Deck 9: Individual Decision-Making

Question 1

________ occurs whenever the consumer sees a significant difference between his or her current state of affairs and some desired state.

A)Information search
B)Evaluation of alternatives
C)Evaluation of the evoked set
D)Problem recognition

Answer 1

Problem recognition

Question 2

A consumer who uses a few simple decision rules to arrive at a purchase decision is using which of the following?

A)Routine decision making
B)Limited problem solving
C)Graduated response behaviour
D)Extended problem solving

Answer 2

B

Question 3

When is a consumer most likely to engage in extended problem solving?

A)This decision mode is most common when the decision is related to the person's self-concept and the outcome has a high degree of risk.
B)This decision mode is most common when the decision is related to the person's past behaviour and product reinforcements.
C)This decision mode is most common when acceptable products are already contained within the consumer's evoked set.
D)This decision mode is most common when the decision is related to products that are considered to have low self-concept involvement.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which of the following processes on consumer decision making is most closely associated with the economics of information approach to the search process, assuming that consumers collect just as much data as needed to make an informed decision?

A)Habitual problem solving
B)Extended problem solving
C)Recognition problem solving
D)Limited problem solving

Question 5

A(n) ________ refers to a set of beliefs and the way we organise those beliefs in our minds.

A)mental accounting
B)knowledge structure
C)rational perspective
D)influence perspective

Question 6

A hot and thirsty customer buys a cool drink and finds it very satisfying.He or she then buys another drink even though he or she had not initially planned on buying two and is no longer thirsty.This is an example of ________.

A)purchase momentum
B)rational decision making
C)feature creep
D)inertia

Question 7

________ is the process by which the consumer surveys his or her environment for appropriate data to make a reasonable decision.

A)Problem recognition
B)Evaluation of alternatives
C)Information search
D)Product choice

Question 8

Sam sees a new kind of coffee at his local supermarket and instantly buys it without considering the usual coffee he buys or any of the other alternatives.Which 'bucket' of consumer decision making did Sam use?

A)Affective
B)Habitual
C)Cognitive
D)Behavioural

Question 9

A customer buying an unfamiliar product that carries a fair degree of risk would most likely engage in what type of problem solving?

A)Extended problem solving
B)Limited problem solving
C)Habitual problem solving
D)Recognition problem solving

Question 10

Intentions, will and volition to perform an action is known as ________.

A)cognition
B)affect
C)conation
D)behaviour

Question 11

A consumer is most likely to engage in ________ when he or she is in a good mood or when he or she is uninvolved in other activities.

A)inertia
B)extended problem solving
C)variety seeking
D)mental accounting

Question 12

Jamie is considering ordering a dessert for lunch.Before she decides on the kind she prefers, she must decide whether to get a fattening or non-fattening dessert.This decision relates to which of the following levels of abstraction of dessert categories?

A)Superordinate level
B)Ordinate level
C)Subordinate level
D)Basic level

Question 13

As a customer's product knowledge increases, what typically happens to the amount of search conducted by the consumer?

A)It will continually increase.
B)It will continually decrease.
C)It will decrease, and then increase as the customer becomes more knowledgeable.
D)It will increase, and then decrease as the customer becomes more knowledgeable.

Question 14

The presence of too many product options in the marketplace is referred to as ________.

A)purchase dilemma
B)consumer hyperchoice
C)pseudo-choice
D)hyperopia

Question 15

In a thought process called ________, we evaluate the effort we'll need to make a particular choice and then we tailor the amount of cognitive 'effort' we expend to make that choice.

A)utility processing
B)experiential processing
C)constructive processing
D)behavioural processing

Question 16

The first stage in the consumer decision-making process is ________.

A)information search
B)evaluation of alternatives
C)problem recognition
D)product choice

Question 17

A consumer who moves his or her ideal state upward is experiencing ________.

A)opportunity recognition
B)search recognition
C)habitual recognition
D)need recognition

Question 18

The alternatives actively considered during a consumer's choice process are his or her ________ set.

