Chapter 11 The Influence of Culture On Consumer Behavior

Consumer Behavior, 10e (Schiffman/Kanuk)
Chapter 11 The Influence of Culture on Consumer Behavior
1) Given the broad and pervasive nature of ________, its study generally requires a detailed
examination of the character of the total society.
A) culture
B) consumer behavior
C) subculture
D) social class
E) individualism
Answer: A
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 348
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Skill: Concept
Objective: 11.1: Understand what culture is and how it impacts consumer behaviors
2) ________ is a society's personality.

A) Social class
B) Culture
C) Conformity
D) Consumer behavior
E) Subculture
Answer: B
Skill: Concept
3) In terms of consumer behavior, ________ is defined as the sum total of learned beliefs,
values, and customs that serve to direct the consumer behavior of members of a particular
society.
A) conformity
B) individualism
C) culture
D) society
E) subculture
Answer: C
Skill: Concept
1
ScholarStock
4) ________ consist of the very large number of mental or verbal statements that reflect a
person's particular knowledge and assessment of something.
A) Beliefs
B) Rituals
C) Cultures
D) Values
E) Customs
Answer: A
Skill: Concept
5) Kim is actively saving money so that she can afford a downpayment on the purchase of a
house because she thinks that home ownership is the key to creating wealth. This personal
conviction in the value of home ownership is one of Kim's ________.
A) beliefs
B) rituals
C) cultures
D) norms
E) customs
Answer: A
Skill: Application
6) Values differ from beliefs because they ________.

A) serve as a guide for culturally appropriate behavior
B) are relatively large in number
C) are passing and easy to change
D) are tied to specific objects or situations
E) are narrowly accepted by a small number of members of a society
Answer: A
Skill: Concept
2
ScholarStock
7) ________ are overt modes of behavior that constitute culturally approved or acceptable ways
of behaving in specific situations.
A) Beliefs
B) Rituals
C) Cultures
D) Values
E) Customs
Answer: E
Skill: Concept
8) Greg and his brothers always put ketchup on their scrambled eggs at breakfast. This is an
example of a ________.
A) belief
B) ritual
C) culture
D) value
E) custom
Answer: E
Skill: Application
9) ________ consist of everyday or routine behavior.

A) Beliefs
B) Rituals
C) Cultures
D) Values
E) Customs
Answer: E
Skill: Concept
10) When do we become most aware of how culture has molded our own behavior?
A) when we are reminded of it on a daily basis
B) when we are adding ketchup to our hotdog
C) as we are growing up and being guided by our parents
D) when we are exposed to people with different values and customs
E) in school as we learn about what to do, and how and why to do it
Answer: D
Skill: Concept
Objective: 11.2: Understand how culture acts as an "invisible hand" that guides consumption-
related attitudes, values, and behavior
3
ScholarStock
11) Whereas ________ are guides for behavior, ________ are usual and acceptable ways of
behaving.
A) customs; beliefs
B) beliefs; values
C) customs; values
D) beliefs and values; customs
E) customs; beliefs and values
Answer: D
Skill: Concept
12) Culture can exist and sometimes reveal itself at different perceived or subjective levels. The
________ level reflects the underlying dimensions of culture that impact multiple cultures or
different societies.
A) supernational
B) supranational
C) subnational
D) national
E) group
Answer: B
Skill: Concept
13) Culture can exist and sometimes reveal itself at different perceived or subjective levels. The
________ level refers to shared core values, customs, personalities, and predispositional factors
that tend to capture the essence of the character of the citizens of a particular country.
A) supernational
B) supranational
C) subnational
D) national
E) group
Answer: D
Skill: Concept
4
ScholarStock
14) Insights on what is suitable to wear for a specific occasion, and other dress codes, are
something we learn through ________.
A) travel
B) culture
C) values
D) technical learning
E) consumer behavior
Answer: B
Skill: Application
Objective: 11.3: Understand how culture sets standards for what satisfies consumers' needs
15) The preference for lower classes for goods with an external point of identification constitutes
a cultural difference on the ________ level.
A) supranational
B) national
C) individual
D) reference
E) group
Answer: E
AACSB: Analytic Skills
Skill: Application
16) Cultural beliefs, values and customs continue to be followed as long as ________.
A) we learn new ones from other cultures
B) that culture exists
C) they are similar to other cultures, beliefs and values
D) they yield satisfaction and other benefits
E) a society's members speak a common language
Answer: D
Skill: Concept
5
ScholarStock
17) Jake learned what brands of food to buy at the grocery store by going grocery shopping with
his mother as a child. This constitutes ________.
A) formal learning
B) media learning
C) informal learning
D) televised learning
E) technical learning
Answer: C
Skill: Application
Objective: 11.4: Understand how culture is learned and expressed in language, symbols, and
rituals
18) Carla learned how to go about shopping for a new car when her father specifically sat her
down and told her what to look for at dealerships and how to negotiate the best price. This
constitutes ________.
A) formal learning
B) media learning
Answer: A
Skill: Application
rituals
19) Product advertisements typically influence their audiences through ________.

