49. A message presented so fast or so softly or so masked by other messages that one is not aware of seeing or
hearing it is called a(n) __________ stimulus.
A. subversive
B. sublingual
C. lateralized
D. subliminal
E. unfocused
50. Which of the following statements is true regarding subliminal stimuli?
A. Research on messages presented too rapidly to elicit awareness indicates that such messages can actually have a
substantial effect.
B. There is evidence that marketers are using subliminal messages.
C. A subliminal ad is different from a “normal” ad in that it “hides” key persuasive information within the ad by
making it so weak that it is difficult or impossible for an individual to physically detect.
D. Subliminal advertising has not been the focus of intense study and public concern.
E. Masked symbols, deliberate or accidental, do appear to affect standard measures of advertising effectiveness and
can influence consumption behavior.
51. __________ is the assignment of meaning to sensations.
A. Attention
B. Perception
C. Interpretation
D. Hemispheric lateralization
E. Information processing
52. Interpretation is generally a relative process rather than absolute, often referred to as
A. perceptual lateralization.
B. adaptation.
C. perceptual defenses.
D. selective perception.
E. perceptual relativity.
53. __________ meaning is the conventional meaning assigned to a word such as found in the dictionary.
A. Semantic
B. Psychological
C. Cognitive
D. Affective
E. Seminal
08-23
Copyright © 2019 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent
of McGraw-Hill Education.
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 08-04 Explain interpretation, the factors that affect it, and the resulting marketing implications.
Topic: Interpretation
54. __________ meaning is the specific meaning assigned a word by a given individual or group of individuals
based on their experiences, expectations, and the context in which the term is used.
A. Semantic
B. Psychological
C. Cognitive
D. Affective
E. Seminal
55. When a teenager says, “It’s cool,” his friends understand that he’s not talking about the temperature. In this case,
the meaning of the word, “cool,” is based on its __________ meaning.
A. semantic
B. psychological
C. cognitive
D. affective
E. seminal
56. __________ is a process whereby stimuli are placed into existing categories of meaning.
A. Affective interpretation
B. Consumer inference
C. Cognitive interpretation
D. Perceptual interpretation
E. Perceptual relativity
57. __________ is the emotional or feeling response triggered by a stimulus such as an ad.
A. Affective interpretation
B. Consumer inference
C. Cognitive interpretation
D. Perceptual interpretation
E. Perceptual relativity
58. When Joan sees an ad with a kitten or puppy, she always pays attention because seeing them makes her feel so
happy. This emotional or feeling response triggered by the ads is known as
A. affective interpretation.
B. consumer inference.
C. cognitive interpretation.
D. perceptual interpretation.
E. perceptual relativity.
08-25
Copyright © 2019 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent
of McGraw-Hill Education.
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 08-04 Explain interpretation, the factors that affect it, and the resulting marketing implications.
Topic: Interpretation
59. Which of the following is not an individual characteristic that influences interpretation?
A. traits
B. learning and knowledge
C. expectations
D. organization
E. All of these choices are individual characteristics that influence interpretation.
60. Some people experience emotions more strongly than do others, which is a trait known as
A. physiological differentiation.
B. psychological differentiation.
C. affect intensity.
D. cognitive intensity.
E. psychological intensity.
61. Some people are known as “super tasters” because they have a higher concentration of taste buds compared to
normal people. As a result, they tend to dislike the taste of broccoli because they claim it is too bitter. What type of
trait is this?
A. affective
B. cognitive
C. psychological
D. physiological
E. mental
62. Denise tends to experience emotions more strongly than most people, so much so that there are some ads that
she cannot even watch because they make her cry. This trait is known as
A. physiological differentiation.
B. psychological differentiation.
C. affect intensity.
D. cognitive intensity.
E. psychological intensity.
63. Which of the following is an individual characteristic that influences interpretation?
A. expectations
B. organization
C. changes
D. proximity
E. clutter
08-27
Copyright © 2019 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent
of McGraw-Hill Education.
