“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 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.