Chapter 10: Microcultures
TRUE/FALSE
1. A microculture is defined as a group of people who share similar values and tastes that are subsumed
within a larger culture.
2. A microculture is less significant in terms of its potential influence on consumer behavior.
3. The term subculture is often used to capture much the same idea as microculture.
4. Culture explains the habits and idiosyncrasies of all groups of consumers.
5. All microcultures have identical and consistent role expectations for its members.
6. The role provides a signal as to the behaviors that one should perform to truly belong to the group.
7. When a consumer faces a situation involving conflicting expectations based on cultural expectations,
he or she is experiencing role conflict.
8. Divergence refers to the phenomenon in which consumers choose membership in microcultures in an
effort to stand out or define themselves from the crowd.
9. Consumer groupings are ineffective when microcultures are involved.
10. The nine nation approach in segmentation asserts the fact that consumer priorities remain consistent
across regions.
11. The “Borderland” region, according to the Nine Nations approach, covers the Northern U.S. states that
share a border with Canada.
12. Sex roles refer to the societal expectations for men and women among members of a cultural group.
13. The differences between societal expectations of men and women vary more in Western cultures than
they do in Eastern cultures.
14. Men and women make consumer decisions identically.
15. Cognitive structuring is a term that refers to the reliance on schema-based heuristics in making
decisions.
16. Women are more likely to process information based on the way it is framed and on the categories it
evokes.
17. Men tend to process information in a more piecemeal fashion than women.
18. The term age-based microculture describes the finding that people of the same age develop similar
consumer preferences.
19. People who age in the same generation belong to the same cohort.
20. A cohort is a group of people who have lived the same major experiences in their life, and the
experiences end up shaping their core values.
21. The Baby Boomers were born prior to 1928.
22. The silent generation consumers are largely characterized by lavish spending and extravagant
lifestyles.
23. The Baby Boomers were born in relatively poor and volatile economic times.
24. Marketers consider Baby Boomers an important segment because many Boomers have saved
significant sums of money for retirement and plan to enjoy good times well into their elderly years.
25. Generation X consumers have also been referred to as “latchkey” kids.
26. Generation X consumers were born between 1981 and 1995.
1980.
27. The Millennial generation has been referred to as the first “always connected” generation.
28. The Millennials collectively are referred to as the “digital natives.”
29. Generation Z represents young consumers born between 1995 and 2010.
30. Generations provide a good basis for marketing segments because the consumer’s age identifies their
generation.
31. The Jewish Federation implements tzedakah which enables the poor to access products they may not
otherwise be able to access.
32. According to the kosher diet, dairy products cannot be consumed simultaneously with meat.
33. In the Islamic religion, the word kosher describes the dietary restrictions that prohibit meats that are
not slaughtered in the prescribed manner.
34. Restaurateurs who serve markets with a heterogeneity of religious groups need to be well aware of the
dietary restrictions and the sensitivity of these different groups to violations of the restrictions.
35. Stigmatization means that the consumer is marked in some way that indicates their place in society.
36. The varying ethnicities of consumers in the U.S. have no effect on their consumption patterns.
37. The term unicultural is used to describe immigrants as they face decisions and form preferences based
on their old or new cultures.
38. Bicultural consumers express higher ethnocentrism than their counterparts in the native country and
thus are less open to products from their new country.
39. Relative to the other minority groups, the Hispanic culture is highly educated and highly affluent.
40. Asian-Americans are scattered around the U.S. making it tough for marketers to effectively reach this
customer group.
41. Income is a recognizable determinant of social class.
42. The term habitus refers to mental and cognitive structures through which individuals perceive the
world based largely on their standing in a social class.
43. The advantage of considering social class in consumer behavior is that all consumers in a social class
will act similarly.
44. The social class in which a consumer is born into is termed as the consumer’s achieved status.
45. When consumers work their way into a class, it is termed as their ascribed status.
46. In sociology, marriages comprising of people from similar classes is referred to as exogamy.
47. Social stratification can be defined as the division of society into classes that have unequal access to
scarce and valuable resources.
48. Microcultures are local phenomena and are confined to a specific region.
49. Demographics refer to observable, statistical aspects of populations such as age, gender, or income.
50. The combination of working couples and lower birthrates has led to greater levels of consumer
affluence.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. A group of people who share similar values and tastes that are subsumed within a larger culture is
defined as a _____.
a.
native culture
b.
macroculture
c.
microculture
d.
global culture
e.
mainstream culture
2. Many aspiring artists identify themselves with various bohemian groups which are seen as
unconventional and liberating. Such groups are an example of a(n) _____.
a.
collective culture
b.
universal culture
c.
mainstream culture
d.
microculture
e.
macroculture
3. Jane had very few friends in school until she joined Techno-buzz, a group for technology enthusiasts.
She felt a sense of belongingness with the group and met other members with whom she shared many
common interests. This is an example of belonging to a _____.
a.
collective culture
b.
mainstream culture
c.
macroculture
d.
microculture
e.
global culture
4. Rodeo, a popular animal-riding sport in Texas, draws huge crowds every time it is organized.
However, there are others among them who view the sport as encouraging animal cruelty and hence
they stage protests to ban this sport. These people come together and form groups to further the cause
of safeguarding animals. Such groups are an example of a(n) _____.
a.
universal culture
b.
macroculture
c.
subculture
d.
collective culture
e.
mainstream culture
5. When a consumer faces a situation involving conflicting expectations based on cultural expectations,
he or she is said to be experiencing _____ conflict.
a.
armed
b.
relational
c.
physical
d.
structural
e.
role
6. Randy and Cindy, a married couple who are professionals in the same field, were planning to attend a
conference together. However, when their two-year-old daughter fell ill, Randy stayed home to take
care of her, while Cindy attended the conference. When Cindy told fellow attendees why her husband
could not make it for the conference, they were surprised that she was not the one who stayed back at
home as she was the mother. Which of the following is Cindy most likely to have experienced due to
the conflicting expectations between being a mother and being a professional?
a.
