CHAPTER 4 Consumer Decision Making

TRUE/FALSE QUESTIONS
Answer whether the following statements are true or false

2 Analyze the components of the consumer decision-making process

1. Jerry noticed that the day before the Stanley Cup telecast, his TV broke. This scenario is an example of need recognition.
true
false

2. After searching for information on computer diskettes, Erika is about to choose one brand: Sony, Verbatim, 3M, or Maxell. This group of diskette brands makes up Erika's evoked set.
true
false

4 Identify the types of consumer buying decisions and discuss the significance of consumer involvement

3. In high involvement buying situations, consumers learn in an almost random fashion by buying products first and then evaluating them.
true
false

4. Ken is familiar with 35mm cameras and photography accessories. While shopping for a new camera bag, Ken came across a brand he had never heard of or seen before. Acquiring information about this unfamiliar brand could be called extensive decision making on Ken's part.

true
false

5. Bertha perceives the purchase of athletic shoes to be a socially risky decision because she thinks people will judge her by the shoes she wears. Violetta, however, does not perceive shoes as a particularly risky behaviour. As a result, buying athletic shoes will be a high involvement activity for Bertha, but not for Violetta.

true
false

6. Detailed, informative advertisements are most effective for high involvement products because consumers actively search for additional information on these products prior to making their purchase decision.

true
false

5 Identify and understand the cultural factors that affect consumer buying decisions

7. Canada would be an example of a global subculture.
true
false

8. Canada, like most other countries, has a social class structure with clear delineations of who fits into upper, middle, and lower classes.
true
false

6 Identify and understand the social factors that affect consumer buying decisions

9. Cindy follows all the latest fashion trends at her Vancouver high school. Her friends greatly influence the ways she dresses. Cindy's friends are an example of her primary membership group.

true
false

8 Identify and understand the psychological factors that affect consumer buying decisions

10. Jon Austin is a staunch Liberal. He was just given a pamphlet about the positive aspects of the Conservative party. Jon reads this pamphlet and then throws it away. By the next day, he has forgotten the points made in the pamphlet. This is an example of selective distortion.

true
false

11. Maslow's hierarchy of needs categorizes human needs into five levels: physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs, and self actualization needs.

true
false

12. Values, beliefs, and attitudes are closely interrelated concepts, although beliefs are often about entire brands, while attitudes are often concerned with specific attributes.

true
false

MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS
Select the response that best answers the question, and write the corresponding letter in the space provided.

2 Analyze the components of the consumer decision-making process

13. Brenda watches a TV commercial that promotes a new fat-free line of snack products and decides that she will buy a few the next time she goes to the grocery store. The TV commercial is a(n):

a. problem recognition
b. internal stimulus
c. external stimulus
d. purchase outcome
e. cognitive dissonance

14. Dan is a prestige oriented shopper and will only buy and wear clothing that have a little embroidered polo pony. This illustrates the:

a. physiological drive
b. satisfaction of a need
c. satisfaction of a belief
d. satisfaction of a want
e. need motivator

15. David is trying to decide what kind of new car he is going to buy. He relies on Consumer Reports, other car magazines, and the advice of car mechanics. David is using:
a. marketing controlled information sources
b. nonmarketing controlled information sources
c. demographic information sources
d. secondary data sources
e. internal search sources

3 Explain the consumer's postpurchase evaluation process

16. If you were attempting to reduce postpurchase anxiety for your brand of large home appliances, which of the following methods might you attempt to use?

a. send letters to each buyer thanking them for their purchase
b. produce products that positively emphasize the attributes customers want from larger home appliances
c. provide warranties to assure customers of the appliances' reliability
d. conduct follow-up phone calls from the appliance manufacturer assuring customers that if they are not completely satisfied, the manufacturer will do what is necessary to make the customer happy
e. all of the above could be employed to reduce cognitive dissonance

4 Identify the types of consumer buying decisions and discuss the significance of consumer involvement

17. When Steve goes to the grocery store every other week, he buys the same brands of coffee, milk, cereal, and dog food. This type of buying behaviour is called:
a. routine response behaviour
b. extensive decision making
c. motivational response
d. limited decision making
e. situation convenience

18. When Jill went to purchase nail polish to wear at her wedding, she went to four stores, spent three hours, and looked at over 200 colour shades before selecting the perfect one. This nail polish (which cost $1.25) is properly designated a high involvement product because of:

a. brand loyalty
b. trial investment
c. financial risk
d. cognitive dissonance
e. situational factors

19. You are the brand manager of a new chocolate bar. Marketing research shows that consumers do not usually make planned purchases for chocolate bars and buy on impulse instead. Given the research, which of the following strategies would be most appropriate?
a. Run numerous TV commercials to "pull" consumers into the grocery stores.
b. Price the chocolate very low to encourage children to buy the product.
c. Determine the important choice criteria the customer uses to shop for chocolate purchases and then appeal to those criteria when the consumer undertakes alternative evaluation.
d. Place the chocolate bars at the point-of-purchase within good view of shoppers
e. Match the lifestyles of the target market to the messages used in the advertising.

