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Consumer Behaviour 6th Edition

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Chapter 6
Consumer learning and involvement

Multiple choice questions

1. ‘The process by which individuals acquire the purchase and consumption


knowledge and experience they apply to future related behaviour’ defines:
a. attitudes.
b. motivation.
c. learning.
d. beliefs.
Answer: c
Difficulty: 1
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

2. Which of the following is not a key element of the definition of learning?


a. It is a process.
b. It is mandatory.
c. It is the result of acquired knowledge.
d. It can come from actual experience.
Answer: b
Difficulty: 1
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

3. The degree of ______ determines the consumer’s level of motivation to


search for information and acquire knowledge about a product or service.
a. attitude

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b. drive
c. commitment
d. involvement
Answer: d
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

4. Most learning theorists agree that in order for learning to occur, certain
basic elements must be present including:
a. motivation.
b. reinforcement.
c. cues.
d. all of these.
Answer: d
Difficulty: 1
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

5. If motives serve to stimulate learning in consumers, _____ are the stimuli


that give direction to those motives.
a. responses
b. cues
c. attitudes
d. sensory receptors
Answer: b
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

6. Which of the following statements regarding ‘consumer response’ is false?


a. A consumer’s response does not necessarily include a purchase.
b. A response is not tied to a need in a one-to-one fashion.
c. A consumer’s response is not tied to the consumer’s learning but to their
involvement.
d. How individuals react to a drive or cue, how they behave, constitutes their
response.

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Answer: c
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

7. How individuals react to a drive or cue constitutes their:


a. intention.
b. response.
c. attitude.
d. cognitive behaviour.
Answer: b
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

8. The factor that increases the likelihood that a specific response will occur in
the future as a result of particular cues or stimuli defines:
a. response.
b. learning.
c. involvement.
d. reinforcement.
Answer: d
Difficulty: 1
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

9. After using fitness equipment or nutritional supplements, a consumer feels


better physically, or is complimented on his or her appearance by friends, that
consumer is then more likely to continue using the equipment or supplements and
possibly to engage in other fitness-related activities. This example defines:
a. product involvement.
b. learning.
c. reinforcement.
d. response.
Answer: c
Difficulty: 1
AACSB: Application of Knowledge

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Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

10. Stimulus-response theories are another word for ______ theories.


a. stimulus
b. behavioural learning
c. instrumental
d. observational
Answer: b
Difficulty: 1
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

11. The classical conditioning theory of learning is a(n) _____ theory.


a. behavioural
b. cognitive
c. observational
d. outdated
Answer: a
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

12. Early classical theorists regarded all organisms, human and animal, as
relatively _____ entities that could be taught certain behaviours through repetition.
a. passive
b. active
c. intelligent
d. involved
Answer: a
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

13. Ivan Pavlov was the first theorist to describe the ________ theory as a
learning model. According to his theory, learning occurs when a stimulus that is
paired with another stimulus that elicits a known response serves to produce the
same response when used alone.

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a. behavioural learning
b. classical conditioning
c. observational
d. stimulus generalisation
Answer: b
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

14. If you usually listen to the 6 o’clock news while smelling dinner as it is being
prepared, you would tend to associate the news with dinner, and eventually the
sound of the 6 o’clock news alone might cause your mouth to water even if dinner
was not being prepared. This is known as:
a. instrumental conditioning.
b. classical conditioning.
c. conditional learning.
d. behavioural learning.
Answer: b
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

15. ______ theorists believe that people learn as a result of exposure to stimuli
and reaction to those stimuli.
a. Behavioural
b. Cognitive
c. Rational
d. Most
Answer: a
Difficulty: 1
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

16. Life insurance commercials, warning husbands that in the event of their
sudden death their wives will be left penniless widows, rely on _______ to
encourage the purchase of life insurance.
a. response

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b. learning
c. involvement
d. negative reinforcement
Answer: d
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

17. According to _______, conditioned learning results when a stimulus that is


paired with another stimulus that elicits a known response serves to produce the
same response when used alone.
a. subliminal perception theory
b. instrumental conditioning theory
c. all behavioural learning theories
d. early classical conditioning theory
Answer: d
Difficulty: 1
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

18. Pavlovian theory is dependent on:


a. changing attitudes.
b. conditioned learning.
c. altering beliefs.
d. negative reinforcement.
Answer: b
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

19. The creation of a strong association between the conditioned stimulus (CS)
and unconditioned stimulus (US) is called:
a. repetition.
b. optimal combination.
c. optimal conditioning.
d. repeated conditioning.
Answer: c

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Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

20. Which of the following is not one of the three basic concepts derived from
classical conditioning?
a. Repetition.
b. Stimulus discrimination.
c. Stimulus generation.
d. Stimulus generalisation.
Answer: c
Difficulty: 3
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

21. ______ increases the strength of the association between a conditioned


stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus.
a. Involvement
b. Conditioning
c. Repetition
d. Positioning
Answer: c
Difficulty: 1
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

22. Ben drives to work at the same time every morning listening to the radio.
Each morning he hears the same radio commercial for home appliances and after a
week of hearing the ad, he is able to completely block the ad out when it comes on.
This is an example of:
a. reminder advertising.
b. highly dogmatic consumer.
c. advertising wearout.
d. repetition.
Answer: c
Difficulty: 1
AACSB: Application of Knowledge

