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Study Guide

Consumer Behavior

INSTRUCTIONS TO STUDENTS 1

LESSON ASSIGNMENTS 5

LESSON 1: GROUNDWORK OF THE TEXT 7

LESSON 2: INDIVIDUAL INFLUENCES ON BEHAVIOR 27

LESSON 3: SOCIAL AND CULTURAL INFLUENCES ON BEHAVIOR 89

RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT 135

SELF-CHECK ANSWERS 141

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When was the last time you made a purchase? What motivatedyou? What questions did you ask yourself before you boughtthe item? Did you purchase it quickly, or did you take sometime to think about it? These questions are part of the con-sumer decision process. When you understand this process,you’ll be both a better consumer and a better marketer.

This course will teach you the principles involved in how andwhy consumers make decisions. It’s intended to show you how,through study and research, marketing analysts and managerscan predict and influence consumer behavior.

The textbook for this course is the fourth edition of ConsumerBehavior: An Applied Approach, by Nessim Hanna, RichardWosniak, and Margaret Hanna. This study guide will assistyou in your studies and guide you through your course. Thestudy guide also explains what your assignments are for eachlesson and provides you with the best approach to achievethe maximum benefit from this course.

OBJECTIVES

When you complete this course, you’ll be able to

■ Explain the role of the marketing concept in exchange processes

■ Identify the macro forces and emerging trends that influence consumer behavior

■ Describe the roles of segmentation, targeting, and positioning in developing a marketing strategy

■ Discuss the influence of perception, learning, memory,and attitude on consumer behavior

■ Explain the function of motivation, emotion, personality,and self-concept in purchasing behavior

■ Describe the consumer decision-making process

■ Identify the factors that influence consumer acceptanceof new products

■ Describe the marketing implications of social and cultural influences on behavior

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COURSE MATERIALSThe following materials are part of this course:

1. This study guide, which contains an introduction to your course, plus

■ A lesson assignments page, which outlines the studyassignments in your textbook

■ Assignment introductions, which emphasize themain points in the textbook

■ Self-checks and answers to help you assess your understanding of the material

■ Instructions for your research assignment

2. Your course textbook, Consumer Behavior: An AppliedApproach, which contains your assigned readings

YOUR TEXTBOOK

Before you begin your study of consumer behavior, take sometime to become familiar with your textbook and its layout.

Begin by reading the foreword on page xi and the preface onpages xiii–xxi. These pages give valuable background materialon your textbook and what it has to offer you.

Next, examine the Brief Contents on page iii. The titles of thechapters convey a general idea of the topics you’re going tostudy. As you proceed through the course, use the full tableof contents on pages v–x. If you read the contents for eachchapter just before you begin to study that particular chap-ter, you’ll know what you’ll be studying in that assignment.The formal study material for this course begins on page 3.

At the end of the textbook, following the study material, aretwo helpful resources:

1. A glossary (pages 475–482), which contains definitions ofimportant terms used throughout the textbook

2. An index (pages 483–501), which lists the topics, companies,and individuals mentioned in your textbook, along withthe pages on which those references may be found

Instructions to Students2

A STUDY PLAN

This study guide is a blueprint for your course. Read it carefully, and use the following steps to help you receive the maximum benefit from your studies:

1. Note the pages for each assignment, and read the introductory material in the study guide.

2. Scan the assignment in the textbook to get a generalidea of its content. Then, carefully read and study theassignment. Pay attention to all details, especially defini-tions and main concepts. Be sure to read the summaryas a review of the material in the chapter.

3. The self-checks are designed to help you identify weak-nesses and guide you back to the areas where you needfurther study. As you finish each assignment, answer the self-check questions in this study guide. Then, com-pare your answers to those we provide. Completing andchecking the self-check will help you to make sure you’verecognized the most important points. Each is a review ofthe material you’ve just studied, so test yourself seriously.Don’t look up an answer before giving your own, anddon’t submit the self-check answers for grading. They’refor you to evaluate yourself on your own.

4. After you’ve completed the assignments and self-checksfor Lesson 1, complete the first examination.

5. Follow this procedure until you complete all three lessons.At any point you can contact your instructor for assistanceand clarification.

6. After you complete the examination for Lesson 3, you’llcomplete a research assignment in which you’ll applyyour new course knowledge. Instructions for submittingyour assignment are in this study guide.

Instructions to Students 3

You’re now ready to begin Lesson 1. With concentration anddetermination, you’ll be on your way to acquiring valuablebusiness and marketing skills. Moreover, you may evenbecome a better consumer yourself.

