49) ________ is a weighted measure of occupation, source of income, house type, and quality of
neighborhood to assess social class.
A) Social Stratification Theory
B) Chapin’s Social Status Scale
C) Social Comparison Theory
D) The Index of Status Characteristics
E) The Socioeconomic Status Score
50) Which of the following social class strata are typically conspicuous users of new wealth?
A) upper-upper class
B) lower-upper class
C) lower-middle class
D) upper-lower class
E) low-lower class
51) Which of the following class strata view work as means to “buy” enjoyment?
A) lower-upper class
B) upper-middle class
C) lower-middle class
D) upper-lower class
E) lower-lower class
52) Which of the following class strata constitute a major market for do-it-yourself products?
A) lower-upper class
B) upper-middle class
C) lower-middle class
D) upper-lower class
E) lower-lower class
53) The classic Horatio Alger tale of a penniless young orphan who managed to achieve great
success in business and in life is an example of ________.
A) downward mobility
B) conspicuous consumption
C) downward comparison
D) power
E) upward mobility
54) The ________ states that members of lower classes adopt the fashions of the upper class and
maintain them even after the upper class has abandoned these fashions.
A) upward mobility effect
B) downward mobility effect
C) trickle-down effect
D) exclusivity bias
E) trickle-up effect
55) Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of affluent customers, relative to the less
wealthy?
A) healthier
B) higher life expectancies
C) less likely to become marketers’ “customers for life”
D) more pressure to achieve
E) more isolated from parents
56) Why do many researchers maintain that America’s middle class has been shrinking?
A) the global shrinkage of the middle class
B) the failing economy
C) the geographic shift from metropolitans to the suburbs
D) some members are moving upstream to upper-middle class while others are slipping
backward to the working class
E) the expansion of educational opportunity
57) Downscale consumers are more brand loyal than upscale consumers because ________.
A) they have found the brand that satisfies their needs the best
B) upscale consumers are never satisfied
C) they cannot afford to make mistakes by switching to unfamiliar brands
D) they have loyalty towards companies that target them specifically
E) intergenerational brand transfer is more prevalent in these households
58) Downscale consumers often spend a higher percentage of their available incomes on
________ than do their middle-class counterparts.
A) entertainment
B) housing
C) education
D) food
E) clothing
59) The ________ look, consisting of practical, comfortable, and timeless (vs. trendy) clothing,
is often identified with the upper social class and emulated by lower classes.
A) preppy
B) WASP
C) strata
D) symbolic
E) downscale
60) Relative to working-class study participants, young professionals are more likely to perceive
themselves as ________.
A) average
B) frustrated about their ability to finish things
C) uncertain about the future
D) undisciplined
E) empowered in the sense that they could achieve whatever they set their minds to
61) Which of the following is true of social class as it relates to saving, spending, and credit?
A) Upper-class consumers tend to use their bank credit cards for installment purchases.
B) Young professionals perceive themselves as being average and have a strong sense of
uncertainty about the future.
C) Lower-class consumers are more future oriented and confident of their financial acumen.
D) Lower-class consumers tend to pay their credit card bills in full each month.
E) Upper-class purchasers use their credit cards as a convenient substitute for cash and pay their
credit card bills in full each month.
62) In an example of ________, many predict that today’s youngest generation, the Eco
Boomers, will experience lower living standards than their parents.
A) upward mobility
B) conspicuous consumption
C) downward mobility
D) symbolic consumption
E) reverse stratification
63) The rationale for using ________ is that “birds of a feather flock together,” or families of
similar socioeconomics reside in the same neighborhoods or communities.
A) sociodemographics
B) social class
C) social strata
D) geodemographics
E) ISC
64) Which PRIZM® segment should marketers of very expensive vacations and conspicuous
luxury goods study and/or target?
A) Striving Singles
B) Young Accumulators
C) Accumulated Wealth
D) Sustaining Seniors
E) Cautious Couples
65) In the WATCH MINI CASE, seeking a job with higher income and greater prestige, Bob is
trying to exercise ________.
A) downward mobility
B) conspicuous consumption
C) downward comparison
D) power
E) upward mobility
66) In the WATCH MINI CASE, Icon seems to be appealing to a target market of consumers
seeking a wristwatch that provides ________.
A) a sense of achievement
B) a sense of power
C) a sense of being well-educated
D) a sense of status
E) a sense of importance
67) In the WATCH MINI CASE, Icon’s focus on men of a given age in specific zip codes is an
example of ________.
