REVIEW QUESTIONS – Solomon’s Chapter 1

1. Provide a definition of consumer behavior.

2. What are demographics? Give three examples of demographic characteristics.

3. What is the difference between a culture and a subculture?

4. Define market segmentation.

5. What is role theory, and how does it help us to understand consumer behavior?

6. What do we mean by an exchange?

7. Why is it important for businesses to learn about their heavy users?

8. What is database marketing? Give an example of a company that uses this technique.

9. What is popular culture, and how does this concept relate to marketing and consumer behavior?
10. The chapter states that “people often buy products not for what they do, but for what they mean.”
Explain the meaning of this statement and provide an example.

11. Describe two types of relationships a consumer can have with a product.

12. What is meant by the term “global consumer culture”?

13. What is the difference between B2B and B2C e-commerce?

14. The economics of information perspective argues that advertising is important. Why?

15. Provide two examples of important legislation that relates to American consumers.

16. Define social marketing and give an example of this technique.

17. Define consumer addiction and give two examples.

18. What is an example of a consumed consumer?

19. What is shrinkage, and why is it a problem?

20. Define anticonsumption, and provide two examples of it.

21. Name two different disciplines that study consumer behavior. How would their approaches to the
same issue differ?

22. What are the major differences between the positivist and interpretivist paradigms in consumer
research?
REVIEW QUESTIONS

23. Provide a definition of consumer behavior. It is the study of the processes involved when
individuals or groups select, purchase, use, or dispose of products, services, ideas, or
experiences to satisfy needs and desires.

24. What are demographics? Give three examples of demographic characteristics. Demographics are
statistics that measure observable aspects of a population, such as birthrate, age distribution,
and income.

25. What is the difference between a culture and a subculture? People of large populations share
certain cultural values or strongly held beliefs about the way the world should be structured.
Members of subcultures, or smaller groups within the culture, also share values.

26. Define market segmentation. The use of market segmentation strategies means targeting a brand only to
specific groups of consumers rather than to everybody—even if it means that other consumers
who don’t belong to this target market aren’t attracted to that product.

27. What is role theory, and how does it help us to understand consumer behavior? The perspective of
role theory takes the view that much of consumer behavior resembles actions in a play. As in a
play, each consumer has lines, props, and costumes necessary to put on a good performance.
Because people act out many different roles, they sometimes alter their consumption decisions
depending on the particular “play” they are in at the time. The criteria they use to evaluate
products and services in one of their roles may be quite different from those used in another
role.

28. What do we mean by an exchange? A transaction in which two or more organizations or people
give and receive something of value.

29. Why is it important for businesses to learn about their heavy users? Because they account for such
a substantial proportion of revenues. They are the customers that are more likely to be loyal.
These customers represent the best opportunity to cross-sell and up-sell.

30. What is database marketing? Give an example of a company that uses this technique. Database
marketing involves tracking specific consumers’ buying habits very closely and crafting products
and messages tailored precisely to people’s wants and needs based on this information. Wal-
Mart is the example given in the book. Online companies such as Dell that require customer
information in order to complete transactions and deliver products have an advantage in
database marketing as well.

31. What is popular culture, and how does this concept relate to marketing and consumer behavior?
Popular culture, consisting of the music, movies, sports, books, celebrities, and other forms of
entertainment consumed by the mass market, is both a product of and an inspiration for
marketers. Our lives are also affected in more far-reaching ways, ranging from how we
acknowledge cultural events such as marriage, death, or holidays to how we view social issues
such as air pollution, gambling, and addictions.
32. The chapter states that “people often buy products not for what they do, but for what they mean.”
Explain the meaning of this statement and provide an example. The core functional benefits
provided by products are only the bare minimum. Because most all brand options provide
these, consumers go beyond the basics. All things being equal, people will choose the brand
that has an image (or even a personality!) consistent with their underlying needs. Almost any
product can be used as an example. Focus on the clothing brands that students wear.

33. Describe two types of relationships a consumer can have with a product.

 Self-concept attachment: Theproduct helps to establish the user’s identity.

 Nostalgic attachment: The product serves as a link with a past self.
 Interdependence: The product is a part of the user’s daily routine.
 Love: The product elicits emotional bonds of warmth, passion, or other strong emotion.

34. What is meant by the term “global consumer culture”? A culture in which people around the world
are united by their common devotion to brand name consumer goods, movie stars, celebrities,
and leisure activities.

35. What is the difference between B2B and B2C e-commerce? Simply put, B2B is business-
conducting transactions with other businesses, B2C is businesses conducting transactions with
consumers.

36. The economics of information perspective argues that advertising is important. Why? This view
emphasizes the economic cost of the time spent searching for products. Accordingly,
advertising is a service for which consumers are willing to pay, because the information it
provides reduces search time.

37. Provide two examples of important legislation that relates to American consumers. The Pure Food
and Drug Act in 1906 and the Federal Meat Inspection Act in 1907 are the examples given in
the text. The list is endless now.

38. Define social marketing and give an example of this technique. Social marketing uses marketing
techniques normally employed to sell beer or detergent to encourage positive behaviors such
as increased literacy and to discourage negative activities such as drunk driving.

39. Define consumer addiction and give two examples. Consumer addiction is a physiological or
psychological dependency on products or services. These problems of course include
alcoholism, drug addiction, and cigarettes—and many companies profit from addictive
products or by selling solutions.

40. What is an example of a consumed consumer? Consumed consumers are people who are used or
exploited, willingly or not, for commercial gain in the marketplace. Examples include
prostitutes and organ donors.

41. What is shrinkage, and why is it a problem? Shrinkage is the industry term for inventory and cash
losses from shoplifting and employee theft. This is a massive problem for businesses that is
passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices (about 40 percent of the losses can be
attributed to employees rather than shoppers). Shopping malls spend $6 million annually on
 security, and a family of four spends about $300 extra per year because of markups to cover
shrinkage.

42. Define anticonsumption, and provide two examples of it. Anticonsumption is defined by events in
which products and services are deliberately defaced or mutilated. Anticonsumption can range
from relatively mild acts like spray-painting graffiti on buildings and subways to serious
incidences of product tampering or even the release of computer viruses that can bring large
corporations to their knees.

43. Name two different disciplines that study consumer behavior. How would their approaches to the
same issue differ? The text lists numerous associations including the American Association of
Family and Consumer Sciences, the American Statistical Association, the Association for
Consumer Research, the Society for Consumer Psychology, the International Communication
Association, the American Sociological Association, the Institute of Management Sciences, the
American Anthropological Association, the American Marketing Association, the Society for
Personality and Social Psychology, the American Association for Public Opinion Research,
and the American Economic Association.

44. What are the major differences between the positivist and interpretivist paradigms in consumer
research? Positivism (or sometimes modernism) has significantly influenced Western art and
science since the late sixteenth century. It emphasizes that human reason is supreme, and that
there is a single, objective truth that can be discovered by science. Positivism encourages us to
stress the function of objects, to celebrate technology, and to regard the world as a rational,
ordered place with a clearly defined past, present, and future.

The paradigm of interpretivism (or postmodernism) questions these assumptions. Proponents of

this perspective argue that there is too much emphasis on science and technology in our
society, and that this ordered, rational view of behavior denies the complex social and cultural
world in which we live. Others feel that positivism puts too much emphasis on material well-
being, and that its logical outlook is directed by an ideology that stresses the homogenous
views of a culture dominated by (dead) white males. Interpretivists instead stress the
importance of symbolic, subjective experience, and the idea that meaning is in the mind of the
person—that is, we each construct our own meanings based on our unique and shared cultural
experiences, so there are no right or wrong answers.