BBMK2103

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

TUTORIAL 3

Chapter 2(b) – Consumer Perception

PART A: MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

1) Individuals act and react on the basis of ________, not on the basis of ________.
A) objective reality; their previous experiences
B) their previous experiences; their perceptions
C) their perceptions; objective reality
D) their perceptions; their previous experiences
E) their previous experiences; peer pressure
Answer: C

2) Your interpretation of visual and sensory input about polo shirts may be different from
your classmate's because perception is ________.
A) objective
B) subjective
C) irrelevant
D) noise
E) based on personality traits
Answer: B

3) The process by which an individual selects, organizes, and interprets stimuli into a
meaningful and coherent picture of the world is known as ________.
A) observation
B) perception
C) realization
D) rationalization
E) understanding
Answer: B

4) ________ can simply be described as "how we see the world around us."
A) Knowledge
B) Perception
C) Motivation
D) Attitude
E) Understanding
Answer: B

5) ________ is/are the immediate and direct response of the sensory organs to stimuli.
A) Sensory receptors
B) Sensation
C) Sensory input
D) Sensory adaptation
E) Sensory blocking
Answer: B
6) Products, packages, brand names, advertisements, and commercials are examples of
________.
A) sensations
B) receptors
C) realities
D) stimuli
E) intensities
Answer: D

7) As sensory input ________, our ability to detect changes in input or intensity ________.
A) decreases; increases
B) increases; increases
C) decreases; remains constant
D) remains constant; decreases
E) increases; remains constant
Answer: A

8) When a product is ________, memory of the ________-related attributes increases.

A) scented; non-scent
B) non-scented; scent
C) auditory; non-auditory
D) non-auditory; auditory
E) quiet; scent
Answer: A

9) The point at which a person can detect a difference between "something" and "nothing" is
that person's ________ for that stimulus.
A) adaptation level
B) absolute threshold
C) just noticeable difference
D) differential threshold
E) sensory adaptation
Answer: B

10) Two people driving together may spot a billboard at different times. This means they
have different ________.
A) absolute thresholds
B) differential thresholds
C) just noticeable differences
D) adaptation levels
E) sensory adaptations
Answer: A

11) John drives by the same billboard every day on his way to work. He has seen the
billboard so many times that he no longer notices it. This is an example of ________.
A) sensory adaptation
B) just noticeable difference
C) differential threshold
D) perceptual blocking
E) absolute threshold
Answer: A

12) Sensory adaptation is of concern to national advertisers, who try to continuously change
their advertising campaigns. They are concerned that consumers will ________.
A) get bored of their competitors' ads
B) get used to their ads
C) not understand their ads as intended
D) develop positive reactions to their ads
E) become more attuned to competing advertising
Answer: B

13) Some TV ads change sensory input by using silence or louder sounds in their ads to
generate attention. This is a form of advertising used in order to overcome ________.
A) sensation
B) preference for competitive advertisements
C) sensory adaptation
D) the just noticeable difference
E) perceptual blocking
Answer: C

14) Brand names stamped on eggs in supermarkets, featured on video screens in taxis, placed
on subway tunnels in between stations, and featured on doctor's examination tables are
examples of ________.
A) sensory adaptation
B) objective reality
C) viral advertising
D) ambush marketing
E) experiential marketing
Answer: D

15) The minimal difference that can be detected between two similar stimuli is called the
________.
A) perceptual threshold
B) differential threshold
C) sensory threshold
D) absolute threshold
E) sensation threshold
Answer: B

16) Weber's law states that ________.

A) the stronger the initial stimulus, the weaker the second stimulus must be to exceed the
JND
B) the JND of a second stimulus is inversely related to the strength of the original stimulus
C) the stronger the initial stimulus, the greater the second stimulus must be to exceed the JND
D) consumers who buy the same products regularly are more likely than those who buy less
frequently to notice changes in price, packaging, or product attributes
E) the more information consumers are given about a particular product, the more likely they
are to purchase that product
Answer: C
17) Which of the following is true of JND?
A) Decreasing prices below consumers' JND is likely to cause a significant rise in sales.
B) Making product improvements that far exceed consumers' JND is likely to maximize
company revenues.
C) There is no JND for decreased product volume sold in existing packaging.
D) Making drastic changes to a company's logo to an extent well beyond consumers' JND
allows companies to update their image without losing their ready recognition.
E) Increasing prices below consumers' JND is likely to go unnoticed by consumers.
Answer: E

18) Which of the following is NOT an implication of the JND for logos?
A) Marketers usually make numerous small changes.
B) Marketers minimize noticeable changes to maintain consumer recognition.
C) Marketers who make dramatic changes to logos may anger customers.
D) Marketers who crossed the differential threshold have chosen to return to their original
logos.
E) Marketers should always try to cross the JND and make dramatic changes.
Answer: E