Instructions to Students4

Remember to regularly check “My Courses” on your student homepage.Your instructor may post additional resources that you can access toenhance your learning experience.

Lesson 1: Groundwork of the TextFor: Read in the Read in the

study guide: textbook:

Assignment 1 Pages 7–15 Pages 3–35


Examination 080628 Material in Lesson 1

Lesson 2: Individual Influences on BehaviorFor: Read in the Read in the









Lesson 3: Social and Cultural Influences on BehaviorFor: Read in the Read in the









Research assignment 080632

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ntsNote: To access and complete any of the examinations for this study

guide, click on the appropriate Take Exam icon on your “My Courses”page. You should not have to enter the examination numbers. Thesenumbers are for reference only if you have reason to contact StudentServices.

NOTES

Lesson Assignments6

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Groundwork of the TextASSIGNMENT 1Read this introduction. Then read Chapter 1, “Introduction toConsumer Behavior” pages 3–35, in your textbook, ConsumerBehavior.

What Is Consumer Behavior?

To study consumer behavior, you have to know what it is.Therefore, Chapter 1 begins with a definition of consumerbehavior and then discusses the activities investigated in thisfield—specifically, the way people choose, purchase, use, anddispose of goods and services. Each of these activities repre-sents a stage in what marketers as a whole refer to as thecustomer life cycle.

The aim of understanding each stage of the customer life cycleis to create and deliver lasting value to the consumer duringinteractions with a particular firm. Each of these interactionsmay be referred to as touchpoints, which are of special interestto companies that have begun to adopt Customer TouchpointManagement (CTM) as a means of enhancing a firm’s relation-ship with its customers.

Note that the term consumer behavior is different from a similarterm, buyer behavior. The latter includes behavior that involvesbusiness-to-business consumption as well as personal orindividual consumer purchasing behavior.

Approaches to the Discipline of Consumer Behavior

Understanding consumer behavior means studying individual,or intrapersonal, influences—such as perceptions, attitudes,and personality—as well as broader group, interpersonal, cultural, and cross-cultural influences. Accordingly, the discipline of consumer behavior draws on the insights andprocesses offered by a variety of fields. These include psychology,sociology, social psychology, anthropology, and economics.Each of these fields offers a slightly different perspective onconsumer behavior, which, taken together, form a full picture.

Consumer Behavior8

What Do Buying Decisions Involve?

Pages 8–9 of your textbook offer a hypothetical case of a family deciding to acquire a pet. As you read through thisexample, you’ll see that a number of factors influenced thefamily’s decision. Some of the factors were social—manyother households in the neighborhood owned dogs—and oth-ers were cultural—the parents believed that owning a petwould help teach their children responsibility. The parentsalso engaged in research, considered economic factors, andinvestigated requirements and options for the ownership,care, and maintenance of the family pet.

Consumer Behavior: The Forces behind Human Actions

Many concepts are essential to the study of consumer behavior,and these will be explained in more detail as you proceedthrough your course. For example, the decision to purchase a puppy is a high-involvement process, because introducing adog into the home represents a significant change in the waythe household functions. By contrast, purchasing toys, treats,and food for the dog, which has significantly less impact on theoverall household function, are low-involvement processes.

The Role of the Marketing Concept in Exchange Processes

Most firms today understand the essential role that consumersplay in the entire business process, and they’ve consequentlyadopted an approach known as the marketing concept. Briefly,the marketing concept is an operational philosophy that viewsthe consumer as central to all of a firm’s activities. At theheart of the marketing concept is an understanding that an industry is a consumer-satisfying process, not a goods-producing process.

The marketing concept is grounded in the notion of exchange,the process through which a firm offers its products or servicesin return for consumers’ resources. Any exchange requirestwo parties: one that offers a product or service of perceived

Lesson 1 9

value and another that gives up something of perceived value—for example, cash, time, or labor—to acquire a valued productor service.

Marketers who understand and implement the insights ofconsumer behavior can influence the perceived value of aproduct or service. They’re often referred to as agents ofchange, employing a variety of marketing tactics to create or direct the perception of value.

The Influence of Macro Forces on Consumer Behavior

Extraordinary technological advances now offer consumers ahost of sources through which they can learn about and pur-chase an enormous array of products and services, as well asinteract with the firms that offer them. Mobile and electroniccommerce services, search engines, location-based searches,online auctions, online ads, as well as email campaigns,Facebook, Twitter, instant messaging, and mobile apps havecreated an environment in which consumers can access animmense amount of information. The amount and variety of information available, along with the many methods ofinteraction, can be overwhelming to both consumers andmarketers. Marketers are charged with the task of discoveringnovel and inventive ways of communicating with consumersand enhancing the exchange process, while consumers cansometimes be deluged with too much information and unwantedor ineffectually targeted advertising.