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Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

23. When individuals become satiated through numerous exposures to an ad,


and both their attention and retention decline, this is known as:
a. repetition.
b. advertising wearout.
c. reminder advertising.
d. the three-hit theory.
Answer: b
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

24. Some marketers try to avoid advertising wearout by adopting a ______


strategy in their ads by changing aspects of the message without changing the
theme.
a. substantive
b. cosmetic
c. variation
d. concealed
Answer: c
Difficulty: 1
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

25. In ________, consumers can be viewed as information seekers who use


logical and perceptual relations between events, together with their own
preconceptions, to form a sophisticated representation of the world.
a. relationship theory
b. motivation theory
c. neo-Pavlovian theory
d. learning theory
Answer: c
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

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26. The classical conditioning principle that encourages firms to make a product
which is as similar to the leading brand as legally possible is:
a. conditioned response.
b. stimulus variance.
c. stimulus generalisation.
d. repetition.
Answer: c
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

27. When Omo washing liquid came out with an Omo sensitive liquid, the new
product was an example of:
a. leading line extension.
b. product category extension.
c. classification extension.
d. product form extension.
Answer: d
Difficulty: 3
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

28. _____ is our ability to make the same responses to slightly different stimuli.
a. Stimulus discrimination
b. Stimulus generation
c. Stimulus generalisation
d. Classical conditioning
Answer: c
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

29. Many ‘me-too’ products succeed in the marketplace as a result of the


phenomenon of:
a. stimulus discrimination.
b. stimulus recognition.
c. stimulus generalisation.

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d. stimulus generation.
Answer: c
Difficulty: 3
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

30. In _____, the marketer adds related products to an already established


brand, knowing that the new products are more likely to be adopted when they are
associated with a known and trusted brand name; thus marketers take advantage
of the principle of stimulus generalisation.
a. product form extension
b. product line extension
c. category extension
d. copycat marketing
Answer: b
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

31. _____ is the practice of marketing a whole line of company products under
the same brand name.
a. Corporate marketing
b. Family branding
c. Capital branding
d. Licensing
Answer: b
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

32. Campbell’s soup company continues to add new food products to its product
line under the Campbell’s brand name. This is known as:
a. corporate marketing.
b. family branding.
c. capital branding.
d. licensing.
Answer: b

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Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

33. _____ is allowing a well-known brand name to be affixed to products of


another manufacturer.
a. Corporate marketing
b. Family branding
c. Capital branding
d. Licensing
Answer: d
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

34. Licensing is a marketing strategy that operates under the principle of:
a. stimulus discrimination.
b. stimulus recognition.
c. stimulus generalisation.
d. stimulus generation.
Answer: c
Difficulty: 3
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

35. When a famous celebrity’s name is used on perfumes in return for a fee, this
is known as:
a. capital marketing.
b. licensing.
c. family branding.
d. product form marketing.
Answer: b
Difficulty: 3
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

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36. The product imitator hopes that the consumer will ______, whereas the
market leader wants the consumer to ______ among similar stimuli.
a. discriminate; select
b. generalise; discriminate
c. select; generalise
d. none of the above
Answer: b
Difficulty: 3
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

37. ‘Selection of a specific stimulus from among similar stimuli’ defines:


a. conditioned response.
b. stimulus generalisation.
c. stimulus variance.
d. stimulus discrimination.
Answer: d
Difficulty: 1
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

38. The key to overcoming _______ is effective positioning, which is to be able


to position a product in a way to differentiate it in our over-communicated society.
a. stimulus generalisation
b. selective attention
c. stimulus discrimination
d. boredom
Answer: c
Difficulty: 3
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

39. It is difficult to overthrow a brand leader once stimulus discrimination has


occurred because the leader has had a longer period to teach consumers to
associate the brand name with the product. In general, the longer the period of
learning:
a. the less likely the consumer is to discriminate.

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b. the more likely the consumer is to discriminate.
c. the more likely the consumer will generalise.
d. none of the above.
Answer: b
Difficulty: 3
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

40. Operant conditioning is another word for:


a. classical conditioning.
b. instrumental conditioning.
c. operational conditioning.
d. neo-classical conditioning.
Answer: b
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

41. _____ learning theorists believe that learning occurs through a trial-and-
error process, with habits formed as a result of rewards received for certain
responses or behaviours.
a. Classical conditioning
b. Behavioural
c. Instrumental conditioning
d. Cognitive
Answer: c
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

42. Fear appeals in ad messages are a form of:


a. positive reinforcement.
b. negative reinforcement.
c. classical conditioning.
d. behavioural conditioning.
Answer: b
Difficulty: 2

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AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

43. When a learned response is no longer reinforced to the point at which the
link between the stimulus and the expected reward is eliminated, it has reached the
point of:
a. decay.
b. extinction.
c. being forgotten.
d. reassessment.
Answer: b
Difficulty: 3
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

44. If a consumer is no longer satisfied that her hair is silky smooth after using
a brand of shampoo, the link between the stimulus (shampoo) and the response
(silky smooth hair) is no longer reinforced. This is an example of:
a. extinction.
b. being forgotten.
c. reassessment.
d. change of consumer’s preferences.
Answer: a
Difficulty: 3
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