19) A stimulus may be too faint or brief to be consciously seen or heard, such as a deeply
embedded or a very briefly flashed image, but may still be perceived by one or more sensory
receptor cells. This is called ________.
A) subliminal perception
B) sequential transition
C) supraliminal perception
D) sensory adaptation
E) perceptual blocking
Answer: A

20) Which of the following is true of the relationship between consumers' perceptions and
their expectations?
A) Individual motivation does not affect perception.
B) Ads with irrelevant sexuality generally lead to better recall of the product advertised due
to the attention-getting nature of the sexual content.
C) People tend to make observations and arrive at conclusions completely independent of
their expectations.
D) Consumers tend to perceive products and product attributes according to their own
expectations.
E) What consumers expect to see is completely dependent on their objective, first-hand
experience with the particular product or advertising medium.
Answer: D

21) Which of the following is true of the relationship between consumers' perceptions and
their motives?
A) In general, there is a heightened awareness of stimuli that are irrelevant to consumers'
needs.
B) The stronger the consumer's need, the greater the tendency to ignore related stimuli in the
environment.
C) In general, there is decreased awareness of stimuli that are relevant to consumers' needs.
D) The stronger the consumer's need, the greater the tendency to pay attention to related
stimuli in the environment.
E) Consumers tend to pay equal attention to all advertising, regardless of their needs at any
given time.
Answer: D

22) Which of the following does NOT provoke attention?

A) shocking images
B) contrasting images
C) adaptation
D) unrealistic images
E) contrasting sounds
Answer: C

23) Which of the following is NOT true about the effect of expectations and motives on
perceptions?
A) People see what they expect to see based on familiarity, previous experience, and
expectations.
B) Stimuli that conflict sharply with expectations often receive less attention than those that
conform to expectations.
C) Irrelevant sexuality can distract from the ad's main message.
D) People tend to perceive the things they need or want.
E) There is decreased awareness of stimuli that are irrelevant to a consumer's needs.
Answer: B

24) ________ is a concept related to perception. People actively seek out messages that they
find pleasant and actively avoid painful or threatening ones.
A) Selective attention
B) Selective exposure
C) Perceptual defense
D) Perceptual blocking
E) Perceptual organization
Answer: B

25) After buying a Mini Cooper, Kate began paying more attention to advertisements for
Mini and spent more time on websites reading about how much Mini drivers love their cars
because she was sympathetic to these messages and found them pleasant. This is an example
of ________.
A) selective attention
B) selective exposure
C) perceptual defense
D) perceptual blocking
E) perceptual organization
Answer: B
PART B: STRUCTURED QUESTIONS

1) Define Weber's law in the context of the differential threshold and cite an example of
Weber's law in practice.
Answer: Another term used for the differential threshold is the just noticeable difference
(JND). The JND between two stimuli is not an absolute amount, but an amount relative to the
intensity of the first stimulus. Weber's law states that the stronger the initial stimulus, the
greater the additional intensity needed for the second stimulus to be perceived as different.
For example, if the price of a large container of orange juice is $5.50, most consumers will
probably not notice an increase of 25 cents, however, a similar 25 cent increase in the price of
gasoline would be noticed very quickly by consumers because it is a significant percentage of
the initial base cost of gasoline.

2) How do marketers take advantage of the JND?

Answer: Marketers need to determine the JND for their products for two reasons: (1) so that
negative changes like reductions in product size are not readily discernable to the public, and
(2) so that product improvements such as larger size are very apparent to consumers without
being wastefully extravagant. They are careful about logo and packaging changes because
they want to maintain familiarity with the existing brand and its image and avoid making
consumers confused or angry about changes.

3) What is subliminal perception? How does it relate to marketing?

Answer: When people are stimulated below their level of conscious awareness because the
stimuli are too weak or too brief to be consciously seen or heard, this is known as subliminal
perception.

Marketers have tried subliminal messaging in the past, but no real evidence shows that
subliminal messaging can influence consumer decisions, even though in some instances it
has. Some research shows that subliminal perception influences affective reactions, but not
their activities or motives.

4) Identify and briefly describe three of the basic principles of perceptual organization that
relate to consumer behavior.
Answer: Three of the basic principles of perceptual organization are figure and ground,
grouping, and closure.

Figure and ground refers to the interrelationship between the stimulus itself (the figure) and
the environment or context in which it appears (the ground). Stimuli that contrast with their
environment are more likely to be noticed.

Grouping is people's instinctive tendency to group stimuli together so they become a unified
picture or impression. Examples from marketing include categorizing merchandise in a retail
environment, grouping numbers or creating associations between moods and images and a
product/brand.

Closure is people's instinct to organize pieces of sensory input into a complete image or
feeling. Individuals need closure. Marketers use the principle of closure to get consumers to
participate in a message because consumers will take the time to complete an image to feel
closure.

