Deck 4: Consumer Buying Behaviour

Question 1

From a consumer's perspective, why is problem solving an important part of the consumer buying process?

Answer 1

Problem recognition occurs when a buyer becomes aware that there is a difference between a desired state and an actual condition. It is stage one of the consumer buying process. Sometimes a person has a problem or need but is unaware of it. How consumers use and process the information obtained in their search depends on features of the information itself, namely availability, quantity, quality, repetition and format. If all the necessary information for a decision is readily to hand, either in-store or online, consumers may have no need to conduct an internal information search and the decision process may be easier. However, adequate information may not always be available, and consumers may have to make do with whatever data are to hand.

Question 2

Which of the following statements about the consumer buying decision process is true ?

A) Consumers progress through the five stages of this process for all limited problem-solving decisions.
B) Although all of the steps in the process are used in all decision processes, the order tends to depend on the customer's level of involvement.
C) The key element of the process that exists in all consumer buying decision processes is the purchase of the product.
D) Once the purchase of a product has been made, the consumer buying decision process is complete.
E) Consumers making limited problem-solving decisions may not go through all five steps of the process.

Answer 2

E

Question 3

Why is it important for marketers to recognize the stages that a consumer goes through in making a purchase decision?

Answer 3

Answer not provided.

Question 4

A major determining factor in deciding which type of problem-solving process should be used depends on the individual's intensity of interest in a product and the importance of the product for that person. This is known as an individual's ______

A) motivational structure.
B) routinized response behaviour.
C) level of involvement.
D) cognitive dissonance.
E) evaluative criteria.

Question 5

Which of the following consumer problem-solving processes will probably be used in purchasing toothpaste?

A) Extended problem solving
B) Routinized response behaviour
C) Intensive problem solving
D) Limited problem solving
E) Perceptual scanning

Question 6

An unplanned buying behavior resulting from a powerful urge to buy something immediately is called _______

A) impulse buying.
B) habitual buying.
C) compulsive response behavior.
D) non-problem solving.
E) cognitive dissonance.

Question 7

Temporary and dynamic factors that result from a particular set of circumstance a consumer is facing when making purchase decisions characterize _______

A) enduring involvement.
B) extended problem solving.
C) selective exposure.
D) situational involvement.
E) selective retention.

Question 8

Many aspects of consumer buying decisions are affected by the individual's level of involvement. Level of involvement is:

A) the importance and intensity of interest in a product in a particular situation.
B) the buyer's perception, motives, and abilities.
C) the amount of external search that an individual puts into the decision-making process.
D) the particular circumstance or environment in which consumers find themselves.
E) a combination of an individual's demographic factors.

Question 9

Explore the differences between In-depth and focus groups as a means of exploring attitudes and perceptions.

Question 10

In contrast to extended problem solving, routinized response behaviour requires:

A) careful deliberation before making a choice.
B) less information about products.
C) more time.
D) considerable thought.
E) more money.

Question 11

The three most widely recognized types of consumer problem solving are:

A) limited problem solving, extended problem solving, and routinized response behaviour.
B) extended problem solving, enduring problem solving, and situational problem solving.
C) planned problem solving, impulse buying, and limited problem solving.
D) internal problem solving, external problem solving, situational behaviour.
E) responsive behaviour, planned behavior, and impulsive problem solving.

Question 12

Give example of how an individual's personal factors affect his or her buying behavior?

Question 13

In what ways can situational influences affect the consumer buying decision process?

Question 14

The five major stages of the consumer buying decision process, in order, are:

A) information search, establishment of product criteria, evaluation of alternatives, purchase, and postpurchase evaluation
B) problem recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase, and postpurchase evaluation.
C) problem recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, postpurchase evaluation and purchase.
D) information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase, trial adoption period, and postpurchase evaluation.
E) problem recognition, purchase, evaluation of alternatives, postpurchase evaluation, and rebuy.

Question 15

How does the level of involvement affect the type of consumer problem-solving process that a person uses?

Question 16

Show how marketers can influence the evaluation of alternatives.

Question 17

What can marketers do to reduce cognitive dissonance in a consumer who has just purchased an expensive product?

Question 18

Discuss how perceptual processes may influence the consumer buying decision process.

Question 19

Which of the following buying situations is most consistent with routinized response behaviour?

A) Ian buying his first pair of basketball shoes
B) Molly buying a new set of tires for her car
C) Aaron buying a new fishing rod and reel
D) Stephanie buying bottled water
E) Bryan buying a new software program

Question 20

Why are consumer attitudes an important issue for marketers to study? Can attitudes be changed easily by marketers? Explain.

Question 21

Within the information search step of the consumer buying decision process, what two primary aspects exist?

A) Consideration sets and evoked sets
B) Personal information and non-personal information
C) Selective retention and selective distortion
D) Internal search and external search
E) Company-produced information and internal information

Question 22

A group of brands that a consumer views as alternatives for possible purchase is called a(n) ______

A) evoked set.
B) acceptance group.
C) brand preference.
D) selective retention group.
E) evaluation criteria.

Question 23

An opinion leader is likely to be most effective under all of the following conditions except when the:

A) follower has high product involvement.
B) follower has low product knowledge.
C) follower has values and attitudes similar to the opinion leader.
D) product details are numerous and complicated.
E) follower has attitudes and values that are different from those of the opinion leader.

