PAPER 3 PSYCHOLOGY AND CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

March2018 32

3 (a) Explain what is meant by ‘utility theory’ in consumer decision making. [2]

(b) Describe system 1 (fast-type) and system 2 (slow-type) thinking of a consumer

(Shleifer, 2012). [4]

(c) Explain two weaknesses of system 1 (fast-type)/system 2 (slow-type) thinking as categorised

by Shleifer, 2012. [6]

4 (a) Describe what psychologists have discovered about retail/leisure environmental design. [8]

(b) Evaluate what psychologists have discovered about retail/leisure environmental design,

including a discussion about self reports.

March2018 31/32/33

3 (a) Explain what is meant by ‘customer focused sales technique’ used for selling a product. [2]

(b) Describe how the data was collected in the study by Porublev et al. (2009) on gift wrapping.

[4]

(c) Explain two weaknesses of the study by Porublev et al. (2009). [6]

4 (a) Describe what psychologists have discovered about intuitive thinking and its imperfections in

consumer decision-making. [8]

(b) Evaluate what psychologists have discovered about intuitive thinking and its imperfections in

consumer decision-making, including a discussion of the experimental method. [10]

3 (a) Explain what is meant by a ‘cognitive map’ in relation to retail environments. [2]

(b) Describe the self-report used in the study by Machleit et al. (2000) on crowding in retail

environments. [4]

(c) Explain one strength and one weakness of self-reports, using the Machleit et al. study as an

example. [6]

4 (a) Describe what psychologists have discovered about types of advertising and advertising

techniques. [8]

(b) Evaluate what psychologists have discovered about types of advertising and advertising

techniques, including a discussion on the use of children in psychological research. [10]

3 (a) Explain what is meant by ‘customer focused sales technique’ used for selling a product. [2]

(b) Describe how the data was collected in the study by Porublev et al. (2009) on gift wrapping.

[4]
(c) Explain two weaknesses of the study by Porublev et al. (2009). [6]

4 (a) Describe what psychologists have discovered about intuitive thinking and its imperfections in

consumer decision-making. [8]

(b) Evaluate what psychologists have discovered about intuitive thinking and its imperfections in

consumer decision-making, including a discussion of the experimental method. [10]

November2018 31/32

3 (a) Explain what is meant by a ‘model of communication’ with reference to advertising. [2]

(b) Describe McCarthy’s ‘4 Ps marketing mix’ model of advertising. [4]

(c) Explain one similarity and one difference between McCarthy’s 4 Ps marketing mix model of

advertising and Lauterborn’s 4 Cs marketing mix model of advertising. [6]

4 (a) Describe what psychologists have discovered about sound and consumer behaviour. [8]

(b) Evaluate what psychologists have discovered about sound and consumer behaviour,

including a discussion on ecological validity. [10]

3 (a) Explain what is meant by ‘attention and shelf position’ and its effect on product choice. [2]

(b) Describe the ‘consumer decision model’ for buying a product. [4]

(c) Explain one strength and one weakness of the ‘consumer decision model’ for buying a

product. [6]

4 (a) Describe what psychologists have discovered about menu design psychology. [8]

(b) Evaluate what psychologists have discovered about menu design psychology, including a

discussion on validity. [10]

March2019 32

3 (a) Explain what is meant by the term ‘personal space’. [2]

(b) Describe two findings of the study by Milgram et al. (1986) on defending a place in a queue.

[4]

(c) Explain one strength and one weakness of the study by Milgram et al. (1986). [6]

4 (a) Describe what psychologists have discovered about lighting, colour and smell in the physical

environment. [8]

(b) Evaluate what psychologists have discovered about lighting, colour, and smell in the physical

environment, including a discussion of ecological validity. [10]

May2019 31/32/33

3 (a) Explain what is meant by the term ‘choice heuristics’ in consumer decision-making. [2]
(b) Outline two aims of the study by Wansink et al. (1998) on consumer decision-making. [4]

(c) Explain the validity of the study by Wansink et al. (1998). [6]

4 (a) Describe what psychologists have discovered about communication and advertising models.