A) formal learning
B) media learning
Answer: C
AACSB: Communication
Skill: Concept
rituals
6
ScholarStock
20) The learning of one's own culture is known as ________.
A) acculturation
B) exculturation
C) proculturation
D) inculcation
E) enculturation
Answer: E
Skill: Concept
rituals
21) The learning of a new or foreign culture is known as ________.

A) acculturation
B) exculturation
C) proculturation
D) inculcation
E) enculturation
Answer: A
Skill: Concept
rituals
22) When marketers plan to sell their products in foreign or multinational markets, they must go
through a process of ________ in order to ensure that their products and marketing messages are
suitable for the foreign culture.
A) acculturation
B) exculturation
C) proculturation
D) inculcation
E) enculturation
Answer: A
AACSB: Multicultural and Diversity
Skill: Application
rituals
7
ScholarStock
23) In order to acquire a common culture, members of a society must have a common ________.
A) religion
B) language
C) history
D) goal
E) ethnicity
Answer: B
Skill: Concept
rituals
24) The Nike Swoosh and the Coca-Cola label design are examples of ________.
A) nonverbal symbols
B) acculturation
C) verbal symbols
D) technical learning
E) enculturation
Answer: A
Skill: Application
rituals
25) A ________ is anything that stands for something else.

A) verbal communication
B) nonverbal communication
C) symbol
D) ritualistic behavior
E) culture
Answer: C
Skill: Concept
rituals
8
ScholarStock
26) Price and channels of distribution are significant ________ of the marketer and the
marketer's product.
A) verbal communications
B) rituals
C) cultures
D) symbols
E) enculturations
Answer: D
Skill: Concept
rituals
27) A ________ is a type of symbolic activity consisting of a series of steps occurring in a fixed
sequence and repeated over time.
A) communication
B) ritual
C) symbol
D) culture
E) target
Answer: B
Skill: Concept
rituals
28) From a marketing standpoint, it is not the ritual that is important, but the ________.
A) result of the ritualistic behavior on society
B) outcome of the ritual
C) consistency of the ritual over time
D) artifacts that are associated with the performance of the ritual
E) the pervasiveness of the ritual in the society
Answer: D
Skill: Concept
rituals
9
ScholarStock
29) Cards, presents, cakes, and candles are ________ for birthday rituals.
A) artifacts
B) values
C) beliefs
D) symbols
E) cultures
Answer: A
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 356, Table 11.2
Skill: Application
rituals
30) Towels, exercise clothes, water, and portable music players are ________ for going to the
gym.
A) symbols
B) customs
C) ritual artifacts
D) beliefs
E) values
Answer: C
Skill: Application
rituals
31) The ________ serves as the primary agent for enculturation.

