Advertising, Cognitive Dissonance and Learning

Having made a choice on the basis of imperfect information conveyed by advertising, the consumer will acquire new information in the postpurchase period through use of the good. In the extreme case learning will be total and immediate in this period. But there are many reasons why this is unlikely to happen. In the first place advertising may continue to provide information which contradicts that acquired through experience with the good. Given a high degree of initial misinformation and substantial advertising in the post-purchase period, learning may be slow and perhaps even incomplete. Much depends, of course, on the extent to which use of the product conveys information about the characteristics that are embodied in it. The less effective is the learning process the more easily will advertising be able to exert a sustained influence on perception. The operation of cognitive dissonance (as described in chapter 2) is another factor which may inhibit the learning process in the post-purchase period. The extent to which it does so will depend not only on the actual form that it takes, but also on the manner of its interaction with advertising.