Emerging Trends in Contemporary Society

Pages 14–33 show seven emerging trends influencing twenty-first-century consumer behavior in significant ways. Thissection details the impact of e-commerce and m-commerce;hyperconnectivity and social networks; safety, security, andheightened anxiety; global interdependence and connectivity;and a vision for college education.

Consumer Behavior10

The Explosion of E- and M-Commerce

The emergence of the first web browser brought about a new way for people to interact, and with it, a new economicecosystem. E-commerce is the term generally used to describethe process through which products and services are boughtand sold online. E-commerce sites, such as Amazon.com,have enjoyed a huge advantage in terms of access, presence,promotion, discounts, and delivery over traditional brick-and-mortar retailers, many of which have established online presencesto attract and interact with consumers. E-commerce has evenextended into areas of business such as investment andstock trading.

M-commerce is a subset of e-commerce, through which busi-ness transactions may be conducted through mobile devicesor tablets. As tablets and smartphones have proliferated,m-commerce has grown dramatically, providing such benefitsas easy accessibility, convenience, localization, instant connectivity,personalization, and immediacy. Mobile advertising, which alsobenefits from immediacy, convenience and personalization,has consequently become a valuable tool for marketers.

Hyperconnectivity and Social Networks

Consumer behavior has always been a social activity, involvingsome interaction between providers and consumers. It hasalso been influenced by the opinions and behavior from thosearound us. In today’s marketplace, that sphere of socialinfluence has expanded tremendously through social mediasites like Facebook and Twitter, as well as blogs, user forums,and group-buying platforms such as Groupon.com and Dailydeals. To accommodate the complexity, diversity, and integrationof new applications and devices, many firms are employing astrategy known as hyperconnectivity, enabling large increasesin network bandwidth that often exceed demand.

Consumers can benefit through social media. They discovernew products and services, evaluate them through ratings andrecommendations, seek more information and help in usingproducts and services, and find bargains and discounts. Inrecent years, many new social sites that function as onlinemagazines have evolved to meet the needs of specifically targeted audiences.

Lesson 1 11

Because the advent of social media and its effects on consumerbehavior are so new, firms are in the process of evaluatingtheir impact on their integrated marketing communications(IMC) strategies, the communication tools through which theymanage customer relationships that drive brand value. Atpresent, firms are looking at how to quantify the return-on-investment (ROI) generated by investing in social media.

Safety, Security, and Heightened Anxiety

Fear and anxiety tend to have an overall negative effect onconsumer behavior. Reports of dire events and warnings, athome and abroad, generate feelings of insecurity and insta-bility. The continuing effects of the global financial downturnhave also negatively impacted consumer behavior, as peoplehave lost homes and jobs, or fear that they may do so. Theproliferation of online scams, computer virus attacks, andidentity theft have led to further unease and a correspondingdetrimental effect on personal and business consumption.

The Green Revolution

Dependence on foreign energy supplies comes at a great costto U.S. businesses and consumers. Consequently, consumersand firms that manufacture and distribute products and/ordeliver services are seeking new ways to lower costs, whileoffsetting some of the projected climatic effects of using carbon-based energy sources. Recently, a shift in focus toward othertypes of energy sources, such as solar power and renewables,has created some new markets, products, and services that aimto deliver lower costs and be more environmentally observant.

The “Buy American” Movement

As your textbook notes, manufacturing in America reachedits peak in 1979 and then began to decline as many compa-nies realized that products could be manufactured much lessexpensively abroad. While this trend has led to an influx ofcheaper goods into the American marketplace, opponents arguethat inferior quality, together with the loss of manufacturingjobs at home (along with the loss of income tax revenue), endsup costing consumers more. The “Buy American” movement

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aims to correct this dilemma by urging the return of moremanufacturing jobs to this country and purchasing productswith the “Made in USA” label rather than products manufac-tured abroad. Opponents argue that protectionist strategieswill negatively impact our financial global presence and pointout that the income derived from U.S.-based distributors—including sales and marketing channels—compensates forthe loss of American jobs. While the debate is still ongoing,the “Buy American” movement has opened a significant marketing niche.