A)inert
B)evoked
C)evaluative
D)consideration

Question 19

If a consumer's ideal state is very near or identical to his or her actual state, which of the following best describes the type of problem recognition the consumer would most likely have?

A)Opportunity recognition
B)Need recognition
C)Search recognition
D)No problem recognised

Question 20

________ are products of which a consumer is aware but that are not actively considered.

A)Evoked sets
B)Product sets
C)Inert sets
D)Inept sets

Question 21

A consumer could recognise a problem as either an opportunity or a need.How would promotions differ between those emphasising opportunities and those emphasising needs?

A)Promotions emphasising needs should attempt to increase the consumer's ideal state, while promotions emphasising opportunities should simply give locations where the products can be found for purchase.
B)Promotions emphasising opportunities should attempt to increase the ideal state, while promotions emphasising needs should give locations where the products can be purchased.
C)Promotions emphasising needs should increase the ideal state, while opportunity promotions should attempt to decrease the ideal state.
D)Promotions emphasising needs should decrease the ideal state, while promotions emphasising opportunities should provide buying locations.

Question 22

Use of simple decision rules to arrive at a purchase decision is known as extended problem solving.

Question 23

What type of information search is a female customer engaged in when she scans the newspaper ads every day for new information on fashions, even though she isn't thinking of buying anything anytime soon?

A)Pre-purchase search
B)Ongoing search
C)Internal search
D)Delayed search

Question 24

Les just bought a jug of ginger beer.As he drinks from the jug, he eventually becomes full.One of his friends comments, "If you don't stop drinking that stuff, you will get sick." Les replies, "Hey, I bought it and I am not going to waste one drop of it." Les's behaviour could best be described by which of the following mental biases?

A)Loss aversion
B)Hyperopia
C)Risk positioning
D)The sunk-cost fallacy

Question 25

Jeff is tired of the numerous breakdowns and peeling paint on his old car.When Jeff begins to actively think about his car in this way, which of the following consumer decision-making process steps is Jeff going through?

A)Information search
B)Evaluation of alternatives
C)Problem recognition
D)Product choice

Question 26

Attributes actually used to differentiate among choices are called ________ attributes.

A)evaluation
B)search
C)determinant
D)segmentation

Question 27

What is a major distinction between customers who purchase a product because they are brand loyal and those who purchase by inertia?

A)The cost of the product
B)The social risk of the product
C)Whether the purchase is made after a compensatory or noncompensatory decision process
D)Whether the customers hold a very positive or weak attitude towards the product

Question 28

Casinos make their interiors very plush and expensive looking, knowing that gamblers who would be reluctant to make a $10 bet in average surroundings would gladly make $100 wagers in luxurious surroundings.Which of the following best explains the gamblers' behaviour?

A)Mental accounting emphasises the extraneous characteristics of the choice environment even if the results are not rational.
B)Most people are unaware of the true risk of making certain decisions and believe that a larger wager has higher odds of winning.
C)The luxurious surroundings increase the probability of classical conditioning through mere exposure, which results in behaviour that is not rational.
D)The functional risk of gambling is decreased in luxurious surroundings, leading gamblers to wager more.

Question 29

A mental or problem-solving shortcut to make a purchase decision is called a(n) ________.

A)determinant
B)detail rule
C)heuristic
D)experience rule

Question 30

Of the following products, which one would typically carry high psychological risk for the average consumer?

A)A lawn mower
B)A kitchen blender
C)An expensive mink coat
D)A family vacation to a theme park

Question 31

Howard is determined to make his used car yard a successful business venture.One of the cornerstones of his sales strategy is to make every used car appear as if it just rolled off the assembly line.His cars are clean, clean, clean! Howard is relying on which of the following signal forms to send a 'signal of quality' to his customers?

A)Demonstration signal
B)Product signal
C)Promotional signal
D)Design signal

Question 32

Which of the following most accurately describes one of linguist George Kingsley Zipf's findings in the 1930s?