[8]

(b) Evaluate what psychologists have discovered about communication and advertising models,

including a discussion about applications to everyday life. [10]

March2020 32

3 (a) Explain what is meant by the ‘disrupt-then-reframe’ sales technique investigated by Kardes

et al. (2007). [2]

(b) Describe how consumers would make purchase decisions according to the ‘theory of planned

behaviour’ (Ajzen, 1991). [4]

(c) Explain two practical applications of the theory of planned behaviour that would help a

company to sell products. [6]

4 (a) Describe what psychologists have discovered about environmental influences on consumers

(cognitive maps of retail locations, crowding in retail environments, shopper movement

patterns). [8]

(b) Evaluate what psychologists have discovered about environmental influences on consumers

(cognitive maps of retail locations, crowding in retail environments, shopper movement

patterns), including a discussion about reliability. [10]

May2020 31/33

3 (a) Explain the purpose of background music played in consumer environments. [2]

(b) Describe the study by North et al. (2003) on music in restaurants. [4]

(c) Explain one strength and one weakness of the study by North et al. [6]

4 (a) Describe what psychologists have learned about consumer decision-making (models,

strategies, marketing theories). [8]

(b) Evaluate what psychologists have learned about consumer decision-making (models,

strategies, marketing theories), including a discussion about reductionism. [10]

May2020 32*********************************************

3 (a) Explain what is meant by ‘persuasive techniques’ used in advertising. [2]

(b) Describe the AIDA model of advertising. [4]

(c) Explain one similarity and one difference between the AIDA model and one other model of
advertising. [6]

4 (a) Describe what psychologists have discovered about retail/leisure environment design. [8]

(b) Evaluate what psychologists have discovered about retail/leisure environment design,

including a discussion about demand characteristics. [10]

November2020 31/33

3 (a) Explain what is meant by a ‘competitor-focused’ sales technique. [2]

(b) Describe two findings from the study by Kardes et al. (2007) on the disrupt-then-reframe

technique to sell a product. [4]

(c) Discuss two advantages of field experiments, using examples from the study by Kardes et al.

[6]

4 (a) Describe what psychologists have discovered about intuitive thinking and its imperfections in

consumer decision-making (thinking fast and thinking slow, choice blindness, advertising and

false memory). [8]

(b) Evaluate what psychologists have discovered about intuitive thinking and its imperfections in

consumer decision-making (thinking fast and thinking slow, choice blindness, advertising and

false memory), including a discussion of reliability. [10]

November2020 32

3 (a) Identify two common menu design mistakes, as outlined by Pavesic (2005). [2]

(b) Describe two findings of the study by Gil et al. (2009) on shopper movement patterns. [4]

(c) Explain one strength and one weakness of the study by Gil et al. [6]

4 (a) Describe what psychologists have discovered about choice heuristics in consumer

decision-making (availability/representativeness, anchoring and purchase quantity decisions,

pre-cognitive decisions). [8]

(b) Evaluate what psychologists have discovered about choice heuristics in consumer

decision-making (availability/representativeness, anchoring and purchase quantity decisions,

pre-cognitive decisions), including a discussion of ecological validity. [10]

March2021 32

3 (a) Explain what is meant by a ‘partially compensatory’ strategy in consumer decision-making.

[2]

(b) Describe the procedure of the study by Knutson et al. (2007) on pre-cognitive decisions in
consumer decision-making. [4]

(c) Explain the effectiveness of the controls used in the study by Knutson et al. [6]

4 (a) Describe what psychologists have discovered about personal space and consumer behaviour.