A) teacher
B) media
C) religions institution
D) family
E) educational institution
Answer: D
Skill: Concept
rituals
10
ScholarStock
32) Within a cultural context, advertising has the expanded mission of ________.
A) generating new consumer needs
B) acculturating the young
C) enhancing consumer awareness of the needs of others
D) replacing the family as the primary vehicle for consumer socialization
E) aiding in the dissemination of new tastes, habits, and customs
Answer: E
Skill: Concept
rituals
33) Studying societies via analysis of the content of verbal, written, and pictorial
communications is known as ________.
A) value measurement
B) consumer fieldwork
C) participant observation
D) field observation
E) content analysis
Answer: E
Skill: Concept
Objective: 11.5: Understand how consumers are always adapting to culture-related experiences
34) A study of more than 250 ads appearing in eight issues of Seventeen magazine, four Japanese
issues, and four American issues, found that teenage girls are portrayed differently. The
researcher concluded that these "differences correspond to each country's central concepts of self
and society." This study is an example of ________.
B) consumer fieldwork
D) field observation
E) content analysis
Answer: E
Skill: Concept
11
ScholarStock
35) When anthropologists immerse themselves in the environment under study, this technique is
called ________.
B) depth interviews
D) group observation
E) content analysis
Answer: C
Skill: Concept
Objective: 11.6: Understand how the impact of culture on consumer behavior is measured
36) Hype Mobile Phones wants to learn how consumers decide which mobile phones to
purchase, so it places researchers in mobile phone stores and has them pose as sales people. In
this example, researchers are ________.
A) third-party observers
B) actors
C) participant-observers
D) active researchers
E) imitators
Answer: C
Skill: Application
37) The ________ is a widely used self-administered value inventory that is divided into
terminal and instrumental value items.
A) Rokeach Value Survey
B) List of Values
C) VALS
D) Chapin's Value Structure Scale
E) Attitude Toward Helping Others Scale
Answer: A
Skill: Concept
12
ScholarStock
38) ________ are personal goals, while ________ are the basic approaches that an individual
might take to achieve those goals.
A) Instrumental values; terminal values
B) Social values; core values
C) Core values; cultural values
D) Terminal values, instrumental values
E) Cultural values; terminal values
Answer: D
Skill: Concept
39) Within cultural values, self-esteem and social recognition are examples of ________.
A) instrumental values
B) core values
C) cultural values
D) social values
E) terminal values
Answer: E
Skill: Application
40) The Protestant work ethic, which considers hard work to be wholesome, spiritually
rewarding, and an appropriate end in itself, is one of the roots of the American value of
________.
A) efficiency
B) achievement
C) practicality
D) activity
E) success
Answer: B
Skill: Concept
Objective: 11.7: Understand how core cultural values impact American consumers
13
ScholarStock
41) In an American cultural context, whereas ________ is its own direct award, ________
implies an extrinsic reward.
A) success; achievement
B) activity; success
C) achievement; success
D) achievement; efficiency
E) success; efficiency
Answer: C
Skill: Concept
42) Which of the following American core values serves as a social and moral justification for
the acquisition of goods and services in a context such as "you worked for it," or "you deserve
it?"
A) materialism
B) progress
C) achievement and success
D) external conformity
E) individualism
Answer: C
Skill: Application
43) Americans place an extraordinary amount of importance on being involved and keeping
busy. This is a widely accepted core value that relates to ________.
A) achievement and success
B) freedom
C) efficiency and practicality
D) activity
E) external conformity
Answer: D
Skill: Concept
14
ScholarStock
44) Verve shampoo has come out with a new hair-care product that is a shampoo and conditioner
in one, so consumers can wash and condition their hair in one easy step. This product appeals to
Americans' value of ________.
A) efficiency
B) achievement
C) progress
D) activity
E) success
Answer: A
Skill: Application
45) Americans' love affair with products that save time and effort, such as the microwave, are
examples of the important core value of ________ in this culture.
A) progress
B) achievement and success
C) activity
D) efficiency and practicality
Answer: D
Skill: Application
46) In a consumption-oriented society, such as that of the U.S., the core value of ________ often
means the acceptance of change, new products, or services designed to fulfill unsatisfied needs.
B) activity
C) material comfort
D) progress
E) freedom
Answer: D
Skill: Concept
15
ScholarStock
47) The American core value of ________ is central to the belief that people can always improve
themselves.
A) efficiency
B) progress
C) practicality
D) activity
E) success
Answer: B
Skill: Concept
48) In the name of the core value of ________, Americans appear to be more receptive to
product claims that stress "new," "improved," "longer lasting," "quicker," and increased strength.
B) activity
C) material comfort
D) progress
E) individualism
Answer: D
Skill: Application
49) For most Americans, ________ signifies the attainment of "the good life," which includes a
new car, a dishwasher, a hot tub and a variety of convenience and pleasure providing goods and
services.
A) material comfort
C) freedom
D) progress
Answer: A
Skill: Application
16
ScholarStock
50) ________ has always been associated with bigger quantities of things, or, more of
something. Recently, however, there has been a shift away from quantity towards quality.
A) Material comfort
B) Achievement and success
C) Freedom
D) Progress
E) External conformity
Answer: A
Skill: Concept
51) Self-reliance, self-interest, self-fulfillment, self-esteem and self-confidence are all

