Chapter 6 Consumer Decision Making

Social influences on consumer buying decisions include:

reference groups, opinion leaders, and family

A marketing manager would expect his or her product to be a high-involvement product for most consumers if it:

requires substantial financial investment

Each week Jess comes to the supermarket with a list of essential items; milk, bread, peanut butter, and chocolate. This is an example of:

routine response behavior

Lisa has to have a Diet Coke for breakfast. At a breakfast meeting, she was offered coffee and refused. She only wanted a Diet Coke. This illustrates that Lisa needs Diet Coke to:

satisfy a want

A few years ago, Toro introduced a small, lightweight snowblower called the Snow Pup. Even though the product worked great, sales failed to meet expectations because consumers perceived the name to mean that the Snow Pup was a toy or too light to do any serious snow removal. This is how _____ can influence the consumer decision-making process.

selective distortion

Families of police officers often alter information they hear about officers who die in the line of duty. This _____ allows them to live and function without constant anxiety while their loved one is engaged in a potentially dangerous job.

selective distortion

When consumers change or distort information that conflicts with their feelings or beliefs, it is called:

selective distortion

On any given day, a person may be subjected to over 2,500 advertising messages but may only be aware of 10 to 20 of them. This is called:

selective exposure

All of the following are ways consumers can reduce cognitive dissonance EXCEPT:

send a letter to the marketer

When Avril went to purchase a birthday card for her new boyfriend, she went to three stores and spent four hours reading over five hundred cards before selecting the perfect one. This card (which cost $3.25) is properly designated a high-involvement product because of:

situational factors

A(n) _____ is a group of people in a society who are considered nearly equal in status or community esteem and tend to socialize among themselves and share behavioral norms.

social class

All of the following influence the extent to which an individual conducts an external search for information EXCEPT:

social class

Kim places huge importance on what she wears to sing in front of her church and therefore takes her time to shop for the right clothes and shoes. This is due to the:

social visibility of the products

Cultural values and norms are passed down to children through the process of:

socialization

Which of the following is any unit of input affecting one or more of the five senses: sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing?

stimulus

Homogeneous groups within a culture that share elements of the overall culture as well as have elements that are unique to that group are called:

subcultures

Which of the following activities is most likely to be an example of routine response behavior?

the purchase of toilet paper

Because her mother only went to the supermarket once a month, this is how Monique prefers to do her grocery shopping. One of the reasons Monique is such an efficient shopper is that, like her mother, Monique believes, "Waste not, want not." The passing down of norms and values to Monique is an example of:

the socialization process

An external information search is especially important when:

there are high costs associated with making an incorrect decision

Which of the following is the minimum difference in a stimulus that the consumer will notice?

threshold level of perception

An enduring belief that a specific mode of conduct is personally or socially preferable to an alternative mode of conduct is called a(n):

value

A(n) _____ is a way a consumer goes about addressing a need.

want

Which of the following statements about reference groups is true?

Reference groups serve as information sources and influence perceptions.

_____ is characterized by low involvement, a short time frame, an internal-only information search, and low costs.

Routine response behavior

_____ is the set of values, norms, attitudes, and other meaningful symbols that shape human behavior and is transmitted from one generation to the next.

Culture

A newly hired employee at an advertising agency chose the clothes she purchased for work by observing the clothes she saw worn in The Apprentice, a popular television reality show. In this example, the women hoping to work for Donald Trump served as primary reference groups.

FALSE

An attitude is a physiological difference among consumers.

FALSE

Laurie would like to be perceived by her friends as fashionable and trendy. This would be considered her self-image.

FALSE

Maslow's hierarchy of needs categorizes human needs into four levels: physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, and esteem needs.

FALSE

Once an individual's evoked set has been established, evaluation of those alternatives will determine what information must be obtained during the information search.

FALSE

Selective exposure occurs when consumers change information that conflicts with their feelings or beliefs.

FALSE

The United States, unlike some other countries, does not have a status structure or social class system.

FALSE

There are several tools marketing managers can use to increase cognitive dissonance, which enhances consumers' attitude toward their brand.

FALSE

There are two types of learning: concrete and abstract.

FALSE

When Alan buys rock-climbing equipment, he will only buy Black Diamond, Petzl, Edelweiss, or Wild Country brands even though other brands exist. These listed brands make up Alan's awareness set.

