Exam 13: Decision Making II: Alternative Evaluation and Choice

Using which type of decision rule does a consumer set a minimum, but usually high, mental cutoff for various features and select the product that meets or exceeds this cutoff on any feature?

When absolute rules are used, strict guidelines are set prior to selection, and any option that does not meet the specifications is eliminated from consideration.

Research has shown that consumers feel discontented and unhappy given too many choices. Consumers therefore should make what kind of decisions when it comes to evaluating alternatives?

Explain affect-based and attribute-based evaluations and discuss when each is used. Give an example of when you used each type of evaluation when making a purchase decision.

Jane purchased her car just based on the fact that she liked it. She didn't spend any time looking at the specific features compared to other brands when deciding to purchase the car. Which type of evaluation process did Jane use?

Consumers can handle only a small number of comparisons before overload sets in.

A consumer was deciding among three vacation options and ended up choosing the one that actually performed the worst on the most important attribute, price. Which type of decision rule was the consumer using that allowed this alternative to be selected?

Consumer researchers have identified four major categories of noncompensatory rules: the conjunctive rule, the disjunctive rule, the conjoint rule, and the cluster rule.

Evaluative criteria are the attributes, features, or potential benefits that consumers consider when reviewing possible solutions to a problem.

Determinant criteria remain constant across situations.

Diet Coke is a brand of soft drink. Which level of product category is this an example of?

Which type of product category is "vehicles" an example of?

Which term refers to a perceived favourable result that is derived from the presence of a particular feature?

Energy Bar Scenario Product nutrition labels provide considerable information for consumers. For example, a consumer deciding among the many brands of energy bars might compare three offerings: Clif Bar, Larabar, and ProBar. The most important attribute for this consumer is protein content, followed by calories, taste, sugar, price, and fat content. This consumer would like an energy bar with a high protein content but low in calories, sugar, fat, and price that also tastes good. Information is easily found on nutrition labels for all but the taste attribute. This information is summarized in the following table: Attributes in order of importance Clif Bar Larabar ProBar Protein 10 grams 5 grams 8 grams Calories 250 190 350 Taste ? ? ? Sugar 13 grams 17 grams 14 grams Price \ 1.13 \ 1.25 \ 2.50 Fat 2 grams 9 grams 8 grams -Refer to Energy Bar Scenario. This consumer is evaluating the three brands across a set of traits for this product. Which type of evaluation is this consumer using?

It is difficult for consumers to assess the quality of a product just by looking at it. Oftentimes, consumers must use a product to determine the quality level, and even then it is still sometimes difficult to determine the quality. Which type of attribute is quality?

Which of the following statements does NOT accurately describe consumers' use of decision rules?

Attribute variants are perceived relationships between product features.

In which type of evaluation process are alternatives evaluated across a set of characteristics that are considered relevant to the purchase situation?

A consumer is deciding which television to purchase and has identified the determinant attributes and their importance as well as his beliefs of how the three brands he's considering perform on each attribute. Using a compensatory approach, determine the brand this consumer should select. Attribute Importance Brand A Brand B Brand C Picture quality 10 5 10 6 Low price 7 8 3 7 Warranty 5 4 4 8 Service 6 4 6 8

Evaluations are generally more relevant and meaningful at the superordinate levels of product categories.