A) affluence targeting
B) single-variable indexing
C) geodemographic clustering
D) autonomic decision making
E) socialization
68) In the SMITH MINI CASE, Nathan is most likely considered to be in the ________ stage of
the traditional family life cycle.
A) bachelorhood
B) honeymooner
C) parenthood
D) postparenthood
E) dissolution
69) In the SMITH MINI CASE, Nathan is most likely to be a part of which of the following
social classes?
A) lower-upper class
B) upper-middle class
C) lower-middle class
D) upper-lower class
E) lower-lower class
70) In the SMITH MINI CASE, which of the following is most likely to describe Nathan?
A) Nathan uses his credit card as a convenient substitute for cash.
B) Nathan perceives himself to be empowered in the sense that he can achieve whatever he sets
his mind to.
C) Nathan saves money primarily in the interest of safety and security.
D) Nathan is likely to attend the theater and concerts.
E) Nathan prefers to spend his leisure time on cerebral activities, like reading or visiting
museums.
71) In the SMITH MINI CASE, Nathan roots for the Lions because his dad did. This is an
example of ________.
A) subjective measurement
B) geodemographic clustering
C) intergenerational transfer
D) family decision making
E) status consumption
72) The family commonly provides the opportunity for product exposure and trial and imparts
consumption values to its members.
73) All households are families.
74) Structured activities for children, along with constantly being surrounded by mass media and
online social networks, provide children with lots of time to explore their creativity.
75) Fathers are stronger consumer socialization agents than their wives.
76) The Stoic socialization-related attitude is characterized as a mother who has the highest
income and education, is rational, teaches her children to shop and spend responsibly, and
resents the influence of the media on her children.
77) The four parental styles are classified across two dimensions: permissive vs. restrictive and
very nurturing vs. non-nurturing.
78) Most adolescents and teens prefer to look to their parents and older siblings in the
development of consumer behavior norms.
79) Socialization begins in early childhood and culminates in early adulthood.
80) The relative influence of a husband and wife on a particular consumer decision depends in
part on the product or service category.
81) Husband-wife decision making appears to be independent of cultural influences.
82) Over the past several decades, as a result of families having fewer children, there has been a
trend toward children playing a more active role in the family decision-making process.
83) The family life cycle is a composite variable that combines marital status, size of family, age
of family members (focusing on the age of the oldest or youngest child), and employment status
of the head of household, and then classifies the family into a “typical” stage.
84) Families in the parenthood stage are an important market for luxury goods, new automobiles,
expensive furniture, and vacations to faraway places.
85) According to social comparison theory, individuals normally compare their own material
possessions with those owned by others in order to determine their relative social standing.
86) Individuals with more purchasing power or a greater ability to make purchases have more
status.
87) Conspicuous possessions serve as markers or indicators of one’s own status and the status of
others.
88) Social-class membership serves consumers as a framework or reference for the development
of their attitudes and behavior and provides a natural basis for market segmentation for many
products and services.
89) Age and religion are especially important as a means of locating concentrations of consumers
with specific social-class membership.
90) There is a strong positive relationship between health and economic status.
91) Although only a minority of U.S. households are considered “affluent,” these households
account for the majority of household income in the United States.
92) Affluent households have large disposable incomes.
93) The choice of how many different social classes to use depends on the amount of detail that
the researcher believes is necessary to explain adequately the attitudes or behavior under study.
94) Nouveau riche consumers believe “toys” that are bought to display wealth publicly (e.g.
yachts) are vulgar.
95) The most sophisticated geodemographic segmentation is Nielsen’s PRIZM®, which
combines sociodemographic and demographic factors with consumer buying and media exposure
data to locate consumers with similar lifestyles and buying behaviors.
96) The PRIZM® “Accumulated Wealth” segment shies away from buying conspicuous luxury
goods because they regard them as in poor taste/showing off money.
97) Why are mothers generally stronger consumer socialization agents than their husbands?
98) Differentiate between the four parental styles and their respective attitudes towards
advertising, consumption, and yielding to children’s buying requests.
99) Identify and describe the three supportive roles a family plays in the socialization process
and consumer behavior.
100) What are the stages of the traditional family life cycle? What happens at each stage?
101) What is social comparison theory? How might marketers use this theory in advertising?
102) Why do marketers target affluent households? If affluent households are such great targets,
why not target them exclusively?
103) Identify the benefits and dangers of a single company marketing different brands to
different social class segments. Give an example.
104) How do the lower classes and upper classes differ in terms of saving, spending, and credit?
105) Differentiate between nontraditional families and non-family households. What are the
implications of the difference between these two groups for marketers?
106) What is the difference between subjective and objective measures of social class? Explain
how each is used.