137. Refer to Scenario 7.2. Since Alicia and Carlos were using gas mileage as one of their evaluative
criteria, they are most likely in the ____ phase of the consumer buying process.
a.
problem recognition
b.
external search
c.
evaluation of alternatives
d.
purchase
e.
post-purchase
TRUE/FALSE
138. A consumer market consists of buyers intending to use the product with the main purpose of making a
profit.
139. Buying behavior refers to the decision processes and acts of people involved in buying and using
products.
140. Marketers should view customers as problem solvers.
141. If a person’s interest in the product category is ongoing and long term, it is referred to as situational
involvement.
142. Involvement that is temporary and results from a specific set of circumstances is called situational
involvement.
143. Involvement level is one factor that affects a consumer’s selection of a type of problem-solving
process.
144. High involvement products tend to be those that are expensive and visible to others.
145. Limited problem solving is used when purchasing frequently bought, low-cost items needing very little
decision effort.
146. Extended problem solving is used when unfamiliar, expensive, or infrequently purchased products are
bought.
147. When making habitual purchases, a consumer uses extensive problem solving.
148. The actual act of purchase is the second stage of the consumer buying decision process.
149. Once initiated, the consumer buying decision process always leads to a purchase.
150. Problem recognition speed can vary from quite rapid to very slow.
151. An information search, once completed, should identify for the buyer the one brand that he or she
views as the best alternative.
152. When evaluating the alternatives, the buyer rates and eventually ranks the brands in the consideration
set.
153. The evaluative criteria are objective but not subjective product characteristics that are important to a
specific buyer when purchasing a product.
154. A marketer’s use of framing can make a product characteristic seem more important to a consumer and
can facilitate its recall from memory.
155. During the evaluation of alternatives stage of the consumer buying decision process, the buyer selects
the seller from whom he or she will purchase the product.
156. The terms of sale (price, delivery, credit arrangements) are negotiated during the evaluation of
alternatives stage of the consumer decision-making process.
157. Some of the criteria used in the evaluation of alternatives stage of the consumer buying decision
process are also used during the postpurchase evaluation stage.
158. Product availability plays a major role in the purchase stage. If the highest-ranked product is
unavailable, the consumer will most likely purchase the brand ranked second.
159. The choice of a seller may actually affect the final product selection during the purchase stage of the
consumer buying decision process.
160. Dissatisfaction may occur shortly after a purchase; this is called cognitive dissatisfaction.
161. Situational influences generally have the greatest influence during the initial stage of the consumer
buying decision process.
162. There are situational influences that cannot be controlled.
163. Situational influences can be classified into five different categories including physical surroundings,
social surroundings, personality, purchase reason, and time perspective.
164. Situational influences would likely not affect a high school senior searching for a college or university
to attend.
165. An electronics store puts a large screen TV, wired for surround sound, in a quiet corner of the store
with couches and a rug, and plays a recently released movie. These actions give the display the look of
a family room or den. The store is using the physical surroundings as a way to influence purchase
decisions.
166. Social surroundings during the purchase decision do not include the presence of a salesperson.
167. Time dimensions on the buying decision include how long it may take to become knowledgeable about
a product.
168. The time that a buyer has to make a purchase decision is a situational influence.
169. Psychological influences operate within individuals to determine, in part, their behavior as consumers.
170. Perception is a process in which an individual selects, organizes, and interprets information received
through the sense organs.
171. A person receives information inputs through the senses.
172. A major part of perception involves information processing.
173. The phenomenon of selective exposure is associated with perception.
174. An information input is less likely to reach awareness if it is related to an event that the person is
anticipating.
175. If an information input is useful in satisfying a person’s current needs, it is more likely to reach
awareness.
176. When a buyer receives information that is inconsistent with his or her beliefs, the buyer may distort the
information to bring it more in line with those beliefs.
177. Information inputs that reach awareness are received in an organized form.
178. Marketers can control the perception of potential buyers.
179. A consumer may receive a marketer’s information and perceive it differently from the way the
marketer intended.
180. A buyer’s actions at any point in time are affected by one major motive.
181. Motives can affect the direction and intensity of behavior.
182. At a single point in time, a person’s motives are all of equal strength.
183. In Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the most fundamental need is safety.
184. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is an explanation of how motives operate.
185. Motives include knowledge and positive or negative feelings about an object.
186. Ads for beauty products often suggest that purchasing these products will bring love, helping to fulfill
one’s needs for love and affection.
187. Patronage motives influence where one purchases products on a regular basis.
188. Motives always operate at a conscious level.
189. Although marketers may attempt to influence what a consumer learns, their attempts are seldom fully
successful.
190. Learning associated with purchase behavior is not particularly affected by reinforcement.
191. By giving out free samples, a marketer is trying to influence the direct experiences of consumers even
before they purchase products.
192. An attitude consists of one’s evaluation feelings and behavioral tendencies toward an object or idea.
193. Just as attitudes are learned, they can be changed.
194. An attitude scale is useful in helping to measure the intensity of feelings.
195. Marketers may try to change consumers’ attitudes toward a product if they feel that a significant
number of consumers have strong negative attitudes toward it.
196. One’s personality is a set of internal traits and distinct behavioral tendencies that result in consistent
patterns of behavior in certain situations.
197. There is strong research evidence that personality characteristics are major determinants of purchasing
power.
198. A person’s self-concept may affect whether the person buys a product in a particular product category,
but it has little impact on brand selection.
199. Consumers’ buying decisions are not affected by other people.
200. A role consists of a set of actions and activities that a person in a particular position is expected to
perform.
201. Family influences are not directly related to purchasing decisions.
202. Consumer socialization is the process through which a person acquires the knowledge and skills to
function as a consumer.
203. Consumers’ purchasing decisions and brand decisions may be influenced strongly by reference groups.
204. A reference group acts as a point of comparison and as a source of information for an individual.
205. When a product is a conspicuous one, reference-group influence is more likely to affect the brand
decision.
206. Jon’s colleagues at work want to take a skiing trip. Jon grew up in Colorado and learned to ski as a
young child so the group consults him about the best slopes and ski gear needed for the trip. Jon’s role
is that of an opinion leader.
207. An opinion leader provides information and is viewed as an authority on many spheres of interest for
reference-group participants.
208. Income is the key factor in determining a person’s social class.
209. A social class is a closed aggregate of individuals with similar social ranking.
210. Social classes are referred to as open aggregates of individuals because people can move into and out
of them.
211. The criteria used to group people into classes are basically the same in all societies.
212. Expecting ethical business behavior reflects our culture.
213. The values, knowledge, beliefs, customs, objects, and concepts of a society affect how people make
purchasing decisions.
214. Changes in culture do not affect product development.
215. The values, needs, interests, shopping patterns, and buying habits of various subcultures must be
considered if a business wants to succeed.
216. A consumer belongs to only one subculture.
217. Not all the behavioral patterns and values attributed to specific subcultures apply to every member of
that specific subculture.
218. Marketers must consider the different nationalities represented within the Hispanic and Asian–
American subcultures because of the unique culture, history, and buying patterns of each ethnic group.
219. Asian Americans are the fastest growing and most affluent U.S. subculture, but with respect to buying
behavior, Asians are generally not willing to pay more for distinct, well-known brands.