Global Interdependency and Connectivity

Over the past several decades, the marketplace has becomeincreasingly global. American and foreign firms trade andcompete with each other and provide goods and services inwide-ranging, often overlapping markets. Their supply chainsare interconnected across nations and continents. The economyhas gone global.

While this financial interdependence has positive aspects—including a wider, more diverse marketplace—the globaleconomy is more vulnerable to disruption. Additionally, connectivity has paved the way for the emergence of a newclass of highly informed consumers and helped create demandfor products and services in previously untapped markets.

A Vision for College Education

College tuition and related fees have increased dramaticallyover recent decades. Many question—and even protest—theincrease. This section also examines the value and benefits ofa college education, such as the opportunity to find higher-paying work, personal satisfaction, and enhanced life experience.

Ramifications of Current Trends forConsumers and Marketers

The current and emerging trends offer opportunities andchallenges for marketers. Connectivity and globalization havehelped to create a more diverse and robust marketplace, andmany of today’s consumers are better informed than those of

Lesson 1 13

previous generations. However, competition between firms andthe efforts to develop and implement an effective marketingstrategy require greater flexibility, innovation, and the abilityto adapt to a rapidly changing, expanding environment.

After you’ve read the assigned textbook pages, review anymaterial you found difficult. Then, return to this study guideand take Self-Check 1. Check your answers with those provided,and review the material for any of the questions you missed.

Key Terms

Term Page

consumer behavior 5

marketing concept 11

agents of change 11

e-commerce 14

m-commerce 16

hyperconnectivity 17

integrated marketing communication 19

Consumer Behavior14

Self-Check 1

At the end of each section of Consumer Behavior, you’ll be asked to pause and check your understanding of what you’ve just read by completing a “Self-Check” exercise.Answering these questions will help you review what you’ve studied so far. Please complete Self-Check 1 now.

Questions 1–5: Indicate whether each of the following statements is True or False.

______ 1. When a company attempts to create and deliver lifetime value to consumers during

every interaction in their relationship with the firm, the company is basically focusing

on the customer life cycle.

______ 2. The goal of Customer Touchpoint Management (CTM) is getting the company’s

managers involved in the promotional activities of the firm.

______ 3. Brick-and-mortar firms have failed to counter competition from online retail operations.

______ 4. While it’s easy to quantify the return on investment generated through traditional

media by such measures as reach and frequency, these are ill-suited for measuring

ROI in the contemporary interactive media environment.

______ 5. Human consumption has always been regarded as an individual act, seldom influenced

by other people around us.

(Continued)

Lesson 1 15

Self-Check 1

Questions 6–10: Select the one best answer to each question.

6. In your textbook’s narrative on the Donatos’ purchase of a puppy, they considered the factthat most families in their middle-class neighborhood owned dogs. To the Donatos, in thiscase, those neighbors represent

a. agents of change. c. opinion leaders.b. a reference group. d. opinion followers.

7. The marketing concept is a philosophy advocating that

a. the consumer is the focal point of all business activities.b. business firms are instrumental in maintaining our high standard of living.c. without an efficient distribution system, the economy cannot function properly.d. marketing is the most important activity in any society.

8. Actions adopted in the transportation field to reduce energy consumption include all of the following except

a. upgrading mass transportation.b. passing laws to increase automotive gas mileage.c. encouraging increased usage of bicycles.d. placing higher taxes on the purchase of gas-guzzling vehicles.

9. Today, reports reveal that nearly _______ percent of everything we buy in the United Statesis made overseas.

a. 30 c. 60b. 40 d. 80

10. Which of the following reflects features of m-commerce?

a. Localization c. Immediacyb. Personalization d. All of the above

Check your answers with those on page 141.

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ASSIGNMENT 2Read this introduction. Then read Chapter 2, “Segmentation,Targeting, and Positioning” pages 39–69, in your textbook,Consumer Behavior.

Mass Marketing

The Model-T automobile was efficiently and economically pro-duced in a standardized version, available in just one color.History shows, though, that the eventual failure of Henry Ford’sModel-T can largely be attributed to his employment of a mass-market strategy, which assumed a homogenous marketplacemade up of consumers sharing virtually identical needs andpreferences.

Many firms quickly learned and have come to acknowledge asa reality that consumers want choice and flexibility in purchas-ing goods and services. The marketplace, in fact, is highlydiverse, comprised of many smaller subgroups, or segments,each with a distinctive set of needs and wants.