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5 Identify and understand the cultural factors that affect consumer buying decisions

20. Which of the following statements about Asian cultures is NOT true?

a. Asians value social harmony.
b. Asians de-emphasize individuality.
c. Asians have a strong work ethic.
d. Asians respect someone who is honest.
e. Asians place a high value on freedom of expression.

21. Joe has a bachelor of electrical engineering degree from university and works as a hardware specialist in Silicon Valley. Joe is most likely a part of the:

a. capitalist class
b. upper middle class
c. middle class
d. working class
e. working poor

22. Erika competes on the college swim team and is working hard to qualify for her first college conference competition. She subscribes to all the swimming magazines and reads them as soon as they arrive each month. Past Olympic champion swimmers and divers are often used in the advertisements in the magazines. The ads are quite effective because these champions are a(n) ____________ group for Erika.

a. secondary reference
b. primary reference
c. direct reference
d. dissociative
e. aspirational

23. Donna feels that the only type of consumer who would wear a fur coat is wasteful and materialistic, and she would never consider owning one herself. The people who typically buy fur coats are in
Donna's ____________ group for that type of purchase.

a. out reference
b. nonaspirational reference
c. ex-membership
d. integrated
e. low aspiration

24. Reference group influence would be weakest for determining which brand of ____________ a person buys.

a. car
b. clothing
c. frozen corn
d. beer
e. cigarettes

25. Ethan tends to buy the same brands of mouthwash and toilet paper as his ____________, which is often the strongest source of group influence upon the individual for many product purchases.
a. family
b. social class
c. psychographic group
d. subculture
e. dissociative group

26. A baby food manufacturer has spent a large amount of money on packaging, advertising, and store displays. After a successful introduction with sales higher than expected, sales suddenly dropped off dramatically. Subsequent research revealed that many babies refused to eat it. The baby food manufacturer forgot that babies also play an important role in the family decision process as a(n):

a. instigator
b. consumer
c. decision maker
d. purchaser
e. selector

7 Identify and understand the individual factors that affect consumer buying decision

27. Jill, a new junior executive, feels that she is a trendy, upwardly mobile professional woman and wants to project an impression of competence and independence. She carefully shops for suits like the kind worn by the two women vice presidents at her firm. Jill admires the vice presidents and strives to be like them. She is dressing to fit her:
a. status seeking image
b. social compliant orientation
c. real self image
d. ideal self image
e. personality

28. John's purchase behaviour is influenced by his hobbies of antique firearms, working out, and computers; his interest in scuba diving, music, and swimming; and his deeply held political and cause related opinions. All of these things are part of the personal influence factor called:
a. lifestyle
b. personality
c. beliefs
d. attitude
e. values

8 Identify and understand the psychological factors that affect consumer buying decisions

29. Julie, an accounting major, read an article that states that accounting majors receive the highest starting salary offers for business majors. The article also states that marketing majors start with lower salaries but surpass all other majors' salaries within ten years. Julie doesn't remember reading this last part of the article, just the first part. This is an example of:

a. selective distortion
b. selective exposure
c. selective retention
d. perception retention
e. reinforcement

30. Universal Alarm Systems uses advertisements that depict a young mother with her baby at home alone at night. A prowler has been stalking the house, but he suddenly leaves when he notices the presence of the alarm system. These advertisements are designed to appeal to the consumers':

a. self esteem needs
b. safety needs
c. economic needs
d. physiological needs
e. social needs

31. When Lever Brothers introduced the new Lever 2000 body soap, they gave away over one million bars of soap for consumers to try in order encourage:

a. selective perception
b. learning
c. consumer needs
d. psychographics
e. problem recognition

32. Leonard has used and liked Colgate toothpaste for years, so when the company introduced Colgate mouthwash, he bought some. This is an example of:

a. stimulus discrimination
b. selective retention
c. product reinforcement
d. social learning
e. stimulus generalization

33. Jesefe has certain opinions about personal computers. She thinks that they are complex and expensive, but are high-quality, reliable products. This is a description of one consumer's ____________ about a certain class of product.

a. values
b. attitude
c. belief
d. facts
e. motives

34. Ralph Creamden is the brand manager for Top Stuff Clothing Products. His marketing research shows that his targeted audience does not hold favourable attitudes towards his products. If you were an
advisor to Mr. Creamden, which of the following actions might you suggest?
a. changing the belief(s) about the brand attributes
b. changing the relative importance of these beliefs
c. adding new beliefs to the ones already possessed by consumers
d any of the above might stimulate attitude change towards his brand
e. none of the above, because attitudes are all but impossible to change

35. When a European cereal company began exporting its product to Canada, managers discovered that many consumers believed that the cereal tasted bad. The company began a promotion emphasizing the nutrition and unique nutty taste of the cereal. This is an illustration of efforts to:
a. change beliefs about attributes
b. change the importance of beliefs
c. add new beliefs
d. reinforce current beliefs
e. discover consumer needs