45. Marketers can overcome consumer forgetting through _____, and can
combat extinction through _____.
a. enhanced customer satisfaction; learning
b. repetition; enhanced customer satisfaction
c. learning; trial
d. none of the above
Answer: b
Difficulty: 3
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

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46. A critical component of instrumental conditioning is:
a. understanding customer needs.
b. punishment.
c. reinforcement.
d. repetition.
Answer: c
Difficulty: 1
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

47. In order to teach her son to say ‘please’, a mother gives her son 50 cents
every time he says ‘please’ when asking for something. The mother is employing:
a. negative reinforcement.
b. instrumental conditioning.
c. classical conditioning.
d. stimulus generalisation.
Answer: c
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

48. When a learning schedule is spread out over a period of time, a firm would
be employing:
a. classical learning.
b. massed learning.
c. distributed learning.
d. conditioned learning.
Answer: c
Difficulty: 1
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

49. A firm introducing a revolutionary new product to the marketplace or


counter a competitor’s aggressive campaign, would most likely opt for:
a. classical learning.
b. massed learning.
c. distributed learning.

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d. conditioned learning.
Answer: b
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

50. When individuals observe the behaviour of others, remember it and imitate
it, the method of learning that is being employed is:
a. distributed learning.
b. massed learning.
c. classical learning.
d. vicarious learning.
Answer: d
Difficulty: 3
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

51. Some researchers argue that because instrumental learning theory views
behaviour as a result of _______ rather than cognitive processes, it is applicable
only to products that have little personal relevance or importance to the consumer.
a. emotional processes
b. behavioural processes
c. thought manipulation
d. environmental manipulation
Answer: d
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

52. ‘Learning based on mental activity’ defines:


a. cognitive learning.
b. massed learning.
c. classical learning.
d. knowledge.
Answer: a
Difficulty: 1
AACSB: Application of Knowledge

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Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

53. The focus on cognitive learning is not on the stimulus but rather on one’s:
a. mental processing of information.
b. knowledge.
c. interaction with the environment.
d. vicarious learning.
Answer: a
Difficulty: 1
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

54. A person’s information processing ability is dictated by his/her cognitive


ability and the:
a. urgency of the particular problem.
b. complexity of the information.
c. nature of the environment.
d. quantity of information.
Answer: b
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

55. ‘Observational learning’ and ‘vicarious learning’ are both different names for:
a. shaping.
b. reinforcement .
c. modelling.
d. recognition.
Answer: c
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

56. _____ theorists believe that people learn through mental processes.
a. Behavioural
b. Cognitive
c. Affective

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d. Involvement
Answer: b
Difficulty: 1
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

57. Because information processing occurs in stages, it is generally believed that


there are separate and sequential ‘storehouses’ in memory where information is
kept temporarily before further processing. Which of the following is not one of the
storehouses?
a. Sensory store.
b. Temporary store.
c. Short-term store.
d. Long-term store.
Answer: b
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

58. The _____ is the stage of real memory in which information is processed
and held for just a brief period.
a. sensory store
b. temporary store
c. short-term store
d. long-term store
Answer: c
Difficulty: 1
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

59. When watching a commercial on TV a consumer looks at an image for a few


seconds and then looks away. This person will then retain an after-image which is
packed with information to be processed later even though it is very short-lived.
The memory storage area this example refers to is the:
a. general store.
b. short-term store.
c. long-term store.

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d. sensory store.
Answer: d
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

60. The amount of information available for delivery from short-term storage to
long-term storage depends on the amount of _____ it is given.
a. processing
b. attention
c. rehearsal
d. capacity
Answer: c
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

61. When consumers are presented with too much information, called _______,
they may encounter difficulty in encoding and storing it.
a. overcapacity
b. information overload
c. information overflow
d. bombardment
Answer: b
Difficulty: 3
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

62. Information is stored in long-term memory in two ways. Tim is able to


remember the fact that he went to the cinema on a Saturday last month because
we store data ______ and he is able to remember the plot, actors and director
because we also store data _______.
a. episodically; dramatically
b. semantically; episodically
c. dramatically; semantically
d. episodically; semantically
Answer: d

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Difficulty: 3
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

63. The total package of associations brought to mind when a cue is activated is
called:
a. activation.
b. encoding.
c. a schema.
d. chunking.
Answer: c
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

64. The first consequence of information overload will likely be:


a. poor purchases.
b. confusion.
c. a loss of processing power.
d. a processing blockage.
Answer: b
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

65. It has been found that advertising messages are most effective when they
combine the product’s attributes with the benefits. This aids the process of
information _____ within a consumer.
a. confusion
b. encoding
c. storage
d. retrieval
Answer: d
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

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66. The greater the number of competitive ads in a product category, the lower
the recall of brand claims in a specific ad. This is due to ______, which cause
confusion with competing ads.
a. encoding effects
b. contradicting cues
c. interference effects
d. repetition methods
Answer: c
Difficulty: 3
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

67. The basic premise of the split-brain theory is that the right and left
hemispheres of the brain specialise in the kinds of information they process. This
theory is also known as:
a. behavioural conditioning.
b. hemispheral lateralisation.
c. cognitive dissonance.
d. passive learning.
Answer: b
Difficulty: 3
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