5) Differentiate between intrinsic cues and extrinsic cues and provide examples of each.
Answer: Intrinsic cues are physical characteristics of the product itself, such as size, color,
flavor, or aroma. Extrinsic cues are characteristics that are not inherent in the product, such as
the product's surroundings or its name.

6) What are the types of perceived risk consumers have to deal with?
Answer:
1. Functional risk: that the product will not perform as expected
2. Physical risk: risk to oneself or others
3. Financial risk: that the product will not be worth the cost
4. Social risk: that the product choice may result in social embarrassment
5. Psychological risk: the risk that a poor product choice will bruise the consumer's ego
TUTORIAL 3

CHAPTER 2(c) – Consumer Attitude

1) In a consumer behavior context, ________ are learned predispositions to behave in a

consistently favorable or unfavorable way with respect to a given object.
A) attitudes
B) beliefs
C) values
D) feelings
E) intentions
Answer: A

2) John is conducting research on American attitudes toward European car brands,

particularly Volkswagen, Volvo, Mercedes, and BMW. The car brands he is researching are
________.
A) experiences
B) attitudes
C) objects
D) attributions
E) cognitions
Answer: C

3) The shift from no attitude to an attitude is a result of ________.

A) biological pressures
B) environment
C) learning
D) genetic predisposition
E) none of the above
Answer: C

4) Attitudes stemming from ________ are more confidently held, more enduring, and more
resistant to competitors' messages than attitudes originating from promotional messages only.
A) print advertisements
B) product usage
C) websites
D) television advertisements
E) endorsers
Answer: B

5) Which of the following is true of attitudes and their relationship with behavior?
A) Attitudes are permanent, but the behaviors they reflect change over time.
B) Consumers always demonstrate consistency between their attitudes and their behaviors.
C) There is no demonstrable link between attitudes and behavior.
D) When consumers are free to act as they wish, we anticipate that their actions will be
consistent with their attitudes.
E) Attitude change is always followed by behavior change.
Answer: D

6) Marketers that offer coupons and free samples of new products to entice consumers to try
them understand the importance of ________ in attitude formation.
A) subjective norms
B) indirect experience
C) ego defense
D) attribution
E) direct experience
Answer: E

7) Attitudes that develop through ________ tend to be more confidently held, more enduring,
and more resistant to attack than those developed via ________.
A) direct experience; indirect experience
B) internal attribution; external attribution
C) utilitarian function; knowledge function
D) cognition; emotions
E) direct marketing; niche marketing
Answer: A

8) Consumers who have a high need for cognition are likely to ________.
A) form positive attitudes in response to ads that feature an attractive model or a celebrity
B) form a positive attitude in response to ads or direct mail that are rich in product-related
information
C) form negative attitudes toward ads that are rich in product information
D) feel neutral toward ads that feature attractive models or product information
E) feel neutral toward ads that are rich in product-related information
Answer: B

9) According to the ________, attitudes consist of three major components: a cognitive

component, an effective component, and a conative component.
A) dual mediation model
B) tri-component attitude model
C) self-perception theory
D) multiattribute attitude model
E) functional approach
Answer: B

10) ________ include the knowledge and perceptions that are acquired by a combination of
direct experience with the attitude object and related information from varied sources.
A) Affectations
B) Emotions
C) Cognitions
D) Objectives
E) Conations
Answer: C
11) The ________ component of the tri-component attitude model includes a consumer's
emotions or feelings about a particular product or brand.
A) conative
B) objective
C) cognitive
D) affective
E) situational
Answer: D

12) Roy is looking to buy a new HDTV set. He knows from friends that LCD set screens
reflect less light than plasma set screens, but that LCD sets are also more subject to blurring
than plasma sets. This is an example of the ________ component of his attitude toward
HDTVs.
A) conative
B) objective
C) cognitive
D) affective
E) situational
Answer: C

13) Paula is a regular at Gino's Italian Bistro. She likes going there because the staff always
recognizes her, greets her by name, and makes her feel welcome at the restaurant, so she feels
an emotional connection with the staff and the restaurant. This is an example of the ________
component of her attitude toward Gino's.
A) cognitive
B) conative
C) situational
D) perspective
E) affective
Answer: E

14) ________ is concerned with the likelihood or tendency than an individual will undertake
a specific action or behave in a particular way with regard to the attitude object.
A) Cognition
B) Affectation
C) Situation
D) Perspective
E) Conation
Answer: E

15) In marketing and consumer research, the conative component of the tri-component
attitude model is frequently treated as an expression of the consumer's ________.
A) attitude
B) level of familiarity
C) intention to buy
D) attitude toward the object
E) ego-defensive function
Answer: C
16) ________ assess(es) the likelihood of a consumer purchasing a product or behaving in a
certain way.
A) Cognitive dissonance theory
B) Buyer intention scales
C) Attitude-change strategies
D) Emotionally charged states
E) Self-perception theory
Answer: B

