WALMART SCENARIO
Walmart is the largest retailer in the world with more than 4,000 stores located in 14
countries outside the United States. The corporation has learned, sometimes the hard
way, that the Walmart business model cannot be applied to every country it enters due
to cultural differences. For example, the retailer ran into difficulties in many European
countries because stores are not open 24-hours a day, seven days a week, like Walmart
Supercenters in the United States. When negotiating the purchase of Trust-Mart stores
in China, the company had to develop “enduring” relationships with executives before
even discussing business opportunities. Making inroads into the Chinese market was
particularly difficult for Walmart. Chinese customers generally believe in the
superiority of home-made products to foreign ones. Establishing trust with these
customers was difficult as Chinese customers don”t warm up easily to foreign brands
and view them with suspicion. Most of the customers perceived a price-risk relationship
rather than a price-quality relationship while making purchasing decisions. Even within
China, the cultural diversity was immense. Standard Chinese was spoken differently in
different parts of the country. Keeping this diversity in mind, Walmart varied its
marketing mixes based on local tastes, cultures, and economic conditions.
Refer to Walmart Scenario. Establishing trust in the customers is very important in
China as they don”t warm up easily to foreign brands and view them with suspicion.
This suspicion forms a part of the consumer _____ in China.
a. awareness
b. advocacy
c. culture
d. base
e. network
The actual quality of a product that can be assessed through industry specification or
expert rating is known as _____ quality.
a. absolute
b. objective
c. perceived
d. subjective
e. specified
When Angie went out for dinner with Zack, her boyfriend, she was embarrassed with
his behavior. Zack complained when the waiter brought out the wrong order, but the
waiter did not respond appropriately to his complaint. As a result, Zack started yelling
at him, calling him names, and demanded to see the manager. The other diners stared at
them and Angie just wanted him to stop behaving like that. Zack’s behavior at the
restaurant is an example of _____ revenge.
a. procedural
b. retaliatory
c. rancorous
d. distributive
e. restorative
Most children learn appropriate ways to behave in different situations through parental
appreciation for proper behavior and punishment for improper behavior. Such kind of
learning is an example of _____.
a. shaping
b. diffusing
c. structuring
d. modeling
e. renquing
Michelle wants to buy a new laptop. She wants it to be light weight and have a larger
battery backup. She chooses five models on the Internet. The belief ratings for each of
the models are as follows:
She gives these criteria evaluative ratings of 3 and 2 respectively. Using the
attitude-toward-the-object model, which of the following models would Michelle
purchase based on the highest overall attitude score for the model?
a. Model D
b. Model A
c. Model C
d. Model E
e. Model B
Marketing efforts that focus on generating excitement that is spread among market
segments is known as _____ marketing
a. buzz
b. affinity
c. multi-level
d. relationship
e. ambush
_____ occurs when a stimulus shares some, but not all, of the characteristics that would
lead it to fit neatly in an existing category.
a. Assimilation
b. Accommodation
c. Contrast
d. Distortion
e. Simulation
Age Care, a non-profit organization that focuses on caring for the elderly, encourages
its members to do as many good deeds as possible. At the end of each year, one
individual will be voted as the “Age Care Member of the Year,” and will win a free
holiday for two. Which of the following types of group influence most likely motivates
members of Age Care to do good deeds?
a. Informational influence
b. Utilitarian influence
c. Value-expressive influence
d. Coercive influence
e. Affective influence
Extremely high emotional involvement in which a consumer is engrossed in an activity
is referred to as _____.
a. trance
b. contagion
c. ennui
d. flow
e. self-concordance
Which of the following best describes the matchup hypothesis?
a. It states that the more strongly held an attitude is, the more difficult it is to change.
b. It states that a source feature is most effective when it is matched with relevant
products.
c. It illustrates how attitudes are changed based on differing levels of consumer
involvement.
d. It refers to a perception of the extent to which a spokesperson is presenting a message
that he or she truly believes, with no reason to present false information.
e. It states that human beings prefer consistency among their beliefs, attitudes, and
behaviors.
A concept within a schema that is the single best representative of some category is
known as a(n) _____.
a. specimen
b. exemplar
c. archetype
d. script
e. stereotype
Harry spends his weekends visiting automobile stores and going for test drives. This
gives him a high, though he admits that he is not necessarily looking for a specific car.