68. According to the split-brain theory, the right hemisphere of the brain is
responsible for ______, and the left hemisphere of the brain is concerned with
______.
a. cognitive activities; reading
b. reading; speaking
c. nonverbal information; cognitive
d. speaking; pictorial information
Answer: c
Difficulty: 3
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

69. Hemispheral lateralisation is also known as:

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a. low-involvement processing.
b. split-brain theory.
c. high-involvement processing.
d. cognitive activity.
Answer: b
Difficulty: 1
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

70. When looking at a print advertisement for scar-healing cream with a large
amount of written information about the product, Andrea’s analysis of this
advertisement will most likely be dominated by the area of her brain called the:
a. front hemisphere.
b. back hemisphere.
c. left hemisphere.
d. right hemisphere.
Answer: c
Difficulty: 3
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

71. Which of the following types of information would not be generally handled
by the right side of the brain?
a. Nonverbal.
b. Timeless.
c. Pictorial.
d. All would be handled by the right side.
Answer: d
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

72. If you subscribe to hemispheral lateralisation, then you believe television is


a:
a. cognitive-intense activity.
b. high-involvement activity.
c. right-brain activity.

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d. full-system activity.
Answer: c
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

73. According to the right-brain, passive-processing-of-information theory, the


most effective advertisements would be:
a. long television commercials with strong visual emphasis.
b. short television spots repeated frequently.
c. radio spots that have very little verbal content.
d. magazine ads with technical explanations.
Answer: b
Difficulty: 3
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

74. Which of the following statements about high-involvement purchases would


not necessarily be true?
a. They have a high personal relevance.
b. There are high levels of perceived risk which accompany them.
c. They lead to extensive decision making.
d. They deal with expensive products.
Answer: d
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

75. A consumer’s degree of involvement is characterised by three properties:


intensity, direction and:
a. consumer belief.
b. behaviour.
c. persistence.
d. time.
Answer: c
Difficulty: 3
AACSB: Application of Knowledge

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Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

76. For ____-involvement purchases, the central route to persuasion, provoking


considered thought about the product, is likely to be a highly effective marketing
strategy. For ___-involvement purchases, the peripheral route to persuasion is
likely to be more effective.
a. high; low
b. low; high
c. high; medium
d. none of the above.
Answer: a
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

77. The _______ model suggests that a person’s level of involvement during
message processing is a critical factor in determining which route to persuasion is
likely to be effective.
a. consumer involvement
b. consumer behaviour
c. purchase intention
d. elaboration likelihood
Answer: d
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

78. Brand loyalty has been defined by both:


a. beliefs and behaviour.
b. product knowledge and behaviour.
c. product knowledge and beliefs.
d. behaviour and attitudes.
Answer: d
Difficulty: 1
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

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– 9781442561533/Schiffman/Consumer behaviour/6e
24
79. Defining brand loyalty by repurchase would be on the basis of:
a. beliefs.
b. attitudes.
c. product knowledge.
d. behaviour.
Answer: d
Difficulty: 1
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

80. A behavioural learning theorist would seek to measure consumer brand


loyalty in terms of:
a. consumer attitude.
b. congruence of consumer values with product benefits.
c. purchase consistency.
d. none of the above.
Answer: c
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

81. _______ who favour the theory of instrumental conditioning believe that
brand loyalty results from an initial product trial that is reinforced through
satisfaction, leading to repeat purchase.
a. Cognitive researchers
b. Personality researchers
c. Behavioural scientists
d. Brand equity researchers
Answer: c
Difficulty: 3
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

82. Ben believes that brand loyalty is the result of extensive problem-solving
behaviour involving brand and attribute comparisons, leading to a strong brand
preference. Ben’s views are consistent with:
a. brand equity researchers.

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– 9781442561533/Schiffman/Consumer behaviour/6e
25
b. personality researchers.
c. behavioural researchers.
d. cognitive researchers.
Answer: d
Difficulty: 1
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

83. Which of the following is not a reason that there is an increased amount of
brand switching?
a. A decline in comparative advertising has been experienced.
b. Consumer boredom is greater.
c. Consumers are experiencing greater dissatisfaction with products.
d. There is a large number of new products entering the marketplace.
Answer: a
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

84. The decrease in brand loyalty, especially for national brands, has been
caused in part by an increased emphasis being placed on the promotional element
of:
a. specially advertised prices.
b. publicity.
c. personal selling.
d. sales promotion.
Answer: d
Difficulty: 1
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

85. Frequent-user programs are designed to reward:


a. brand referral.
b. brand equity.
c. brand switching.
d. brand loyalty.
Answer: d

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Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

86. Which of the following is true about consumer brand loyalty?


a. It is growing and marketers aren’t sure why.
b. It is in decline because all products have become commodities.
c. It is growing due to marketers’ success in creating differentiation among
commodity type products.
d. It is in decline, partially due to consumer boredom.
Answer: d
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

87. Which of the following is considered to be a benefit of having strong brand


equity?
a. Having preferred shelf space allocated.
b. Increasing the perceived value of the product.
c. Having more upward pricing flexibility.
d. All of the above are benefits of brand equity.
Answer: d
Difficulty: 1
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