[8]

(b) Evaluate what psychologists have discovered about personal space and consumer behaviour,

including a discussion about generalisability. [10]

May2021 31/33

3 (a) Explain what is meant by ‘effective slogans’ in advertising. [2]

(b) Describe the study by Fischer et al. (1991) on brand recognition in advertising. [4]

(c) Discuss the use of children as participants in the study by Fischer et al. [6]

4 (a) Describe what psychologists have discovered about intuitive thinking and its imperfections in

consumer decision-making (thinking fast and thinking slow, choice blindness, advertising and

false memory). [8]

(b) Evaluate what psychologists have discovered about intuitive thinking and its imperfections in

consumer decision-making (thinking fast and thinking slow, choice blindness, advertising and

false memory), including a discussion of practical applications. [10]

May2021 32

3 (a) Explain what is meant by the ‘cognition-emotion model’ of the effects of ambience. [2]

(b) Describe the study by Chebat and Michon (2003) on the effects of odour on shopper arousal

and emotion. [4]

(c) Explain two strengths of the study by Chebat and Michon. [6]

4 (a) Describe what psychologists have discovered about menu design psychology. [8]

(b) Evaluate what psychologists have discovered about menu design psychology, including a

discussion about ecological validity. [10]

November2021 31/33

3 (a) One stage in the consumer decision model when buying a product is ‘recognition of need’.

Identify two other stages from this model. [2]

(b) Describe two ways to close a sale. [4]

(c) For one of the ways you described in (b):

Explain one advantage and one disadvantage of this way to close a sale. [6]

4 (a) Describe what psychologists have discovered about lighting, colour and smell in the physical
environment. [8]

(b) Evaluate what psychologists have discovered about lighting, colour and smell in the physical

environment, including a discussion about control of variables. [10]

November2021 32

3 (a) Outline the AIDA model of advertising. [2]

(b) Describe the study by Kohli et al. (2007) on effective slogans. [4]

(c) Explain two strengths of the study by Kohli et al. [6]

4 (a) Describe what psychologists have discovered about packaging, positioning and placement

of the product (gift-wrapping, product colour and associative learning, attention and shelf

position). [8]

(b) Evaluate what psychologists have discovered about packaging, positioning and placement

of the product (gift-wrapping, product colour and associative learning, attention and shelf

position), including a discussion of self-reports. [10]

March2022 32

3 (a) Outline the overload theory of personal space, using shoppers as an example. [2]

(b) Describe the study by Robson et al. (2011) about table spacing in restaurants. [4]

(c) Explain one strength and one weakness of the study by Robson et al. [6]

4 (a) Describe what psychologists have discovered about advertising applications (brand

recognition in children, advertising and consumer personality, effective slogans). [8]

(b) Evaluate what psychologists have discovered about advertising applications (brand

recognition in children, advertising and consumer personality, effective slogans), including a

discussion on the use of children in psychological research. [10]

May2022 31/33

3 (a) Lauterborn proposed ‘the 4 Cs marketing mix model’ of advertising.

Identify two of the ‘Cs’. [2]

(b) Describe the procedure and one result from the study by Auty and Lewis (2004) on product

placement in films. [4]

(c) Explain one strength and one weakness of the study by Auty and Lewis. [6]

4 (a) Describe what psychologists have discovered about sound and consumer behaviour. [8]

(b) Evaluate what psychologists have discovered about sound and consumer behaviour,

including a discussion about experiments. [10]

May2022 32

3 (a) Identify two of the virtual store layouts in the study by Vrechopoulos (2004) on the interior

layout of grocery stores. [2]

(b) Describe two results from the study by Vrechopoulos. [4]

(c) Explain one strength and one weakness of the study by Vrechopoulos. [6]

4 (a) Describe what psychologists have discovered about choice heuristics in consumer

decision-making (availability/representativeness, anchoring and purchase quantity decisions,

pre-cognitive decisions). [8]

(b) Evaluate what psychologists have discovered about choice heuristics in consumer

decision-making (availability/representativeness, anchoring and purchase quantity decisions,

pre-cognitive decisions), including a discussion about generalisability. [10]

SPECIEMEN 2018 and SPECIMEN 2020

3 (a) Explain what is meant by the term ‘choice blindness’. [2]

(b) Outline the findings of the study into advertising and false memory by Braun-LaTour et al.

(2004). [4]

(c) Discuss the practical applications of conducting research into advertising and false memory.

[6]

4 (a) Describe what psychologists have discovered about advertising applications. [8]

(b) Evaluate what psychologists have discovered about advertising applications, including a

discussion on cultural bias. [10]