exceedingly popular expressions of ________, one of the American core values.
A) materialism
C) freedom
D) individualism
E) humanitarianism
Answer: D
Skill: Application
52) In terms of consumer behavior, an appeal to ________ frequently takes the form of
reinforcing the consumer's sense of identity with products or services that both reflect and
emphasize that identity.
A) freedom
B) efficiency
C) progress
D) individualism
E) material comfort
Answer: D
Skill: Application
17
ScholarStock
53) Advertisements for high-style clothing and cosmetics usually promise that their products will
enhance the consumer's exclusive or distinctive character and set him or her apart from others.
This is an appeal to which American core value?
A) materialism
C) freedom
D) individualism
E) humanitarianism
Answer: D
Skill: Application
54) The concept of freedom in a consumer behavior sense relates to which of the following?
A) freedom of speech
B) freedom of press
C) freedom of worship
D) freedom of choice
E) freedom of movement
Answer: D
Skill: Concept
55) When Wendy's advertising emphasizes that a combo meal can come with any of a number of
sides, not just fries, the company is appealing to American consumers' preference for ________.
A) freedom
B) efficiency
C) progress
D) individualism
E) material comfort
Answer: A
Skill: Application
18
ScholarStock
56) In the realm of consumer behavior ________ takes the form of standardized goods and
services.
A) humanitarianism
B) efficiency
C) conformity
D) youthfulness
E) individualism
Answer: C
Skill: Application
57) One can express ________ by selecting products that friends do not have, or express
________ by purchasing similar or identical products.
A) individualism; conformity
B) collectivism; conformity
C) conformity; individualism
D) freedom of choice; materialism
E) materialism; humanitarianism
Answer: A
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 364-365
Skill: Application
58) In terms of consumer behavior, the American value of ________ stimulates the acceptance
of food products, activities, and equipment perceived to maintain or increase physical fitness.
A) freedom
B) health
C) progress
D) individualism
E) material comfort
Answer: B
Skill: Concept
59) The American value of ________ involves admiration of things that save time and effort.
A) freedom
B) efficiency
C) progress
D) individualism
E) material comfort
Answer: B
Skill: Concept
Objective: 11.8: Understand how the American culture became a "shopping culture"
19
ScholarStock
60) The American value of ________ stimulates patronage of firms that compete with market
leaders.
A) freedom
B) efficiency
C) progress
D) individualism
E) humanitarianism
Answer: E
Skill: Concept
SOUP MINI CASE: White Mountain Soups sells ready-to-eat soups packaged and sold in
microwave-ready, single-serving plastic containers that can be used as bowls and then recycled.
White Mountain makes a variety of soups, including New England clam chowder, vegetarian
minestrone, and beef and tomato soups. Its advertising emphasizes the use of wholesome
ingredients produced by independent farmers, and suggests that White Mountain soup can be a
quick and easy lunch, or a wholesome mid-afternoon snack alternative to a bag of potato chips
or a candy bar.
61) From a consumer's point of view, in the SOUP MINI CASE, White Mountain's soup
packaging is an appeal to which of the following American core values?
A) achievement
B) efficiency
C) material comfort
D) individualism
E) freedom
Answer: B
Skill: Application
62) In the SOUP MINI CASE, White Mountain offers a variety of types of soup in order to
appeal to which of the following American core values?
A) practicality
B) material comfort
C) individualism
D) freedom
Answer: D
Skill: Application
20
ScholarStock
63) In the SOUP MINI CASE, White Mountain draws attention to its use of all-natural,
wholesome ingredients in order to appeal to which of the following American core values?
A) individualism
B) freedom
C) external conformity
D) humanitarianism
E) fitness and health
Answer: E
Skill: Application
64) In the SOUP MINI CASE, White Mountain draws attention to its patronage of independent
local farmers in order to appeal to which of the following American core values?