88. A clothing manufacturer might contact the owner of a popular soft-drink


brand to license the right to prominently display that brand on their clothing. The
primary reason a brand is selected is generally because of strong:
a. brand switching.
b. cannibalisation.
c. brand equity.
d. brand odour.
Answer: c
Difficulty: 3
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd)
– 9781442561533/Schiffman/Consumer behaviour/6e
27
89. Which of the following is not a positive outcome from brand equity?
a. Brand loyalty.
b. Increased market share.
c. Greater profits.
d. All of the above are positive outcomes from brand equity.
Answer: d
Difficulty: 1
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

True/false questions

1. All learning is deliberately sought.


Answer: False
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

2. Despite differing opinions, learning theorists generally agree that, in order


for learning to occur, certain basic elements must be present. The elements
included in most learning theories are; motivation, cues, response and
reinforcement.
Answer: True
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

3. Learning can occur even if responses are not overt.


Answer: True
Difficulty: 3
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

4. Behavioural learning theory holds that the kind of learning most


characteristic of human beings is problem solving, which enables us to gain some
control over our environment.

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– 9781442561533/Schiffman/Consumer behaviour/6e
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Answer: False
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

5. Julie usually serves dinner at 6.00 p.m. when the evening news program
commences on television. Julie associates watching the evening news with having
dinner. This is an example of classical conditioning.
Answer: True
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

6. Advertising wearout is the phenomenon that happens when a greater


number of repetitions occur, after which an individual can become satiated, and
attention and retention will decline. Memory may no longer improve with repeated
exposures.
Answer: True
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

7. Marketers agree that seven exposures to an advertisement is enough to aid


retention.
Answer: False
Difficulty: 3
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

8. According to the three-hit theory, repeating an ad more than three times is


a wasted effort.
Answer: True
Difficulty: 3
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd)
– 9781442561533/Schiffman/Consumer behaviour/6e
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9. Licensing is a marketing strategy that operates on the principle of stimulus
generalisation.
Answer: True
Difficulty: 3
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

10. The longer the period of learning, that is, of associating a brand name with a
specific product, the less likely the consumer is to discriminate and the more likely
to generalise the stimulus.
Answer: False
Difficulty: 3
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

11. Instrumental conditioning is similar to classical conditioning in that it


requires a link between a stimulus and response.
Answer: True
Difficulty: 1
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

12. An advertisement for anti-ageing cream showing a model with wrinkly skin
is an example of positive reinforcement.
Answer: False
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

13. When a learned response is no longer reinforced, it diminishes to the point


of being forgotten.
Answer: False
Difficulty: 3
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

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– 9781442561533/Schiffman/Consumer behaviour/6e
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14. Forgetting is often related to the passage of time. This is known as the
process of decay.
Answer: True
Difficulty: 3
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

15. Jenny has been using a new exercise machine for a few weeks. A colleague
recently complemented her on how trim she looks. Jenny is more likely to continue
using the fitness machine and engage in other fitness-related exercises. This
behaviour is an example of reinforcement.
Answer: True
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

16. Marketers have identified three types of reinforcement schedules: total,


continuous and fixed.
Answer: False
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

17. When advertisers want an immediate impact (e.g. to introduce a new


product or to counter a competitor’s aggressive campaign), they generally use a
massed schedule to hasten consumer learning.
Answer: True
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

18. Reinforcement carried out before the desired consumer behaviour takes
place is called modelling.
Answer: False
Difficulty: 3
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

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– 9781442561533/Schiffman/Consumer behaviour/6e
31
19. Cognitive theories are sometimes referred to as stimulus-response theories
because they are based on the premise that observable responses to specific
external stimuli signal learning on the part of an individual.
Answer: False
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

20. Central to cognitive learning theory is problem solving.


Answer: True
Difficulty: 1
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

21. The short-term store is where we receive fragments of information that last
for a second or two before we pass it to our long-term store.
Answer: False
Difficulty: 1
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

22. The amount of information available for delivery from the sensory store to
the long-term store depends on the amount of rehearsal it is given.
Answer: False
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

23. Information doesn’t just sit in a long-term store waiting to be retrieved.


Rather, information is constantly being organised and reorganised as new links
between chunks of information are forged.
Answer: True
Difficulty: 1
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

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– 9781442561533/Schiffman/Consumer behaviour/6e
32
24. Hemispheral lateralisation is also known as the split-brain theory.
Answer: True
Difficulty: 1
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

25. According to the spilt-brain theory, the left hemisphere of the brain is
responsible for cognitive activities, such as reading and speaking.
Answer: True
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

26. Social judgment theory states that people’s processing of information about
an issue is determined by their involvement with the issue.
Answer: True
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

27. According to the elaboration likelihood model, as the message becomes


more personally relevant, people are more willing to expend the cognitive effort
required to process the message arguments.
Answer: True
Difficulty: 3
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

28. Tim is a consumer who values new products and bases his decision based on
price. He is exhibiting brand loyalty.
Answer: False
Difficulty: 1
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

29. Brand loyalty is the ultimate desired outcome of consumer learning.


Answer: True

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Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

30. Increases in comparative advertising, increased targeting of specialty niches


and the increased diversity of supermarket shoppers have all contributed to a
decline in brand loyalty.
Answer: True
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

31. Because of improved targeting and better audience profiles, brand loyalty
has been steadily increasing.
Answer: False
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

32. Brand equity refers to the value inherent in a well-known brand.


Answer: True
Difficulty: 1
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

33. For marketers, the dual goals of consumer learning are increased market
share and product-expert consumers.
Answer: False
Difficulty: 1
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

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– 9781442561533/Schiffman/Consumer behaviour/6e
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Essay questions

1. What is the theory of classical conditioning? Explain using an


example.