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 08-04 Explain interpretation, the factors that affect it, and the resulting marketing implications.
Topic: Individual Characteristics
64. Individuals’ interpretation of stimuli tend to be consistent with their expectations, an effect referred to as the
A. expectation response.
B. affect intensity.
C. individual bias.
D. expectation trait.
E. expectation bias.
65. Which of the following characteristics influencing interpretation represents factors beyond the stimulus itself?
A. individual
B. personal
C. situational
D. stimulus
E. inferential
66. Which of the following is not a situational characteristic influencing interpretation?
A. time pressure
B. mood
C. number of other individuals present
D. nature of the material surrounding the message in question
E. All of these choices are situational characteristics influencing interpretation.
67. Color and the nature of the programming surrounding the brand’s advertisement are examples of __________
present in the situation that can play a role in consumer interpretation independent of the actual stimulus.
A. stimulus characteristics
B. contextual cues
C. situational organization
D. stimulus cues
E. stimulus traits
68. An advertiser that surrounds its ads with positive programming
A. is tapping into the isolation effect.
B. is basing their strategy on figure-ground theory.
C. is utilizing adaptation level theory.
D. increases the chances that their information is evaluated in a more positive light.
E. None of these choices are correct.
08-29
Copyright © 2019 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent
of McGraw-Hill Education.
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Hard
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 08-04 Explain interpretation, the factors that affect it, and the resulting marketing implications.
Topic: Situational Characteristics
69. The size, shape, and color are specific __________ of the stimulus that can affect interpretation.
A. cues
B. traits
C. elements
D. contextual cues
E. signals
70. __________ involve(s) the use of an unexpected twist or artful deviation in how a message is communicated
either visually in the ad’s picture or verbally in the ad’s text or headline.
A. Rhetorical figures
B. Proximity
C. Ambush marketing
D. Contextual figures
E. Affective interpretation
71. __________ is(are) a stimulus characteristic that refers to the physical arrangement of the stimulus objects and
can affect consumer interpretation and categorization.
A. Proximity
B. Rhetorical figures
C. Contextual cues
D. Organization
E. Closure
72. __________ refers to the fact that stimuli positioned close together are perceived as belonging to the same
category.
A. Organization
B. Proximity
C. Closeness
D. Closure
E. Affect
73. Any communication or activity that implies, or from which one could reasonably infer, that an organization is
associated with an event, when in fact it is not is known as
A. gorilla marketing.
B. tangential marketing.
C. stealth marketing.
D. ambush marketing.
E. product placement.
08-31
Copyright © 2019 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent
of McGraw-Hill Education.
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: Moderate
Gradable: automatic
Learning Objective: 08-04 Explain interpretation, the factors that affect it, and the resulting marketing implications.
Topic: Stimulus Characteristics
74. Swiss Miss instant hot chocolate uses images of winter Olympic athletic events with athletes and fans warming
up to a mug of their instant cocoa. While Swiss Miss is not an official sponsor of the winter Olympics, consumers
viewing the ads might reasonably infer that they were. What type of marketing is this?
A. gorilla marketing
B. stealth marketing
C. product placement
D. unethical marketing
E. ambush marketing
75. __________ involves presenting an incomplete stimulus with the goal of getting consumers to complete it and
thus become more engaged and involved.
A. Proximity
B. Ambush marketing
C. Closure
D. Inference
E. Figure-ground
76. __________ involves presenting the stimulus in such a way that it is perceived as the focal object to be attended
to and all other stimuli are perceived as the background.
A. Proximity
B. Closure
C. Inference
D. Figure-ground
E. Fore-ground
77. The physiological ability of an individual to distinguish between similar stimuli is called
A. just noticeable difference.
B. sensory discrimination.
C. consumer inference.
D. closure.
E. expectations.
78. The minimum amount that one stimulus can differ from another with the difference still being noticed is referred
to as the
A. just noticeable difference.
B. perceptual difference.
C. discriminatory difference.
D. inferential difference.
E. minimal difference.