A) humanitarianism
B) fitness and health
C) individualism
D) freedom
E) activity
Answer: A
Skill: Application
65) In the SOUP MINI CASE, White Mountain suggests that consumers eat a cup of White
Mountain soup instead of a candy bar or bag of chips as an afternoon snack. If we consider
taking a break for a mid-afternoon snacking to be a ritual for many consumers, the soup (or
candy bar or bag of chips) would be considered the ________.
A) ritual artifact
B) ritualistic behavior
C) consumer value
D) symbol
E) acculturated activity
Answer: A
Skill: Application
rituals
21
ScholarStock
DOG TREAT MINI CASE: Observing consumers at veterinary clinics, pet superstores, and
grocery stores, Happy Dog determined that consumers were more likely to buy expensive dog
treats at their veterinarians' offices than at grocery stores or pet superstores. Happy Dog
researchers also observed that consumers spent less time looking at the pet treats before
purchasing them when the treats were purchased at the veterinarian's office because they
assumed that anything on offer at a veterinarian's office must be good for their pets. As a result
of this research, Happy Dog Beef Treats are sold only at the offices of veterinarians and dog
groomers and are more expensive than the average dog treat that pet owners might purchase at
the supermarket. Happy Dog recently modified its treat recipe to come out with NEW, JUICIER
Beef Treats for pet owners to use to reward their dogs. Advertisements promoting the new recipe
show a young boy teaching his dog a series of tricks by rewarding her consistently with Happy
Dog Beef Treats. At the end of the commercial, the boy cues his dog for the tricks in front of his
parents, she performs, and his parents clap proudly.
66) In the DOG TREAT MINI CASE, Happy Dog uses which of the following types of research
to identify the ideal channel of distribution for its dog treats?
A) value measurement instruments
B) survey research
C) content analysis
D) consumer fieldwork
E) focus groups
Answer: D
Skill: Application
67) In the DOG TREAT MINI CASE, Happy Dog uses its price and channels of distribution as
________ of the quality of its dog treats.
A) symbols
B) rituals
C) customs
D) values
E) beliefs
Answer: A
Skill: Application
rituals
22
ScholarStock
68) In the DOG TREAT MINI CASE, Happy Dog's development of NEW, JUICIER Beef Treats
appeal to which of the following core American values?
A) activity
B) progress
C) humanitarianism
D) materialism
E) freedom
Answer: B
Skill: Application
69) In the DOG TREAT MINI CASE, Happy Dog's advertisement shows its Beef Treats as a
means of fulfilling which of the following core American values?
A) humanitarianism
B) individualism
C) achievement
D) freedom
E) efficiency
Answer: C
Skill: Application
70) In the DOG TREAT MINI CASE, Happy Dog's advertisement shows a boy training a dog by
using a reward as the mode of communication, rather than punishment. Use of positive
reinforcement in dog training is an example of a(n) ________.
A) value
B) belief
C) custom
D) artifact
E) symbol
Answer: C
Skill: Application
23
ScholarStock
WEDDING MINI CASE: Susan is planning her wedding. Susan knows what music is
appropriate for her ceremony because she has been to a number of weddings before. She has
questions, though, about the appropriate wording of her invitations, so she reviews the helpful
information provided by professional wedding planners on specialist wedding sites to familiarize
herself with customary wording and style rules. In choosing a wedding dress, Susan has decided
to have a dress designer make a custom wedding dress for her.
71) In the WEDDING MINI CASE, Susan learned what music is appropriate for a wedding
ceremony through ________.
A) formal learning
B) technical learning
C) enculturation
D) informal learning
E) acculturation
Answer: D
Skill: Application
rituals
72) In the WEDDING MINI CASE, Susan learns about appropriate invitation wording and style
through ________.
A) formal learning
B) technical learning
C) enculturation
D) informal learning
E) acculturation
Answer: B
Skill: Application
rituals
73) In the WEDDING MINI CASE, the wedding is considered a ________.