The Russian physiologist, Ivan Pavlov, was the first to describe conditioning and to
propose it as a general model of how learning occurs. According to Pavlovian
theory, conditioned learning results when a stimulus that does not initially evoke a
response is paired with another stimulus that elicits a known response until,
eventually, it serves to produce the same response when used alone.

Pavlov demonstrated what he meant by conditioned learning in his studies with


dogs. The dogs were hungry and highly motivated to eat. In his experiments,
Pavlov sounded a bell (conditioned stimulus, or CS) and then immediately applied a
meat paste (unconditioned stimulus, or US) to the dogs’ tongues, which caused
them to salivate (unconditioned response, or UR). Learning (i.e. conditioning) had
occurred when, after a sufficient number of repetitions of the bell sound followed
almost immediately by the food, the bell alone caused the dogs to salivate. The
dogs associated the bell with the meat paste and, after a number of pairings, gave
the same response (salivation) to the bell alone as they did to the meat paste. The
unconditioned response (UR) to the meat paste became the conditioned response
(CR) to the bell.
Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge and Reflective Thinking Skills
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

2. What are the three basic concepts which are fundamental to


classical conditioning? Give a brief description of each.

The three basic concepts which are fundamental to classical conditioning are:
repetition, stimulus generalisation and stimulus discrimination.

Repetition increases the strength of association between a conditioned stimulus


and an unconditioned stimulus and slows the process of forgetting. The relationship
between repetition and memory is a complex one. Evidence suggests that some
over-learning, or repetition beyond what is necessary to learn, aids retention.

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However, with a greater number of repetitions, an individual can become satiated,
and attention and retention will decline. Memory may no longer improve with
repeated exposures. This phenomenon, called advertising wearout, can be
decreased by varying the advertising message.

Stimulus generalisation is where a subject makes the same response to slightly


different stimuli. According to classical conditioning theorists, learning depends not
only on repetition but also on the ability of individuals to generalise. Pavlov found,
for example, that a dog could learn to salivate not only to the sound of a bell but
also to the somewhat similar sound of jangling keys. If we were not capable of
stimulus generalisation—that is, of making the same response to slightly different
stimuli—little learning would occur.

Stimulus generalisation explains why imitative ‘me-too’ products succeed in the


marketplace: consumers confuse them with the original product they have seen
advertised. It also explains why manufacturers of private brands try to make their
packaging resemble the national brand leaders. They are hoping that consumers
will confuse their packages with the leading brand. Some brands are so valuable
that similarly packaged or distributed products can result in millions of lost sales. In
Australia, an electronics company marketing televisions and microwave ovens
under the brand name Palsonic uses a very similar font style to Panasonic,
facilitating stimulus generalisation.

Stimulus discrimination is the opposite of stimulus generalisation, and results in


the selection of a specific stimulus from among similar stimuli. The consumer’s
ability to discriminate between stimuli is the basis of positioning strategy, which
seeks to establish a unique image for a brand in the consumer’s mind. Imitators
want consumers to generalise their experience, but market leaders want to retain
the top spot by persuading consumers to discriminate. It is often quite difficult to
unseat a brand leader once stimulus discrimination has occurred. One explanation
is that the leader is usually first in the market and has had a longer period to
‘teach’ consumers (through advertising and selling) to associate the brand name
with the product. In short, it owns the market.

Difficulty: 3
AACSB: Reflective Thinking Skills and Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd)
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3. Product line, form and category extensions, family branding and
licensing are all examples of stimulus generalisation strategies. Briefly
explain what each strategy is and give examples.

The principle of stimulus generalisation is applied by marketers to product, line


and category extensions. This is the practice of adding related products to an
already established brand. Product line extensions include different sizes, different
colours and even different flavours or formulas. Companies now also offer product
form extensions (e.g. Omo liquid to Omo Sensitive liquid) and product category
extensions (e.g. Cadbury chocolate bars to Cadbury chocolate biscuits and Cadbury
ice-creams).

The practice of marketing a whole line of company products under the same brand
name, called family branding, is another strategy that capitalises on the
consumer’s ability to generalise favourable brand associations from one product to
others. For example, Campbell’s originally marketed soup but continues to add new
products to its product line under the Campbell’s brand name, achieving ready
acceptance for the new products from satisfied consumers of other Campbell’s
products.

Another type of marketing strategy that operates on the principle of stimulus


generalisation is licensing. The names of designers, celebrities and even cartoon
characters are attached (i.e. ‘rented’) to a variety of products for a fee, enabling
the manufacturers and marketers of such products to achieve instant recognition
and implied quality for the licensed products. For example, some of the successful
licensors include Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Lacoste and Christian Dior, whose
names appear on a wide variety of products, such as clothes, shoes, lingerie,
luggage, perfume, shirts and watches. Also, cartoon characters like Disney’s
characters have been licensed and now appear on t-shirts and other clothing and
merchandise.

Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Reflective Thinking Skills and Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

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4. An important influence on consumer learning is timing. What is
massed learning and distributed learning and how do marketers use these
two types of learning? Cite one example.

Distributed learning is where a learning schedule is spread over a period of time,


whilst massed learning is where learning is ‘bunched up’ or concentrated over a
shorter period of time.

Marketers can use these two types of learning when planning an advertising media
schedule. Massed advertising produces more initial learning, whereas a more
dispersed (i.e. distributed) schedule usually results in learning that persists for
longer.

When advertisers want an immediate impact (e.g. to introduce a new product or to


counter a competitor’s aggressive campaign), they generally use a massed
schedule to hasten consumer learning. However, when the goal is long-lasting
repeat buying on a regular basis, a distributed schedule is preferable. A distributed
schedule, with ads repeated on a regular basis, usually results in more long-term
learning and is relatively immune to extinction.

Some car-makers use a combination of the two methods. They use concentrated
(massed) advertising during the first few weeks of a new model’s life, then
distributed (drip-feed) advertising over the rest of the product life cycle, sometimes
punctuated by bursts of massed advertising.
Difficulty: 3
AACSB: Reflective Thinking Skills and Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

5. Explain the three systems of memory storehouses used in


information processing.

Since information processing occurs in stages, it is generally believed that there are
separate ‘storehouses’ in the memory where information is kept temporarily while
waiting to be processed further. These include the following:

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1. Sensory store. All data come to us through our senses; however, the image
of a sensory input lasts for just a second or two in the mind’s sensory store.
For example, after staring at a TV image for a few seconds and then looking
away, we retain an after-image. That after-image, though very short-lived,
is packed with more information than we tend to use or process further. We
subconsciously block out a great deal of information. For marketers this
means that, although it is relatively easy to get information into the
consumer’s sensory store, it is difficult to make a lasting impression.

2. Short-term store. The short-term store is the stage of real memory in which
information is processed and held for just a brief period. Anyone who has
ever looked up a number in a telephone book, only to forget it just before
dialling, knows how briefly information lasts in short-term storage. If
information in the short-term store undergoes the process known as
rehearsal, it is then transferred to the long-term store. (Rehearsal can be
defined as the silent, mental repetition of material.) The transfer process
takes 2–10 seconds. If information is not rehearsed and transferred, it is lost
in about 30 seconds or less. The amount of information that can be held in
short-term storage is limited to four or five items. Through chunking of
information, we can easily store more items, a fact exploited by Domino’s
pizza with its 131 888 phone number.

3. Long-term store. In contrast to the short-term store, where information lasts


only seconds, the long-term store retains information for relatively extended
periods of time. Although it is possible to forget something a few minutes
after the information has reached long-term storage, it is more common for
data in long-term storage to last for days, weeks or even years. Many of us,
for example, can remember the name of our first-grade teacher.

Difficulty: 3
AACSB: Analytical Thinking and Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

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– 9781442561533/Schiffman/Consumer behaviour/6e
39
6. What is the Elaboration Likelihood Model?

The elaboration likelihood model (ELM) suggests that a person’s level of


involvement during message processing is a critical factor in determining which
route to persuasion is likely to be effective. As the message becomes more
personally relevant (that is, as involvement increases), people are increasingly
willing to expend the cognitive effort required to process the message arguments.
Thus, when involvement is high, consumers follow the central route and base their
attitudes and choices on the message arguments. When involvement is low, they
follow the peripheral route and rely more heavily on other message elements (e.g.
background music) to form attitudes or make product choices.

Difficulty: 2
AACSB: Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

7. Explain the importance of brand loyalty and brand equity in


marketing.

Brand loyalty refers to consumers’ tendency to repeatedly purchase the same


product/brand over competing brands in the market. At the centre of brand loyalty
is the notion of repeat purchase behaviour. This behaviour results from initial
product trial that is later reinforced through satisfaction from product use.
Consumers will form a habit of repeatedly purchasing the same brand on every
purchase occasion. For marketers, brand loyalty means consumers are spending
less time searching for ‘the right brand’ (that is, information search), and less time
comparing competing brands.

Brand equity refers to the value inherent in a well-known brand name. Brand equity
is the value added to a product by the perceptions a consumer has of a particular
brand name. Uncle Toby’s brand has used its equity to extend its bread line to
include Vitagold, EnergyPlus and Grains-Plus, thus improving its share of the $2
billion total bread market. Brand equity contributes to acceptance of new products,
allocation of preferred shelf space, perceived value, perceived quality, premium
pricing options, and even to valued assets on a company’s balance sheet. Brand
equity concepts are usually referred to as ‘brand value’ and ‘brand meaning’. Brand

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40
meaning is the qualitative dimension – it refers to the qualities of a brand that
create meaning. Since value depends on meaning, changing brand meaning is
equivalent to changing the value of the brand. For all these reasons, companies
have begun to nurture their brand names carefully.

Difficulty: 3
AACSB: Analytical Thinking and Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

8. What are low-involvement purchases and high-involvement


purchases? Explain the concept of involvement theory as it relates to
consumer behaviour.

Purchases of minimal personal importance are called low-involvement purchases,


and complex, search-oriented purchases are considered high-involvement
purchases.