Expectation divergence
b.
Role conflict
c.
Relational conflict
d.
Cognitive dissonance
e.
Structural conflict
7. The phenomenon in which consumers often choose membership in microcultures in an effort to stand
out or define themselves from the crowd is called _____.
a.
resurgence
b.
acculturation
c.
divergence
d.
enculturation
e.
stratification
8. Greg is part of a fraternity whose members wear only Polo shirts to college. Greg and his friends have
chosen to join it as they wanted to define themselves from other students on campus, and wearing a
certain brand of clothing helps them achieve that. Which of the following phenomena best describes
the students’ decision to join a fraternity to define themselves?
a.
Divergence
b.
Enculturation
c.
Resurgence
d.
Acculturation
e.
Assimilation
9. Chicago is famous for its mouth-watering hot dogs where the hot dog is either steamed or simmered in
water. This hot dog is unlike any other found in the rest of the country. This is an example of culinary
difference arising out of different _____ microcultures.
a.
regional
b.
sex-role
c.
age-based
d.
religious
e.
generational
10. Southerners are distinguished from others by their hospitality as well as their love for tradition. This is
an example of difference based on _____ microcultures.
a.
regional
b.
sex-role based
c.
age-based
d.
religious
e.
street
11. Traditional advertisements for cookware have always focused on appealing to women consumers.
Such advertisements make use of consumer differences arising out of microcultures based on different
_____.
a.
sex roles
b.
religions
c.
regions
d.
ethnicities
e.
generations
12. Which of the following is true about gender differences in making consumer decisions?
a.
Men tend to be more heuristic/intuitive in their processing.
b.
Men tend to process information in a more piecemeal fashion.
c.
Women tend to process information based on the way it is framed.
d.
Women tend to process information based on the categories it evokes.
e.
Men generally tend to make poorer consumer choices than women.
13. The societal expectations for men and women among members of a cultural group are referred to as
_____.
a.
gender sanctions
b.
gender identification
c.
gender socialization
d.
sex roles
e.
sex ratios
14. The reliance on schema-based heuristics in making decisions is known as cognitive _____.
a.
dissonance
b.
distortion
c.
structuring
d.
divergence
e.
imaging
15. Most men hate shopping for clothes and use product price as an indicator for quality. Many believe
expensive products as a guarantee for good quality. In making a buying decision based on price-
quality heuristic, the consumer is making use of _____.
a.
cognitive distortion
b.
cognitive dissonance
c.
cognitive imaging
d.
cognitive divergence
e.
cognitive structuring
16. Eve is a brand of jeans named after a style journal for women. The brand conducted a survey recently
and found out that men avoided buying Eve jeans as they associated the brand exclusively with
women. Which of the following is illustrated through this scenario?
a.
Cognitive dissonance
b.
Cognitive distortion
c.
Cognitive divergence
d.
Cognitive structuring
e.
Cognitive imaging
17. Teenagers around the world are more similar to each other than to people from other generations in the
same culture. This is an example of a(n) _____ microculture.
a.
regional
b.
age-based
c.
sex-role based
d.
generational
e.
street
18. Majority of teenagers in developed nations are seen either browsing the Internet or listening to music
on their smartphones or other electronic gadgets. It can be said that teenagers pretty much have the
same preferences throughout the developed world. This phenomenon labeled as world teen culture is
an example of a(n) _____ microculture.
a.
generational
b.
sex-role based
c.
age-based
d.
street
e.
regional
19. A group of people who have lived the same major experiences in their life with the experiences
shaping their core values is referred to as a(n) _____.
a.
cohort
b.
series
c.
tribe
d.
legion
e.
order
20. A group of students from different parts of the country started elementary school together. They
graduated high school at a time when higher education costs made it very difficult for parents to
finance college education. Most of them took loans to complete college. This experience made them
financially responsible and they started saving up early in life. This collective group of individuals can
best be described as belonging to the same _____.
a.
tribe
b.
cohort
c.
legion
d.
series
e.
order
21. Americans who were born before 1928, and whose lives and values were shaped very much by World
War II and post-war experiences, belong to the _____.
a.
greatest generation
b.
Baby Boomers
c.
Generation X
d.
Millennials
e.
Generation Y
22. Louis was born in 1920 and spent four years in the Navy during World War II. He doesn’t understand
his grandchildren’s spending habits because he was always thrifty. Which of the following
generational microcultures is Louis most likely to belong?
a.
Baby Boomers
b.
Silent generation
c.
Generation X
d.
Millennials
e.
Greatest generation
23. Americans born between 1928 and 1945 tend to be frugal and follow largely utilitarian motivations
with their purchases. The generational microculture group illustrated here is the _____.
a.
Baby Boomers
b.
greatest generation
c.
silent generation
d.
Millennials
e.
Generation X
24. Carla is a 75-year-old woman. Her life’s choices have been influenced by her experiences of the Great
Depression as well as World War II. She spends sparingly and buys only what is of practical use to
her. Which of the following generational microcultures is Carla most likely to belong?
a.
Baby Boomers
b.
Silent generation
c.
Generation X
d.
Generation Z
e.
Millennials
25. Americans born between 1946 and 1964, during a time in the United States that was marked by
optimism and relative economic security, belong to the _____.
a.
greatest generation
b.
silent generation
c.
Baby Boomers
d.
Millennials
e.
Generation X