Which of the following is most likely to account for Harry’s weekend behavior?
a. Physiological motivation
b. Preventive motivation
c. Hedonic motivation
d. Homeostatic motivation
e. Utilitarian motivation
Ben just got a high-paying job and wants to buy an expensive car. However, he was
raised in a family where spending on luxury is considered wasteful. Even though Ben
dreams of replacing his old car with an expensive one, he is very concerned about how
his parents and relatives will react to his purchase decision. Which of the following best
reflects Ben’s concern?
a. Financial risk
b. Social risk
c. Performance risk
d. Physical risk
e. Time risk
Claudia reads publications such as The Wall Street Journal and other reputed dailies,
and perceives herself to be knowledgeable about current affairs. Which of the following
self-concepts is best reflected in Claudia’s perception of herself as a knowledgeable
person?
a. Possible self
b. Ideal self
c. Social self
d. Extended self
e. Actual self
PROM NIGHT SCENARIO
Sara had been very excited thinking about her approaching senior prom. She had been
flipping through many fashion journals for “the dress”. She had almost zeroed in on a
gold dress. However, believing it to be too expensive, she did not even bother to check
the price, even though, the advertisement said “affordable elegance”. Finally, she chose
an orange chiffon dress. As she tried the dress on, a sequence of events began to play in
her mindhow Jake, her date, will come to pick her up in a limousine, and will tie a
corsage around her wrist, how her parents will click a picture, and how they will zoom
away to the prom venue and dance the night awayimages that have been playing on her
mind for days now. On the night of the prom, as she was dancing with Jake, she thought
to herself, “Everything is just the way it should be.” She was so happy when she was
dancing the waltz thatthe crowd, the noise, the musiceverything drowned out. When
they finally sat down for dinner, they were served by butlers. These butlers were
efficient, tactful and mannerly, exactly the way Sara and her friends had always
imagined butlers would be like. It was perfect. The night was very special for Sara and
she thought that she will remember it for the rest of her life as one of her happiest
memories. Refer to Prom Night Scenario. Which of the following represents the
sequence of events Sara mentally went through regarding what to expect on her prom
night?
a. Epitome
b. Script
c. Exemplar
d. Archetype
e. Stereotype
Which of the following refers to beliefs about the violation of written (or unwritten)
laws?
a. Relativism
b. Determinism
c. Contractualism
d. Rationalism
e. Objectivism
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
Which of the following reactions is most likely to occur when a stimulus does not share
enough in common with existing categories to allow categorization?
a. Assimilation
b. Accommodation
c. Contrast
d. Distortion
e. Anticipation
The strength of a(n) _____ stimulus is lower than the absolute threshold of perception.
a. conditioned
b. aversive
c. subliminal
d. supraliminal
e. discriminative
Joseph’s Attire, a men’s clothing store, has recently started advertising weekly sales
such as “three suits for the price of one,” or “get 30% off on your first item and get 50%
off on the second.” This type of advertising might result in consumers perceiving that
the quality at Joseph’s Attire is not very good as they offer such huge discounts. This
kind of promotional advertising serves as a _____ to consumers regarding the quality of
the product sold in the store.
a. signal
b. cue
c. beacon
d. sensor
e. code
From which of the following pairs of perspectives can consumer behavior be defined?
a. Primary and secondary
b. Human thought and behavior, and as a field of study
c. Social and psychological
d. Inputs and outcomes
e. Needs and wants
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
Which of the following instances indicates the presence of competitiveness?
a. When a consumer attempts to display superiority over others by openly flaunting
exclusive products, especially publicly-visible products
b. When consumers engage in bargaining while making purchases
c. When consumers reduce their material consumption
d. When consumers exhibit restraint while purchasing items other than basic provisions
e. When consumers redeem grocery coupons at retail outlets
SCHOOL COUNSELOR SCENARIO
Clarence works as a school counselor in a high school. She finds her job very
challenging as she has to help teenagers deal with a variety of problems. Her years on
the job have given Clarence startling insight on teen behavior. Many high school
seniors with a binge drinking problem perceive nothing wrong with their behavior,
viewing it more as a requisite for acceptance in what is considered “adult behavior.”
Teenagers with a history of cyberbullying acknowledge that the act gives them a feeling
of dominance and power, with some even comparing it to the high they get with
substance abuse. Some go about destroying school property because they believe that
the education system has done them more harm than good. These teenagers believe that
destroying school property is a way to get back at the education system. Most students
report that they experience a high amount of peer pressure. Many students suffer from
eating disorders brought about by the pressure to comply with a certain body type.