FALSE

While lifestyle research is useful for describing individual consumers, it is not useful for segmenting consumer groups.

FALSE

Which of the following products would most likely require the purchaser to use only an internal information search?

Favorite restaurant you love to patronize regularly

_____ is the amount of time and effort a buyer invests in the search, evaluation, and decision processes of consumer behavior.

Involvement

Madison announced to her family last night that she wanted a pair of inline skates. Her sister Bailey said she thought it was a stupid idea. Their mother, Wanda, said Madison deserved a special treat for winning the science fair. Because her father Ned said nothing, Madison knew she was not getting the skates. In terms of the roles played by family members in the consumer decision-making process:

Madison was the initiator, and Ned was the decision maker.

A value or attitude deemed acceptable by a group is called a(n):

Norm

_____ is the analytical technique used to examine consumer lifestyles and to categorize consumers.

Psychographics

_____ occurs when consumers remember only information that supports their personal feelings or beliefs.

Selective retention

_____ is how consumers perceive themselves in terms of attitudes, perceptions, beliefs, and self-evaluations.

Self-concept

A stimulus is a unit of input from either an external or internal source that can affect sight, smell, taste, touch, or hearing

TRUE

By keeping the blue triangle in the corner and the Nabisco name on several similar Nabisco snack products, Nabisco is attempting to capitalize on stimulus generalization.

TRUE

If consumer behavior is not well understood, a marketer will have difficulty creating an appropriate marketing mix.

TRUE

In general, detailed, informative advertisements are most effective for high-involvement products because consumers actively search for additional information prior to making their decisions.

TRUE

Noah perceives the purchase of a tattoo to be a socially risky decision because he thinks people will judge him unfairly if he has a tattoo. Hayley, however, does not perceive getting a tattoo as particularly risky behavior. As far as social risk is concerned, getting a tattoo will be a higher-involvement activity for Noah than for Hayley

TRUE

Opinion leaders are often the first to try new products and services.

TRUE

Stimulus discrimination is a learned ability to differentiate among similar products.

TRUE

The purchase of products like soft drinks, cleaning products, and gasoline generally exemplify routine response behavior.

TRUE

The socialization process involves adopting the values of the culture in which a person was raised and is usually strongly influenced by the family.

TRUE

_____ is an orderly series of stages in which consumers' attitudes and behavioral tendencies change through maturity, experience, and changing income and status.

The family life cycle

You are the brand manager for a new line of allergy relief drugs. Which of the following methods might you employ to use opinion leadership/reference groups to help stimulate demand for your products?

Use a series of ads showing different health-care associations and societies endorsing the use of these health-care products.

All of the following are examples of marketing-controlled information sources EXCEPT:

a friend's recommendation on the brand of product to buy

Which of the following is the BEST example of an internal stimulus that would create need recognition?

a headache

To analyze consumer lifestyles, marketers look at consumers':

activities, interests, and opinions

Which of the following is LEAST likely to be described as a subculture?

bank managers

Arm & Hammer is a well-known and respected brand of baking soda. The company has put it's brand name on several products, such as laundry detergent, toothpaste, kitty litter, and many more products. These are examples of:

brand extensions

Extending a well-known and respected brand name from one product category to another product category is referred to as:

brand extensions

Andrea just purchased a trip to Jamaica as a present to her husband for their tenth wedding anniversary. Andrea is anxious about the trip, afraid Bill will not like her choice of location and worried she spent too much money. Andrea is experiencing:

cognitive dissonance

Inner tension that a consumer experiences after recognizing an inconsistency between behavior and values or opinions is referred to as:

cognitive dissonance

Another name for evoked set is:

consideration set

The processes individuals use when making a purchase decision are called _____.

consumer behavior

The fact that mothers in Japan feed their babies freeze-dried sardines and rice and most mothers in the United States would not eat a freeze-dried sardine, much less feed it to their babies, indicates how _____ influences the consumer decision-making process.

culture

All of the following are characteristics of culture EXCEPT:

culture is an inherent trait

A group of brands, resulting from an information search, from which a buyer can choose is referred to as the buyer's:

evoked set

Alanna is looking into purchasing a scooter as gas prices continue to rise. She needs a reasonably-priced, comfortable, and safe, scooter with room to store her books. She is not familiar with these products and this is a major purchase for her. Purchasing a scooter will probably involve:

extensive decision making

When a consumer is purchasing an unfamiliar or expensive product, the consumer often uses the _____ process.