A)People prefer English titles on products ten-to-one over other titles.
B)The word 'the' occurs about twice as often as the word 'of' in the English language.
C)People prefer short words over long words in advertising.
D)The word 'sex' should be left out of marketing promotions.

Question 33

A small company, Craig Inventions, produced a pill that had the nutrient value of a healthy breakfast.The company put the product on the market as a substitute for breakfast for busy people.The product failed.Craig Inventions then marketed the pill as a diet product and it became very successful.What does this example best demonstrate?

A)The company did not position the product well.It was difficult to convince consumers that a pill was a breakfast on the superordinate level; however, it did appear to fit appropriately within the superordinate category of diet pills.
B)The company confused a subordinate level with a basic level of categorisation, which led to the company's failure to identify the product's most important competitors.
C)The company confused a superordinate level with a subordinate level of categorisation.
D)The determinant attributes between diet pills and breakfast were not sufficiently strong.

Question 34

The Smiths are considering what to have for dinner.Jack wants an unhealthy, greasy cheeseburger, whereas his wife, Carla, wants a healthy salad.In this example, what would be the categorisation level for a cheeseburger and a salad?

A)Superordinate level
B)Medium level
C)Basic level
D)Subordinate level

Question 35

Under ________, utility is defined in terms of gains and losses.

A)prospect theory
B)heuristics
C)hyperopia
D)Zipf's law

Question 36

Habitual decision making is the lowest order of buying decision making.

Question 37

Lionel finds that every time he goes to select athletic shoes, he always buys the same brand.In fact, he doesn't even remember trying on any of the other competitive brands even though some of these brands have attractive styles and prices.Lionel's purchase decision process has become one of less and less effort.Lionel's decision process is an example of ________.

A)cognitive dissonance
B)information discrimination
C)ineptness
D)inertia

Question 38

Kent, a university student, is a loyal Coca-Cola drinker.He averages about six Cokes a day.He even prefers Coke to water.However, today when he passed a vending machine in a lecture hall, he bought a new flavour of soft drink called Big Red.Which of the following most accurately explains his behaviour, given the facts about Kent's previous behaviour?

A)Kent is variety seeking.
B)Kent is brand switching.
C)Kent is involved in extended problem solving.
D)Kent is influenced by peer pressure.

Question 39

Susan is trying to select the right tour.She is going to Scotland but can't make up her mind what she wants to do when she gets there.There are so many variables including cost, the weather and Susan's desire to see the village her grandmother called home.Susan's problem emphasises the importance of the ________ in designing an effective hospitality-marketing program for the tourism industry.

A)experiential perspective
B)behavioural influence perspective
C)purchase momentum phenomenon
D)rational perspective

Question 40

People often make decisions on the basis of mental accounting.One facet of this accounting is making a decision based on the way a problem was posed.This is called ________.

A)framing
B)the sum-cost fallacy
C)loss aversion
D)positioning

Question 41

People often engage in brand switching, even when their current brand satisfies their needs.

Question 42

The concept of purchase momentum indicates that impulse buying decreases the likelihood that we will purchase more later.

Question 43

Olga decided to buy a product at her grocery store because of a 'surprise special'.This is an illustration of the behavioural influence perspective at work in the decision-making process.

Question 44

Andres' son spills juice onto his laptop, and it never works correctly afterward.Andres decides that he needs a new computer.He then goes onto the internet to learn about different brands, models and processors, as well as how these aspects relate to cost.Andres has just conducted what is called an internal search for information.

Question 45

Lindsay is a buyer of rugs made in Asia.She is extremely knowledgeable about her product line.One of her clients wants to purchase a rug made by a supplier with whom she has had little contact.Lindsay is more likely to engage in a broader search for information and gather more opinions from others about this new product than someone who was only moderately knowledgeable about the product line.

Question 46

Decisions are influenced by the way a problem is posed.This is called framing.

Question 47

The success of a positioning strategy hinges on the marketer's ability to convince the consumer to consider its product within a given category.