To succeed in such a diverse marketplace, most firms employ a three-step market-matching strategy, as illustratedin Exhibit 2.1 on page 42. The first step is segmentation, whichis dividing the general marketplace into a variety of smallersubmarkets, made up of consumers who want or need differ-ent marketing mixes of products and/or services. The secondstep is targeting, which means examining specific submarketsand determining which of them to pursue. The final step ispositioning, which consists of developing, in the mind of theconsumer, a distinctive and attractive image for the productor service.

Market Segmentation

Market segmentation is a process of defining or describing different submarkets, or niches, through identifying commonneeds and wants within a segment, as well as of distinguishingbetween different segments. Your textbook provides examples.Commercial airlines, for instance, typically separate segmentsinto business and leisure travelers. Forrester Research, atechnology consultant firm, has identified 10 segmentsaccording to various criteria.

Lesson 1 17

As illustrated in Exhibit 2.2 on page 43, there are five basicvariables commonly used to segment consumer markets: geo-graphic, demographic, geodemographic, psychographic, andbehavioral.

Geographic Segmentation

Geographic segmentation is segmentation by location, such as by region, county, city, or town. Geography represents asignificant variable because differences in climate, location,distance, and landscape can all influence attitudes andbehaviors, and people in different regions therefore want orneed different types of products or services and tend to responddifferently to marketing programs. To make the most of thesedifferences, many firms employ specifically regionalized orlocalized marketing strategies to appeal to consumers in different geographical locations.

Demographic Segmentation

Demographic segmentation uses variables such as age, gender,family life cycle, income, occupation, education, and ethnicity.For example, toy manufacturers typically market to children.Certain breakfast food companies develop and market somebrands and products geared for children and others tailoredto appeal to adults. Likewise, Harley Davidson, which manu-factures motorcycles, discovered through research that it couldextend its market share by introducing new product linesthat appealed to a demographic younger than its traditionaldemographic.

The family life cycle—the series of stages through which familiestypically progress—is also a key determinant in understandingand marketing to families as they undergo changes in needs,resources, and spending habits. Hotel chains are prime exam-ples of firms that develop and market services that appeal tofamilies in different stages of the family life cycle—for exampleoffering weekend discounts for families with young childrenand offering special amenities, such as children’s menus,cribs, and video games.

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Gender is another important demographic factor, influencingthe decision to produce products and services specifically tai-lored for women and for men. Race and ethnicity are alsosignificant variables, especially given the growth of Hispanic-American, African-American, and Asian-America populations.Each of these demographic subsegments has nuanced needsand preferences, and firms have developed products andservices to appeal to them.

Although education, income, and occupation are seen by manyresearchers to be interconnected, many firms have identifiedoccupation as a significant demographic factor on its own.Accordingly, many firms develop and market products espe-cially aimed at members of a particular profession. As yourtextbook notes, many pharmaceutical companies target doctorsin their marketing strategy.

Geodemographic Segmentation

Through integrating geographic and demographic variables,marketers identify an even more-focused description of a segment than either of the two characteristics consideredseparately. Geodemographic segmentation means segmentinga market by honing in on data on neighborhoods, ZIP codes,or census reports, under the assumption that consumers inparticular cluster systems will behave similarly. This type ofsegmentation is especially valuable for highly directed, precisemarketing.

Over the years, several geodemographic analysis systemshave been developed. One of the earliest, known as PotentialRating Index by Zip Market (PRIZM), combines data from censusrecords, past purchasing behavior, media preferences and otherfactors, along with zip codes to identify extremely precise seg-ments. Other systems include CACI, ACORN, ESRI Tapestry,and PersonicX.

Psychographic Segmentation

Psychographic segmentation divides a market into groupsaccording to factors such as self-values, self-concept, andlifestyle. Psychographic profiles are most commonly identifiedthrough large-scale surveys aimed at determining people’s

Lesson 1 19

activities, interests, and opinions, which are commonly referredto as AIO inventories. A more recently developed technique,known as attitudinal data framing, uses information drawnfrom a firm’s computer database to determine the motivationbehind purchase decisions. One of the most broadly employedpsychographic survey tools is VALS, which identifies consumersegments in terms of eight different clusters.

Behavioral Segmentation

Behavioral segmentation means differentiating consumersinto segments based on their attitudes toward or reaction to a product. These behavioral factors include

■ Usage rate, the frequency or quantity in which peoplepurchase or use a specific product or service

■ Benefits sought, an evaluation of the different benefitsconsumers seek as they examine similar products orservices

■ Brand and store loyalty, the tendency to purchase goodsor services exclusively from a particular company or store

■ Marketing tactic sensitivity, the response to various typesof marketing tactics, such as perception of quality, coupons,promotions, customer service, advertising appeals, andsalesperson interaction

Market Targeting

The analysis that goes into market segmentation results in amarket profile, a detailed representation of the various segmentswithin the broader market, the characteristics of members ofeach segment, and the position of competitors within eachsegment.

