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“To Learn More” Student Essays
Personality Theories, Eighth Edition - Engler
Chapter 8: Experimental Analysis of Behavior: John Dollard, Neal Miller, B. F.
Skinner
Operant Conditioning and Advertising
Many of the advertisements we see illustrate an application of B. F. Skinner's principles
of operant conditioning. When we see a commercial on television, hear an ad on the
radio, or read an ad in the newspaper, we often encounter a person who has received a
reinforcement (or avoided a punishment) by using a particular product. Via observational
(or vicarious) learning, we are led to believe that if we use the product, we too might
experience the same benefit as the person in the advertisement.
The term "contingency," which Skinner used frequently in his explanations of operant
conditioning, is clearly relevant to such advertisements. Whether explicitly or implicitly,
through words or images, the purpose of these ads is to communicate an "if … then…."
statement: if we use the product, we will receive the specified benefit. Some of these
contingencies seem, at first glance, quite reasonable. For example, an ad for a particular
brand of shampoo may promise clean hair if we use the product. Or, an ad for a particular
brand of jeans may promise comfort and durability if we buy them. However, many ads
suggest contingencies that appear far-fetched. In other words, they promise an outcome
that the product couldn't realistically deliver. For example, the shampoo or jeans ads
described above might implicitly promise that if you use the product being advertised, a
stunningly beautiful person would suddenly find you irresistibly attractive. This outcome
may not be impossible, but most would agree that it is far from automatic, and in fact is
largely false.
If these are false contingencies, why do we continue to buy the products despite the
absence of the promised reward? Skinner argues that when an organism expects a
particular reinforcement as a consequence of particular behavior but does not in fact
receive it, extinction of the behavior will occur. Simply, the behavior should die out if it
is not followed by the reinforcement. Why, then, does it continue? Many of the products
we buy-shampoo, jeans, shoes, deodorant, food, beverages, cars-are advertised with the
intention of promising consumers an outcome that the products cannot actually deliver.
Although these products do not automatically or directly increase our sex appeal, social
status, popularity, overall happiness, etc., the ads promoting them often insinuate that
they do. Why then, do we continue to buy them? Perhaps the answer to this question
relates to the fact that the products do, in fact, provide reinforcement, but it is more
modest and less fantastic than the reinforcement promised in the ads. For example, if the
shampoo ad promises instant sex appeal, and the shampoo fails to deliver on that promise
but it does deliver clean hair at a reasonable price, perhaps the latter reinforcement is
sufficient to cause us to buy the shampoo again.
The extinction process also depends upon the reinforcement schedule of the behavior.
Ads that imply a fixed schedule of reinforcement suggest to the viewer that if a product is
used a certain number of times or for a certain length of time, the reinforcement should
predictably be delivered. For example, an ad for a facial scrub that promises clearer skin
“To Learn More” Student Essays
Personality Theories, Eighth Edition - Engler
if the product is used for 30 days indicates to the consumer that if more than a month
passes with no results, the scrub isn't working, so extinction is likely to follow. However,
ads with less predictable promises, those that states or implies something along the lines
of "results may vary," make it more difficult for the consumer to know when to give up
hope that they will receive the reinforcement. Thus, the behavior of buying the product
may continue for a relatively long time.
Andrew M. Pomerantz, Ph. D.
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Critical Thinking Questions:
1. What type of reinforcement schedule (interval or ratio, fixed or variable) should
advertisers use in order to make consumers' purchasing behavior resistant to
extinction?
2. Consider a particular ad that features a far-fetched or fantastic contingency in
which the reinforcement promised cannot realistically be delivered by the
product. Why might the advertisers have chosen this strategy? Would the ad be
more or less effective if the contingency suggested by the ad was more modest
and realistic?
3. How might cultural or demographic variables influence the contingencies that
advertisers choose to associate with their products? Can you offer a specific
example of an advertisement that uses operant conditioning targeted toward a
particular cultural or demographic group?
Web Links:
http://www.bfskinner.org/
The website of the B. F. Skinner Foundation.
http://www.bfskinner.org/Operant.asp
A non-technical explanation of operant conditioning by B. F. Skinner.
http://www.wagntrain.com/OC/
A website devoted to teaching the principles of operant and classical conditioning to
animal trainers.