In consumer behaviour, different types of involvement occur for different objects


that are the focus of a consumer’s involvement. A consumer can be involved not
only with a product but also with consumption of the product, purchase decisions
(or the process of purchasing) for the product and advertisements (or
communications) for the product. It is believed that together these different
involvement types can form an overall profile of consumer involvement that
encompasses purchasing and consumption occasions, or they can be treated as
separate types of involvement that focus on a particular consumer-object context.

Consumer involvement is now well recognised as a causal, or motivating, factor


that drives consumer attitudes and influences consumer decision making. In
marketing terms, consumer involvement is evoked by a stimulus (product, brand or
ad) or particular situation (purchase decisions) and has been found to be a
significant influence on shopping behaviour in areas such as services, grocery
shopping and shopping centre behaviours. Involvement has been widely studied by
consumer researchers. One important area that has particular relevance for
marketers is within the retail environment. For example, some researchers have
examined the relationship between the shopping centre environment and
involvement in shopping in general, and whether or not this relationship would

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bring about certain emotional responses. The results show that involvement in
shopping does in fact influence consumers’ sense of excitement, intention to re-
patronise that shopping centre, and consumers’ propensity to stay in a shopping
centre longer.

Overall, involvement has been identified as important in understanding differences


in consumer decision making and in marketplace behaviours. The importance of
consumer involvement in consumer behaviour is expressed by two prominent
researchers who indicate that ‘hobbies, collections, or specialties such as the
clothing enthusiast, the movie buff, the car lover . . . are examples of (the
prevalence of involvement in) consumer behaviour’.

Difficulty: 3
AACSB: Analytical Thinking and Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

9. Distinguish between behavioural and cognitive learning theories.

There are two general categories of learning theory: behavioural learning and
cognitive learning. Although these theories differ markedly in a number of
essentials, each theory offers insights to marketers on how to shape their messages
to consumers to bring about desired purchase behaviour.

Behavioural learning theories are sometimes referred to as stimulus-response


theories because they are based on the premise that observable responses to
specific external stimuli signal that learning has taken place. If people act (i.e.
respond) in a predictable way to a known stimulus, they are said to have ‘learned’.
Behavioural theories are not so much concerned with the process of learning as
they are with the inputs and outcomes of learning – that is, in the stimuli that are
selected from the environment and the observable behaviours that result. Two
behavioural theories with great relevance to marketing are classical conditioning
and instrumental (or operant) conditioning.

Cognitive learning theory holds that the kind of learning most characteristic of
human beings is problem solving, which enables us to gain some control over our
environment. Unlike behavioural learning theory, cognitive theory holds that

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– 9781442561533/Schiffman/Consumer behaviour/6e
42
learning involves complex mental processing of information. Instead of stressing
the importance of repetition or the association of rewards with a specific response,
cognitive theorists emphasise the role of motivation and mental processes in
producing a desired response.

Difficulty: 3
AACSB: Analytical Thinking and Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

10. ‘Repeat purchase does not necessarily mean brand loyalty.’ Discuss.

It does not necessarily follow that repeat purchases mean brand loyalty.

Whether the more frequent purchase of a major brand is a result of greater loyalty
to the brand is currently the subject of some debate. It has been proposed that
greater frequency of purchase may simply be the result, among other reasons, of
distribution support for the major brands. For example, if Diet Solo and Diet Lift are
your preferred soft drinks but Diet Coke is acceptable, you may actually appear
loyal to Diet Coke in a string of purchases simply because of its availability
compared with the limited distribution of the other drinks.

A basic issue among researchers is whether to define the concept of brand loyalty
in terms of consumer behaviour (e.g. frequency of purchase or proportion of total
purchases), consumer attitudes (the reported preference of the brand relative to
other brands, commitment or liking) or both behaviour and attitude. Many of the
studies investigating brand loyalty measure the construct with repeat buying
behaviour. To cognitive learning theorists, behavioural definitions lack precision,
since they do not distinguish between the ‘real’ brand-loyal buyer who is
intentionally faithful and the spurious brand-loyal buyer who repeats a brand
purchase because it is the only one available at the store. Such theories say that
brand loyalty must be measured by attitudes towards a brand rather than by
purchase consistency.

As an example of the behavioural approach, which refers to observed buying


behaviour, a study measured brand loyalty in three different ways: brand market
share, the number of same-brand purchases in a six-month period, and the

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– 9781442561533/Schiffman/Consumer behaviour/6e
43
average number of brands bought per buyer. Findings suggest that consumers buy
from a mix of brands within their acceptable range (i.e. their evoked set). Thus, the
greater the number of acceptable brands in a specific product category, the less
likely the consumer is to be brand-loyal to one specific brand.

Conversely, products with few competitors, as well as those purchased with great
frequency, are likely to have greater brand loyalty. A supporter of a cognitive
approach might argue that using observational techniques only limits the
explanatory power of the study. For example, if there are many competitors in a
category, there will usually be more price promotion; and a consumer who chooses
the least expensive brand would buy from a mix of brands. However, if the
category has fewer competitors, price promotion will occur less frequently and
buying the least expensive brand may result in a string of purchases of the same
brand. The loyalty of the consumer is based on the price point, not the brand.

Difficulty: 3
AACSB: Analytical Thinking and Application of Knowledge
Topic: Ch6 – Consumer learning and involvement

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– 9781442561533/Schiffman/Consumer behaviour/6e
44

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