extensive decision making

Rod saw a television commercial for a Honda S2000 and wants to test drive one. The commercial is an example of a(n) _____ stimulus.

external

A direct reference group is composed of:

face-to-face membership groups that touch people's lives directly

All of the following are individual factors influencing consumer buying decisions EXCEPT:

family

The types of products people purchase using only an internal search are typically:

frequently purchased, low-cost items

Chaz wants to be a pirate like Captain Jack Sparrow in Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean movies. He wears a bandanna and carries a toy cutlass. Though Jack Sparrow is fictional, Chaz's role play reveals his _____.

ideal self-image

Which category of reference groups represent groups that a consumer does not have membership?

indirect

After a need or want is recognized, a consumer may be motivated to clarify the options available and generate an evoked set of brands. This occurs during which part of the consumer decision-making process?

information search

As a marketing tool in the United States, social class:

is useful for lifestyle distinctions between groups

Clayton's purchase behavior is influenced by his love of rodeo, his patriotism, a fascination with agriculture, his love of country music, and his belief that everyone needs to enjoy life. All of these things are part of which personal influence on the consumer decision-making process?

lifestyle

Studies of how consumers relate to Internet entertainment classify them into nine different groups. One category is "Mouse Potatoes," who spend most of their time online, who want the most current gadgets, and who believe the world pictured in the cartoon The Jetsons will someday exist. This is a description of the _____ of "Mouse Potatoes."

lifestyle

Jackson has moved to a new community and can no longer attend his old church. He is currently visiting churches to make a decision about which one best serves his needs. In making his decision, Jackson will engage in _____ decision making.

limited

All of the following are examples of individual factors that affect the decision-making process for consumers EXCEPT:

reference groups

Nellie's boss sells merchandise through Internet auctions. He needs to mail a $1,500 hexagonal antique picture frame. He has instructed Nellie to buy packaging that will make sure the oddly shaped frame arrives at its new owner's home undamaged, but he has not told her how or where she will find such packaging. Given that she frequently has to purchase packaging supplies, what kind of purchase decision process would she most likely employ?

limited decision making

The type of decision making that requires a moderate amount of time for gathering information and deliberating about an unfamiliar brand in a familiar product category is referred to as:

limited decision making

Marketing managers often use in-store promotions to stimulate sales of:

low-involvement products

A product information source that originates with marketers promoting the product are referred to as a:

marketing-controlled information source

David is shopping for tires for his Audi. He looks in the yellow pages of the local phone book and calls Costco, Sam's club, Sears and a local car repair shop. In his decision-making process, David is using:

marketing-controlled information sources

A driving force that causes a person to take action to satisfy specific needs is called a(n):

motive

Sam was driving when someone ran a stop sign and totaled his car. His car cannot be repaired, so he realized he's going to have to get another one. What stage of the consumer decision-making process does this represent?

need recognition

Which step in the consumer decision-making process is a result of an imbalance between actual and desired states?

need recognition

The steps of the consumer decision-making process in order are:

need recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase, and postpurchase evaluation

Which of the following is an information source that is not associated with advertising or promotion?

nonmarketing-controlled

Dustin is a member of a fraternity that sees no problem of underage drinking. In fact, it is encouraged and expected the members will party and drink alcohol regardless of their age. For this group, drinking is considered a(n):

norm

How can marketers reduce consumers' cognitive dissonance?

offer guarantees

Opinion leaders are:

people who influence others

The process by which people select, organize, and interpret stimuli into a meaningful and coherent picture is called:

perception

All of the following are types of reference groups EXCEPT:

personal

An individual's _____ is a composite of psychological makeup and environmental forces. It provides consistency to an individual's reactions to situations.

personality

Ranked from the lowest to the highest level, Maslow's hierarchy of needs model includes:

physiological, safety, social, esteem, and self-actualization needs

Your best friend has sought your advice on what type of clothing she should buy for a job interview. If she gets the job, she will be the assistant to the producer of her favorite television program. She really wants this job and considers it a once in a lifetime opportunity. By asking your help with her wardrobe, your friend is most likely trying to:

reduce perceived risk of negative consequences

A group in society, such as family, friends, or a professional organization, that influences an individual's purchasing behavior is called a(n):

reference group