promotions then it is easier for one to make a choice. You can assist the consumer in a purchase through what information you make available to them, and how well you can make those connections fit what the consumer expects needs or wants.

Examples

An example of an actual schema depends upon the person (cola idea in the beginning).
In practice the way one relates their brand to fixed attributes and general concepts can be shown through these examples:
 

1. Pepsi

The chart to the rightshows different slogans used throughout the years. The fixed element here is the cola. When one has to choose between different colas many thoughts come to mind and that is where different views of the brand stem from. Some people drink colas for dissimilar reasons from others, but when it comes down to it people think about different associations with that product. By having these catchy slogans it conjures up ideas about Pepsi. The “Be young, have fun, drink Pepsi” slogan was especially good to target multiple market segments which a company must do. Nowadays, people want to be and stay young, and of course have fun, so drink Pepsi and you will. Not literally, but it creates a sense of that and many try to hold on to their youthfulness, and as Pepsi suggests drink Pepsi and you will feel young. It generates positive associations with their brand and by doing this it is likely one will choose this brand over some other unknown, or hopefully over its biggest competitor Coca-Cola.

2. Dodge

Dodge has a logo of a ram with the saying: “Grab Life by the Horns”. The fixed attribute here is the truck. When one starts thinking about a truck, many thoughts may rise and that is where different points of view come into play. It is probably safe to say that when one thinks of a truck they think of a big, tough vehicle. By placing a ram in the picture it probably will conjure ideas about a strong animal. The saying “Grab Life by the Horns” relates to the ram (since it has horns), but also gives you a sense of taking control of life and steering it where you want to go. It creates a sense of power which most people like. It conjures many other aspects as well, but that all depends on the individual. Plus, it provides further information about the truck which will help you assess the credibility of the logo.

In conclusion, there is a schema for everything that can be conceptualized. Depending on the individual’s knowledge and experience with a brand, relates to how schemata are used for interpretation. It is up to the marketer to try and decipher what direction to go with a brand. Positive reinforcements and availability of information can assist in making your product seem the way you want to be seen.

Relevant Web Sites

Cheerios: www.cheerios.com
Dodge: www.dodge.com
List of various Pepsi slogans throughout the years: www.pepsinut.com/pepsi_slogans.htm
Consumer Psychology (search terms): www.questia.com
Marketing research portal (search terms): www.sykronix.com
Minsky's research into frames: web.media.mit.edu/~minsky/papers/Frames/frames.html
Research from Rummelhart (1975) and Mandler and Johnson (1977) www.research.ibm.com/knowsoc/ideas_featurestructure.html
Research from Schank and Abelson (1977): iiasa.ac.at/Research/DAS/interneg/research/misc/boston_gdn

References

Bartlett, Frederic. Remembering: A Study in Experimental and Social Psychology. England: Cambridge University Press, 1932.

Donohew,Lewis, Higgins, E. Tory, and Howard E. Sypher, eds. Communication, Social Cognition, and Affect. N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1988.

Erasmus, Alet C., Elizabeth Boshoff, and GG Rousseau. “The Potential of Using Script Theory in Consumer Behaviour Research.” Journal of Family Ecology and Consumer Sciences 30 (2002): 1-9.

Hawkins, Del I., Roger J. Best, and Kenneth A. Coney. Consumer Behavior: Building Marketing Strategy, Ninth Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2004.

Kersten, Gregory E., and David Cray. Perspectives on Representation and Analysis of Negotiation. Carleton University. http://www.iiasa.ac.at/Research/DAS/interneg/research/misc/boston_gdn/

Minsky, Marvin. A Framework for Representing Knowledge. MIT-AI Laboratory Memo 306, June 1974. http://web.media.mit.edu/~minsky/papers/Frames/frames.html

Orton, Peter. What is a “story”?, Story Feature vs. Structural-Affect Definitions. Stanford University Department of Communication, 1995. http://www.research.ibm.com/knowsoc/ideas_featurestructure.html

Test for understanding

1. A schema is:
A. a network of interrelated elements that define a concept for an individual.
B. a pattern of associations around a particular concept.
C. also known as a knowledge structure.
D. All of the above

2. A schema is:
A. the same for all individuals.
B. is not biased.
C. based on knowledge and experience of an individual.
D. brand name.

3. The person who first came up with the term “schema” is:
A. Mandler
B. Rummelhart
C. Bartlett
D. Minsky

4. The term frame (in this discussion) refers to:
A. remembered framework.
B. a fixed core and characteristics that cannot vary.
C. an idea that is the same for all individuals.
D. cannot be adapted to fit reality

5. Which one of these is NOT one of the four categories of schemata:
A. self schemata
B. personal schemata
C. role schemata
D. event schemata

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Answers: 1-d, 2-c, 3-c, 4-a, 5-b