Many girls feel the need to eat frequent huge meals and make themselves throw up
afterward. Clarence believes that growing up is troublesome for many but she is always
hopeful that most problems can be tackled. Once, her school organized an interstate
workshop on drunk driving. It was sponsored by a huge corporate house with the
intention of helping the student community. Clarence was happy that it was a big
success. Refer to School Counselor Scenario. When Clarence’s school organized an
interstate workshop on drunk driving, it was sponsored by a huge corporate house with
the intention of helping the student community. Which of the following is being
employed by the corporate house to fulfill its corporate social responsibility?
a. Ethical duties
b. Altruistic duties
c. Rational duties
d. Obligatory initiatives
e. Partnership initiatives
With the _____ approach, the focus of the researcher is on one particular trait.
a. hierarchical approach
b. personology approach
c. single-trait approach
d. self-congruency approach
e. idiographic approach
John Cameron is a psychologist and he analyzes the thoughts, feeling and behaviors
that people have as they interact with other people in groups. John is a _____.
a. evolutionary psychologist
b. forensic psychologist
c. quantitative psychologist
d. cognitive psychologist
e. social psychologist
Richard is a very social person who loves to mingle with others. He enjoys talking to
people and makes friends effortlessly. Which of the following personality traits does
Richard display in this instance?
a. Competitiveness
b. Materialism
c. Conscientiousness
d. Introversion
e. Extroversion
Andy recently went to his favorite restaurant for dinner. However, he found the service
slow and tedious as all the waiters in the restaurant were busy serving a celebrity
customer. Andy was angry that the celebrity customer got preferential treatment at the
expense of other diners. This is an example of_____ appraisal.
a. anticipation
b. retrospective
c. equity
d. outcome
e. introspective
The division of society into classes that have unequal access to scarce and valuable
resources is known as social _____.
a. stigmatization
b. diversification
c. isolation
d. assimilation
e. stratification
RESTAURANT RESEARCH SCENARIO
Insight Research, a marketing research company, has been hired by a national chain of
family restaurants to help them better understand their customers and their preferences.
The restaurant chain has several competitors competing for the same customer
segments and has experienced sales declines in the past few years. Researchers go
“under cover” and pretend to be customers so that they will fit in while they observe the
interactions between customers and the wait staff. Subsequently, they write a report of
their interpretations of what they experienced personally while pretending to be a
customer. They also add in details of what they saw regarding interactions of other
customers with each other and with the employees of the restaurant. Some conclusions
drawn were that the employees were not especially attentive to the customers and that
customers were overheard saying they didn”t intend to return. Some researchers also
noted that the food was not very good and they saw several customers return
orders. Refer to Restaurant Research Scenario. Which of the following can be a
criticism of the research approach used by Insight Research?
a. It does not providing useful information to the restaurant.
b. The results are objective.
c. The results are researcher dependent.
d. The presence of the researcher could have influenced the actions of consumers.
e. Interpretive research is not an acceptable approach for understanding consumer
behavior.
When Joanna finally got the dress that she had been waiting for, she was ecstatic as it
turned out to be a perfect fit. This is an example of _____ appraisal.
a. anticipation
b. outcome
c. agency
d. equity
e. introspective
When a consumer realizes high value from an exchange with a company, _____
improves.
a. relationship quality
b. internalization
c. emotional contagion
d. augmented quality
e. elasticity
When emotions become part of the meaning for a category, it is referred to as _____.
a. affective resonance
b. positive affect optimization
c. non-conscious affect
d. schema-based affect
e. integrated affect
Noise, in the basic communication model, represents all the stimuli in the environment
that assist the communication process.
Hedonic criteria pertain to economic aspects associated with an alternative.
Adolescents tend to consider shoplifting as being more ethical than do adult shoppers.
Geodemographic techniques combine data on consumer expenditures and
socioeconomic variables with geographic information.
Stigmatization means that the consumer is marked in some way that indicates their
place in society.
Discuss some social networking websites of which you are a member. Give an example
of how membership to these social networking websites influences your consumption
behavior.
Dissatisfied consumers are more likely to complain than angry consumers.
Gaining acceptance into a group provides value for a consumer directly by satisfying
his or her needs for belonging.
Attention is the purposeful allocation of information-processing capacity toward
developing an understanding of some stimulus.
The term “anthropomorphism” refers to a design that gives human like characteristics to
inanimate objects.
Role expectations define the types of products that are appropriate for a person within a
role.
To gain the attention of audiences with lower levels of involvement, advertisers must
implement the primacy effect in their messages.
Price sensitive consumers become more loyal post complaint than those with less price
sensitivity.
Low-context cultures emphasize communication through nonverbal elements, while,
high-context cultures emphasize the spoken word.
Nostalgia is characterized by a yearning for the past motivated by the belief that
previous times were somehow more pleasant.
Generally speaking, the greater the movement, the larger the picture, or the louder the
sound, the less likely a consumer is to attend and comprehend something from a
message.