Question 48

Alternatives a consumer knows about are called his or her evoked set and the ones that he or she actually considers are called his or her consideration set.

Question 49

Three years ago, Tim and his family bought their first house.It was their dream home at the time, but now they want something bigger and nicer.They have experienced opportunity recognition.

Question 50

The post-purchase process is when learning occurs based on how well a choice works out.

Question 51

In order to maintain our emotions, we change our thoughts or behaviours.This is explained by the affect control theory.

Question 52

People tend to emphasise their losses more than their gains.

Question 53

Cedric runs out of petrol.He thinks to himself, "How stupid I am!t Cedric has just experienced a form of problem recognition that is being dominated by a downward movement in his actual state.

Question 54

A consumer who falls back on 'mental rules of thumb' when making a decision is using heuristics.

Question 55

Needs are created when the ideal state of a customer declines.

Question 56

The first step in the consumer decision-making process is to conduct an information search.

Question 57

Unless a purchase decision is risky and/or has high involvement, it is reasonable for a customer to shorten the decision process by limiting the information search and evaluation of alternatives stages rather than thoroughly undertaking each step.

Question 58

Neuromarketing refers to the use of software tools that try to understand and then apply a human decision maker's multi-attribute preferences for a product category.

Question 59

At the supermarket, Ellie wanted to buy some bread.In the bread aisle, she realized there were hundreds of brands, and each brand had multiple styles, some of which were indistinguishable from each other.Eventually, she just grabbed a load that had a label design which she preferred.Ellie experienced consumer hyperchoice.

Question 60

Problem recognition occurs after a very concentrated search for information.

Question 61

Under what conditions would a customer resort to extended problem solving when presented with a problem characterised as a need recognition? Give an example.

Question 62

Pepsi
A.M.was introduced onto a university campus.It was both an immense hit and a total failure.The product always sold out of the vending machines, but the consumption of coffee stayed the same and the sale of other Pepsi products declined.In terms of levels of categorisation, discuss what created the problem in the test market.
A.M.was positioned as a coffee substitute.In one test market, Pepsi

Question 63

Define problem recognition.Show how problems can arise.Give a brief example to illustrate the problem recognition process.

Question 64

Compare limited versus extended problem solving.

Question 65

Demonstrate how a marketer could use neuromarketing to advance the cause of his or her product.You may use any example you choose for your demonstration.

Question 66

A customer searching for an SUV is trying to decide what to buy.He or he decides to limit his or her options by using the following strategy.First, the car must be a Honda or a Toyota because the customer believes that they have the highest quality.Second, the vehicle cannot cost more than $30,000 or get less than 10 km to the litre.Third, the remaining vehicles' interiors, comfort and instrument placing will be judged by giving each a score and summing them.The SUVs that are left, with the highest summed scores, will be selected for an intensive test drive.What type of decision rules was this customer proposing to use? There will be more than one rule used.

Question 67

What is an evoked set? What is an inept set? Create examples to illustrate the terms.

Question 68

Describe the four forms of bias that might be present in the information search portion of the decision-making process.Be sure to specifically identify and examine these biases.

Question 69

List and define the five stages of the consumer decision-making process.

Question 70

What is a decision-making heuristic? Describe two typical heuristics used in consumer decision-making situations.

Question 71

Briefly describe the behavioural influence perspective and why it is important.

Question 72

Why would customers with moderate knowledge of a product seek more information than either someone with no information or someone with extensive knowledge?

Question 73

Hirosi ordered the expensive 'heart attack special' at his local pub.It came with a double meat patty hamburger and a full plate of chips.Halfway through the meal, Hirosi was not feeling well.Yet according to the sunk-cost fallacy, Hirosi will likely continue until he has finished the 'special.'

Question 74

Sylvester is a financially poor university student.He tries to make every purchase decision a wise one because of his economic situation.Based on the types of risk mentioned in the text, Sylvester's primary risk when making decisions would appear to be a perceived risk.