A) custom
B) value
C) ritual
D) belief
E) culture
Answer: C
Skill: Application
rituals
24
ScholarStock
74) In the WEDDING MINI CASE, a bridal bouquet would be considered a ritual ________.
A) artifact
B) symbol
C) culture
D) custom
E) value
Answer: A
Skill: Application
rituals
75) In the WEDDING MINI CASE, Susan has chosen to have her wedding dress custom made,
in line with the core American value of ________.
A) material comfort
B) activity
C) conformity
D) humanitarianism
E) individualism
Answer: E
Skill: Application
76) A true appreciation of the influence that culture has on our daily life requires some
knowledge of at least one other society with different cultural characteristics.
Answer: TRUE
Skill: Concept
77) Culture is associated with what a society's members consider to be a necessity and what they
view as a luxury.
Answer: TRUE
Skill: Concept
78) Cultural beliefs, values, and customs continue to be followed as long as they yield
satisfaction.
Answer: TRUE
Skill: Concept
25
ScholarStock
79) Culture gradually but continually evolves to meet the needs of society.
Answer: TRUE
Skill: Concept
80) Like innate biological characteristics, culture is physiological in nature.

Answer: FALSE
Skill: Concept
rituals
81) The repetition of advertising messages can reinforce, but not create, cultural beliefs and
values.
Answer: FALSE
Skill: Concept
rituals
82) Enculturation is the learning of a new or foreign culture.

Answer: FALSE
Skill: Concept
rituals
83) The basis of any culture is a shared language.

Answer: TRUE
Skill: Concept
rituals
84) A behavior is only considered a ritual if it is public and can be proven.

Answer: FALSE
Skill: Concept
rituals
26
ScholarStock
85) Ritualized behavior is typically rather formal, often scripted behavior, and is likely to occur
repeatedly over time.
Answer: TRUE
Skill: Concept
rituals
86) Every day when John leaves for work, he walks around the car to check the tires, pats the
hood, then gets in the car and starts the ignition. This constitutes ritualistic behavior.
Answer: TRUE
Skill: Application
rituals
87) Houses of worship are considered important institutions in the transmission of culture.
Answer: TRUE
Skill: Concept
rituals
88) The young receive much of their consumer training through the educational and religious
systems, which is reinforced by the family through its role in teaching economic and ethical
concepts.
Answer: FALSE
Skill: Concept
rituals
89) Since today even basic consumer goods deliver on their promises of performance, design has
become a way for a company to differentiate its products.
Answer: TRUE
Skill: Application
90) The United States is a diverse country, consisting of several subcultures, all of which
interpret and respond to society's basic beliefs and values in the same way.
Answer: FALSE
AACSB: Multicultural and Diversity
Skill: Concept
27
ScholarStock
91) Terminal values include being obedient or courageous.
Answer: FALSE
Skill: Concept
92) Individuals who consider a "sense of accomplishment" an important personal value tend to
be achievers who strive hard for success.
Answer: TRUE
Skill: Concept
93) Luxury possessions, financial compensation, or status improvement are considered to be

