Which of the following best explains how advertising uses classical conditioning to help sell products?

• A. By using punishment to discourage consumers from buying competing products, advertisements create negative associations with other brands.
• B. By presenting factual information about a product's features, advertisements appeal only to logical reasoning and not emotional responses.
• C. By pairing a product (neutral stimulus) with positive images or music (unconditioned stimulus), advertisements create a positive emotional response (conditioned response) toward the product.
• D. By repeatedly exposing consumers to a product until they remember its name, advertisements rely solely on memorization rather than emotional association.

Answer: (C)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand the basic principles of classical conditioning: it involves pairing a neutral stimulus (NS) with an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) that naturally elicits an unconditioned response (UCR). Over time, the neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus (CS) that elicits a conditioned response (CR).
2. Identify the elements in the context of advertising: the product acts as the neutral stimulus (NS), positive images or music serve as the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) because they naturally evoke positive emotions (unconditioned response, UCR).
3. Recognize that through repeated pairings, the product (NS) becomes associated with the positive feelings elicited by the images or music (UCS), transforming the product into a conditioned stimulus (CS).
4. Understand that as a result, the product alone can evoke a positive emotional response (conditioned response, CR) in consumers, which can influence their attitudes and buying behavior.
5. Evaluate the other options by comparing them to the classical conditioning framework, noting that punishment, purely factual information, or mere repetition without emotional pairing do not align with classical conditioning principles.