Question 24

Limited problem solving is used when purchasing frequently bought, low-cost items needing very little decision effort.

Question 25

Perception is a three-step process that involves:

A) motivation, personality, and attitudes.
B) classifying, recording, and eliminating information received through the senses.
C) collecting, eliminating, and organizing information inputs.
D) selecting, organizing, and interpreting information inputs.
E) anticipating, classifying, and discarding information inputs.

Question 26

The three major categories of influences on the consumer buying decision process are:

A) situational influences, demographic influences, and psychological influences.
B) social influences, situational influences, and marketer-dominated influences.
C) demographic influences, situational influences, and marketer-dominated influences.
D) situational influences, social influences, and psychological influences.
E) marketer-dominated influences, psychological influences, and person-specific influences.

Question 27

If a consumer receives information that is inconsistent with her or his beliefs, the consumer may alter this information. This perceptual process is known as selective _______

A) exposure.
B) distortion.
C) retention.
D) information.
E) organization.

Question 28

A consumer's buying decisions are affected in part by the people around him or her. Such people and the forces they exert on an individual buyer are called ______

A) motivational influences.
B) social influences.
C) roles.
D) personality influences.
E) cultural influences.

Question 29

In the consumer buying decision process, the information search stage:

A) yields a group of brands that a buyer views as possible alternatives.
B) involves a buyer becoming aware of the need for a product.
C) is not necessary when the buyer is involved in extensive decision making.
D) occurs immediately after evaluation of alternatives.
E) is lengthy for routine response buying behavior.

Question 30

The forces that other people exert on one's buying behavior are called social influences. These come from reference groups and opinion leaders, social classes, culture and subcultures, roles, and ______

A) ethnic heritage.
B) personality.
C) attitudes.
D) perception.
E) family.

Question 31

Doubts in a buyer's mind about whether the purchase decision made was the right one may occur during the ______

A) cognitive dissonance.
B) purchase.
C) evaluation of alternatives.
D) internal search.
E) postpurchase evaluation.

Question 32

Selective exposure refers to:

A) targeting only certain parts of the total market.
B) admitting only certain inputs into consciousness.
C) the circumstances or conditions that exist when a consumer is making a purchase decision.
D) the process of selecting, organizing, and interpreting information inputs to produce meaning.
E) remembering inputs that support personal feelings and beliefs and forgetting those that do not.

Question 33

Buyers' actions are affected by one or more internal energizing forces geared toward satisfying needs, which are called _______

A) motives.
B) lifestyles.
C) perceptions.
D) attitudes.
E) traits.

Question 34

The three major types of reference groups are:

A) membership, aspirational, and advocacy.
B) advocacy, avoidance, and approach.
C) aspirational, disassociative, and membership.
D) actual, implied, and desired.
E) family, peer group, and media.

Question 35

High involvement products tend to be those that are expensive and visible to others.

Question 36

During the evaluation of alternatives stage of the consumer buying decision process, framing most likely influences the decision process of ____ buyers.

A) younger
B) older
C) wealthier
D) veteran
E) inexperienced

Question 37

A consumer market consists of buyers intending to use the product with the main purpose of making a profit.

Question 38

Involvement that is temporary and results from a specific set of circumstances is called situational involvement.

Question 39

As Steve is shopping for groceries, he notices a product on the shelf and remembers that he is about to run out of it at home. In terms of the consumer buying decision process, Steve just experienced _________

A) problem recognition.
B) high involvement.
C) postpurchase evaluation.
D) information search.
E) evaluation of alternatives.

Question 40

Marketers should view customers as problem solvers.

Question 41

An information search, once completed, should identify for the buyer the one brand that he or she views as the best alternative.

Question 42

A reference group acts as a point of comparison and as a source of information for an individual.

Question 43

Situational influences can be classified into five different categories including physical surroundings, social surroundings, personality, purchase reason, and time perspective.

Question 44

A major part of perception involves information processing.

Question 45

There is strong research evidence that personality characteristics are major determinants of purchasing power.

Question 46

Situational influences generally have the greatest influence during the initial stage of the consumer buying decision process.

Question 47

Perception is a process in which an individual selects, organizes, and interprets information received through the sense organs.

Question 48

Some of the criteria used in the evaluation of alternatives stage of the consumer buying decision process are also used during the post-purchase evaluation stage.

Question 49

The time that a buyer has to make a purchase decision is a situational influence.

Question 50

An opinion leader provides information and is viewed as an authority on many spheres of interest for reference-group participants.

Question 51

Motives can affect the direction and intensity of behavior.

Question 52

When a buyer receives information that is inconsistent with his or her beliefs, the buyer may distort the information to bring it more in line with those beliefs.

Question 53

A buyer's actions at any point in time are affected by one major motive.

Question 54

The actual act of purchase is the second stage of the consumer buying decision process.

Question 55

During the evaluation of alternatives stage of the consumer buying decision process, the buyer selects the seller from whom he or she will purchase the product.

Question 56

Family influences are not directly related to purchasing decisions.

Question 57

The values, knowledge, beliefs, customs, objects, and concepts of a society affect how people make purchasing decisions.

Question 58

Motives include knowledge and positive or negative feelings about an object.

Question 59

Marketers may try to change consumers' attitudes toward a product if they feel that a significant number of consumers have strong negative attitudes toward it.

Question 60

Although marketers may attempt to influence what a consumer learns, their attempts are seldom fully successful.