direct rewards associated with achievement.
Answer: FALSE
Skill: Concept
94) Keeping busy and remaining active and involved is one of the American core values.
Answer: TRUE
Skill: Concept
95) Foreign visitors frequently comment that they cannot understand why Americans are always
"on the run" and seemingly unable to relax. This reflects Americans' value of activity and
involvement.
Answer: TRUE
Skill: Application
96) Americans place a great importance on time. They value time and believe in the importance
of not wasting time. This is connected to the American core value of activity.
Answer: FALSE
Skill: Concept
28
ScholarStock
97) Consumers' idea of material comfort is largely a relative view. Consumers tend to define
their own satisfaction with the amount of material goods they have in terms of a comparison of
what they have to what others have.
Answer: TRUE
Skill: Concept
98) Material comfort has become more recently associated with quality rather than quantity.
Answer: TRUE
Skill: Concept
99) Although Americans deeply embrace freedom of choice and individualism, they nevertheless
accept the reality of conformity.
Answer: TRUE
Skill: Concept
100) The American value of individualism stimulates acceptance of customized or unique

products that enable a person to "express his or her own personality."
Answer: TRUE
Skill: Application
101) Differentiate between values and beliefs in the context of defining culture.
Answer: The belief and value components of culture refer to the accumulated feelings and
priorities that individuals have about "things" and possessions. More precisely, beliefs consist of
the very large number of mental or verbal statements that reflect a person's particular knowledge
and assessment of something. Values are also beliefs. Values differ from beliefs, however,
because they meet the following criteria: (1) They are relatively few in number; (2) they serve as
a guide for culturally appropriate behavior; (3) they are enduring or difficult to change; (4) they
are not tied to specific objects or situations; and (5) they are widely accepted by the members of
a society.
Skill: Concept
29
ScholarStock
102) Identify and describe the three levels of subjective culture that are especially relevant to the
exploration of consumer behavior and formation of marketing strategy.
Answer:
a. Supranational level: subjective cultural differences that cross national boundaries or can be
seen to be present in more than one country, i.e. racial or religious similarities, or shared
language.
b. National level: shared cultural characters that uniquely or specifically define the citizens of
particular countries.
c. Group level: cultural divisions or groupings that contain various collections of individuals,
i.e. subcultures or reference group differences.
Skill: Concept
103) Identify and give an example of the three forms of cultural learning identified by
anthropologists.
Answer:
a. Formal learning: adults and older siblings teach a young family member how to behave, i.e.
a parent teaches a child how to brush his teeth.
b. Informal learning: a child learns by imitating the behavior of selected others, such as family,
friends, or TV heroes, i.e. a younger sister learns how to apply makeup by watching her older
sister do so.
c. Technical learning: teachers instruct children in an educational environment about what
should be done, how it should be done, and why it should be done, i.e. a chemistry teacher
instructs her class on safety in the lab environment
Skill: Application
rituals
104) How does marketing influence cultural learning?

Answer: Although a firm's advertising and marketing communications can influence all types of
cultural learning, it is likely that many product marketing messages enhance informal cultural
learning by providing the audience with a model of behavior to imitate. This is especially true
for visible or conspicuous products that are evaluated in public settings, where peer influence is
likely to play an important role. The repetition of marketing messages creates and reinforces
cultural beliefs and values. Although specific product advertising may reinforce the benefits that
consumers want from a given product (as determined by consumer behavior research); such
advertising also "teaches" future generations of consumers to expect the same benefits from the
product category.
Skill: Application
rituals
30
ScholarStock
105) What is the difference between enculturation and acculturation? Which is most important to
marketers and why?
Answer: Enculturation is the learning of one's own culture. Acculturation is the learning of new
or foreign cultures. They are both equally important to marketers. For the companies that wish to
market products domestically a company must learn about its own culture to get an idea of what
is acceptable. For the companies that are thinking of taking their products abroad, it is essential
that they learn the culture of the countries they are thinking of going into.
Skill: Application
rituals
106) Compare consumer fieldwork, specifically field observation, to content analysis and value
measurement instruments as research approaches examining culture.
Answer: Content analysis focuses on the content of verbal, written, and pictorial
communications to draw conclusions about a society, or a specific aspect of a society, or to
compare two or more societies. This method focuses on the cultural implications of various
forms advertising symbols and can be used as a relatively objective means of determining what
social and cultural changes have occurred in a specific society or as a way of contrasting aspects
of two different societies.
Value measurement instruments are data collection instruments that ask people how they feel
about such basic personal and social concepts as freedom, comfort, and national security. This
method focuses on the respondents' assessment of their own values.
In consumer fieldwork, anthropologists frequently immerse themselves in the environment under