17) ________ portray consumers' attitudes with regard to an attitude object as a function of
consumers' perceptions and assessment of the key attributes or beliefs of that object.
A) Multiattribute attitude models
B) Functional models
C) Dual mediation models
D) Cognitive dissonance theories
E) Tri-component attitude models
Answer: A

18) Attitude-toward-object, attitude-toward-behavior, and theory of reasoned action models

are examples of ________.
A) tri-component attitude models
B) buyer intention scales
C) attitude-change strategies
D) self-perception theories
E) multiattribute attitude models
Answer: E

19) According to the attitude-toward-object model, the consumer's attitude toward a product
is a function of ________.
A) price
B) communication messages the consumer receives
C) the presence or absence of certain product-specific beliefs or attitudes
D) the consumer's intention to behave in a certain way
E) consumers' subjective norms
Answer: C

20) Microsoft wants to measure public attitudes toward the default media-playing software
included in its Windows operating system. Which of the following types of multiattribute
attitude models would be most appropriate for Microsoft to use?
A) theory of reasoned action model
B) trying-to-consume model
C) attitude-toward-object model
D) attitude-toward-behavior model
E) attitude-toward-the-ad model
Answer: C
PART B: STRUCTURED QUESTIONS

1) What is the theory of trying to consume? Give an example from your own experience.
Answer: The theory of trying to consume is designed to account for the many cases in which
the action or the outcome is not certain but instead reflects the consumer's attempts to
consume.

Here the student can give an example of how a personal or environmental impediment
deterred her from the act of consumption.

2) To help marketers understand the impact of advertising on consumer attitudes, they use a
certain model to help measure attitudes. Talk about this model.
Answer: The model used to measure consumer attitudes toward ads is the attitude toward the
ad model. Consumers form various feelings and judgments as the result of an exposure to an
ad. These feelings and judgments turn into beliefs about the brand that influences attitudes
toward the brand.

3) Identify the four functions that serve as motivators under the functional approach and
provide an example of each.
Answer: The four functions that serve as motivators are the utilitarian function, ego-
defensive function, value-expressive function and knowledge function. Examples may vary.
The utilitarian function stems from the belief that consumers' attitudes reflect the utilities that
brands provide. An example is emphasizing the low maintenance costs and high miles per
gallon of a car. The ego-defensive function maintains that people form attitudes in order to
protect themselves from sensing doubt and replace uncertainty with feelings of security and
confidence. A company that markets leather jackets might emphasize the confidence that
comes with wearing one and show tough looking models. The value-expressive function
maintains that attitudes are reflections of consumers' values, lifestyles, and perspectives. For
example, a hardware company might partner with an organization that funds breast cancer
research and create pink tools. Finally, the knowledge function holds that people form
attitudes because they have a strong need to understand the characters of people, events, and
objects they encounter. A marketer might address this function with facts and comparisons.

4) Explain how involvement in a purchase situation affects the amount of cognitive

elaboration a consumer will use, which can affect a marketer's success in altering the
consumer's attitudes. Be sure to mention each of the two routes to persuasion in your
response.
Answer: The elaboration likelihood model suggests there are two routes to persuasion: a
central route and a peripheral route. The amount of cognitive elaboration related to the
processing of information received via each route is different. When a purchase is important,
or high involvement, a consumer will engage in more information search and evaluation.
Therefore, they will process information via the central route to persuasion and use cognitive
processing of message arguments. On the other hand, low-involvement purchases will require
less thought and information processing, so the consumer is less motivated to exert cognitive
effort. Learning occurs through repetition, the passive processing of visual cues, and holistic
perceptions. Low-involvement purchases are more likely to provoke consumers to apply
simple decision rules, while high-involvement purchases are more likely to provoke
consumers to use attribute-based information to evaluate options.
5) How can marketers utilize the knowledge function to influence the basic motivational
function?
Answer: Individuals have a strong need to know and understand the people and things they
encounter. The consumer's need to know is a cognitive need, so marketers need to focus on
how they position the product in an attempt to satisfy that need to know and improve the
consumer's attitude toward the brand. Marketers need to point out how their product is
superior to other products and point out the attributes in comparison with other brands.

6) What is cognitive dissonance and when does it happen?

Answer: Cognitive dissonance is discomfort that occurs when a consumer holds conflicting
thoughts about a belief or an attitude object. Usually consumers make purchase decisions and
then feel that other brands could have satisfied their needs better. Cognitive dissonance can
happen before or after the purchase. When it happens after the purchase takes place, it is
known as post-purchase dissonance.