Deck 15: Applying Social Psychology to Consumer Behavior

Question 1

Which explanation of conspicuous consumption fits with Terror Management Theory?

A) Acquisition of material things helps humans feel their existence extends beyond death.
B) Purchasing things lowers arousal and reduces terror.
C) Purchasing things increases arousal and helps one combat terror.
D) Acquisition of material things help a person establish their social identity.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Conspicuous consumption refers to cases in which people ____.

A) buy things just so they can "show them off"
B) buy things that they cannot afford
C) buy things that they never end up using
D) buy things for other people

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Research on gender and racial representations in television advertisements indicates that ____.

A) there are clear-cut differences in how men and women are portrayed, though differences in racial portrayals appear to be a thing of the past
B) there are clear-cut differences in how whites and blacks are portrayed, though gender differences appear to be a thing of the past
C) there are clear-cut differences both in how men and women are portrayed and in how whites and blacks are portrayed
D) both differences in gender portrayals and differences in racial portrayals appear to be a thing of the past

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Consumers who use QR codes tend to be ____.

A) older
B) wealthier
C) happier
D) heavier

Question 5

Which of the following is one of the important ways in which consumers today differ from consumers in previous decades?

A) Consumers today experience more time poverty.
B) Consumers today are less likely to engage in polychronic activity.
C) Consumers today are less likely to feel anonymous during the shopping experience.
D) Consumers today have fewer product choices.

Question 6

Tim is simultaneously talking on his cell phone, checking an instant message, listening to a CD, and browsing the web. Consumer psychologists would say that he is engaged in ____.

A) time shrinkage
B) lateral cycling
C) polychronic activity
D) multilateral activity

Question 7

In cases when people don't really need a given product, advertisers and marketers whose job is to sell that product might take many approaches. Which of the following is the least likely approach?

A) Try to create a need for the product.
B) Try to persuade people that the product will meet some existing need.
C) Try to get people to at least be aware of the brand, so they will be inclined to buy the product some time in the future.
D) Decide not to market the product.

Question 8

When people are shopping, crowding tends to ____.

A) intensify whatever experience we are having at the time
B) make the shopping experience more negative
C) increase purchasing
D) decrease purchasing

Question 9

As discussed in the text, the case study of "New Coke" was an example of ____.

A) brand-loyal consumers being turned off by changes to a brand
B) brand-loyal consumers being especially loyal to a brand when it is not doing well
C) a brand creating loyalty among a new set of consumers
D) a brand creating awareness among a new set of consumers

Question 10

Many consumers today are feeling time compression, leading them to select products that will alleviate time pressure. In consumer psychology terminology, this phenomenon is called ____.

A) time poverty
B) the commons dilemma
C) polychronic poverty
D) time shrinkage

Question 11

How do grocery store advertising, grocery store format (layout), and grocery store location influence consumers' decisions about where to shop?

A) All three affect behavior.
B) Interestingly, location has very little impact.
C) Interestingly, format (layout) has the strongest impact of the three.
D) Advertising is the only one of these variables to have an impact.

Question 12

Maslow's hierarchy of needs can help marketing professionals ____.

A) maximize the role of the mere ownership effect
B) target their products to particular market segments
C) maintain brand loyalty despite changing the underlying product
D) use ambient smells to sell products

Question 13

When consumers experience loud music, in-store crowding, or other shopping stressors, they tend to ____.

A) enact their dominant response
B) enact their non-dominant response
C) purchase more
D) purchase less

Question 14

Research indicates that credit card debt is most related to ____.

A) impulsive buying
B) general self-destructiveness
C) a tendency to feel generally out of control
D) time orientation

Question 15

Suppose that Pat is a married person who goes online once a week to look at pornographic websites and chat with others about the sites they view. What does research suggest about how most people view this?

A) Most people would say that this constitutes a betrayal.
B) Most people would say that this does not constitute a betrayal.
C) Most people would say that this constitutes a betrayal if Pat is a woman, but not if Pat is a man.
D) People would disagree about whether or not this constitutes a betrayal-regardless of whether or not Pat is a woman or a man.

Question 16

Tony is too cheap to buy weights to do weight-lifting. He therefore decides to use bottled water instead. Consumer psychologists would say that this is an example of ____.

A) shrinkage
B) lateral cycling
C) product misuse
D) unbranded creativity

Question 17

Suppose that Ina is given the opportunity to try out three different kinds of hot dogs, and suppose that Oliver is given the opportunity to try out twelve different kinds of hot dogs. Research suggests that ____.

A) Ina is more likely to decide to purchase one of the hot dogs
B) Oliver is slightly more likely to decide to purchase one of the hot dogs
C) Oliver is more than twice as likely to decide to purchase one of the hot dogs
D) Ina and Oliver are about equally likely to decide to purchase one of the hot dogs

Question 18

Ali is having a garage sale. He is trying to sell an old alarm clock for $20, an old pair of sneakers for $40, and an old TV set for $100. These prices are way too high. Since Ali owns these products, they seem to him to be more valuable than they really are. This phenomenon is known by social psychologists as ____.

A) lateral shrinkage
B) product affinity
C) personal use shrinkage
D) the mere ownership effect

Question 19

As discussed in the text, the consumer consumption process begins ____.

A) long before we choose a product
B) when we recognize that we need a product
C) when we decide to shop for a product
D) when we choose among different products

Question 20

People tend to buy more expensive wine when a restaurant offers valet parking as opposed to when it doesn't. This is an example of consumers being influenced via ____.

A) unconscious thought processes
B) central route processing
C) what Maslow would call physiological needs
D) polychronic activity

Question 21

The term ____ refers to selling or giving a previously purchased product to someone else to use for its intended purpose.

A) lateral cycling
B) e-commerce
C) social currency
D) guerilla consumption

Question 22

In consumer psychology, the term shrinkage refers to ____.

A) the tendency for consumers to devalue products once they own them
B) the tendency for consumers to overanalyze, and over-justify, their purchases
C) the tendency for consumers to devalue products that they consider but don't end up buying
D) a company's loss of money or inventory as a result of shoplifting or employee theft