study. Study takes place within the natural environment and is performed oftentimes without the
subject's awareness. Field observation focuses specifically on the observation of behavior.
Skill: Concept
107) In identifying the core values of a society, three criteria must be met. Identify and explain
these three criteria.
Answer:
a. The value must be pervasive. A significant proportion of the members of the society must
accept the value and use it as a guide for their attitudes and actions.
b. The value must be enduring. The specific value must have influenced the actions of members
of the society over an extended period of time.
c. The value must be consumer related. The specific value must provide insights that help us to
understand the consumption actions of members of the society.
Skill: Concept
31
ScholarStock
108) How do the American values of achievement and success influence consumption? Give an
example.
Answer: Both achievement and success influence consumption. They often serve as social and
moral justification for the acquisition of goods and services. For example, a child might be
allowed to purchase a toy as a reward for bringing home a good report card. "You owe it to
yourself," "You worked for it," and "You deserve it" are popular achievement themes used by
advertisers to coax consumers into purchasing their products. For example, a vacation resort
advertisement might suggest that consumers work hard at their jobs, so they deserve to be able to
truly relax when they're on vacation. Achievement-oriented people often enjoy conspicuous
consumption because it allows them to display symbols of their personal achievement.
Skill: Application
109) Define and discuss the American core value of material comfort.
Answer: Most Americans believe that material comfort signifies the good life. This includes a
variety of convenience-oriented products and pleasure providing goods and services. It appears
that consumers' idea of material comfort is largely relative, that is, consumers tend to define their
own satisfaction with the amount of material goods they have in terms of a comparison of what
others have.
Material comfort has historically been associated with bigger quantities, or more of something.
More recently, there has been a noticeable shift away from more, or bigger, to a better viewpoint
– one that stresses quality and better design.
Skill: Concept
110) How do Americans compromise between their core values of individualism and
conformity?
Answer: Americans value "being themselves": Self-reliance, self-interest, self-confidence, self-
esteem, and self-fulfillment are all exceedingly popular expressions of individualism. In terms of
consumer behavior, an appeal to individualism frequently takes the form of reinforcing the
consumer's sense of identity with products or services that both reflect and emphasize that
identity.
Although Americans deeply embrace freedom of choice and individualism, they nevertheless
accept the reality of conformity. In the realm of consumer behavior, conformity takes the form of
standardized goods and services.
One way that Americans are able to compromise between individualism and conformity, IKEA
offers consumers the ability to mix and match their home furnishing elements in order to create a
unique home décor using standardized products.
Skill: Application
32
ScholarStock

Chapter 11 The Influence of Culture On Consumer Behavior

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Chapter 11 The Influence of Culture On Consumer Behavior

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Consumer Behavior, 10e (Schiffman/Kanuk)

Chapter 11 The Influence of Culture on Consumer Behavior

2) ________ is a society's personality.

6) Values differ from beliefs because they ________.

9) ________ consist of everyday or routine behavior.

19) Product advertisements typically influence their audiences through ________.

21) The learning of a new or foreign culture is known as ________.

25) A ________ is anything that stands for something else.

31) The ________ serves as the primary agent for enculturation.

51) Self-reliance, self-interest, self-fulfillment, self-esteem and self-confidence are all

73) In the WEDDING MINI CASE, the wedding is considered a ________.

80) Like innate biological characteristics, culture is physiological in nature.

82) Enculturation is the learning of a new or foreign culture.

83) The basis of any culture is a shared language.

84) A behavior is only considered a ritual if it is public and can be proven.

93) Luxury possessions, financial compensation, or status improvement are considered to be

100) The American value of individualism stimulates acceptance of customized or unique

104) How does marketing influence cultural learning?

In consumer fieldwork, anthropologists frequently immerse themselves in the environment under

You might also like