Dividing the total market into smaller, relatively homogeneousgroups, or segments, is necessary for a marketer to focus onand plan strategies for targeting specific market groups. Oncethe market is segmented, the firm must then decide which ofthose segments is attractive enough and sufficiently feasibleto target. Due to variations in size, resources, technical capacity,

Consumer Behavior20

and marketing capabilities, firms typically aim to fit theirbusiness attributes and models to the needs and wants ofconsumers as precisely as possible.

For targeting to be successful, firms must determine theoverall marketing-target strategy and goals. The four mainstrategies are

■ Undifferentiated

■ Multisegment

■ Concentration

■ Customization

Undifferentiated Strategy

An undifferentiated strategy entails an approach to the marketplace as a single, homogeneous arena offering productsor services understood as providing the same benefits to allconsumers. This approach is best suited to marketing staplessuch as corn, wheat, flour, sugar, and salt. It’s also usefulwhen introducing new products into the market where com-petition is negligible. Production, distribution, and other costscan be contained through this strategy, but as seen in the caseof the Model-T, undifferentiated targeting can make firms vul-nerable as competitors enter the field and offer more varietyand other differentiating factors.

Multisegment Strategy

A multisegment strategy targets several segments and offers adifferent marketing mix to appeal to each segment. Automobilefirms, for example, can offer vehicles aimed at a variety ofsegments by adjusting all marketing mix elements (includingproduct design and function, price, and promotion) to suitthe needs and preferences of various segments. Technologyfirms like Apple can offer a variety of products that attractdifferent segments.

Offering diverse product lines to serve multiple segments canreduce market risk. Declines in some segments can be offsetby gains in others. However, the business costs associatedwith developing and marketing a diverse line often escalate

Lesson 1 21

exponentially according to the variety of products offered.Even so, targeting products that appeal to the characteristicsof a particular segment can allow firms to charge a premiumprice.

Concentration Strategy

Using a concentration strategy means focusing all a firm’sresources on delivering a product or set of products specificallyaimed at meeting a particular segment’s needs and wants—for example, marketing clothing for tall or large men. Theadvantages of employing a concentration strategy includegaining a dominant share of a particular market and mini-mizing operating costs. The risks associated with such astrategy include a decline in the segment as a whole, ashrinking of the segment’s purchasing power, changes inconsumer tastes, or the entrance of a strong competitor.

Customization Strategy

A customization strategy is a specialized approach aimed atsatisfying the wants and needs of a single customer througha “custom designed” offering. This approach can be seen inneighborhood stores that cater to local customers. It’s alsoseen in the targeted ads that now appear in many online sites,which draw from large databases of information gatheredfrom online interactions.

In recent years, some firms have moved toward a mass customization strategy, integrating technological know-howand customer input to provide products and services to theneeds and preferences of individual customers. Many computermanufacturers, for example, allow customers who visit theirsites to “build” their own computers, offer upgrades andaccessories, and provide the opportunity to “chat” with representatives. Some firms go even further, offering optionsfor personalization, allowing customers to customize theirproducts in a way that uniquely meets their needs andpreferences.

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Targeting Considerations

Few firms enjoy unlimited resources, so choosing the mostviable target market or markets to serve is one of the mostimportant tasks marketers face. Several criteria must there-fore be considered when making this decision, including

■ Size: Is the segment large enough to merit the costs andlabor of the targeting effort?

■ Potential: Is there a genuine need for the product or serviceamong consumers in a particular segment, together withcustomer willingness and resources to purchase it?

■ Measurability: Can the firm obtain reliable informationabout the size, nature, behavior, and profitability of thesegment?

■ Accessibility: Can the firm reach segments throughadvertising programs or distribution channels?

■ Compatibility: Do the products or services and marketingmix fit the firm’s objectives, resources, and other capacities?

■ Stability: Is the segment growing or at least enduring?

■ Defendability: Can the firm withstand the emergence of astrong competitor?

Positioning

Marketers use product positioning to create and maintain an image that uniquely identifies a product or service anddistinguishes it from the competition in each segment theywish to reach. Positioning strategies may include differentia-tion based on value, distinctive product attributes, uniquesymbols that define a product, and/or the relationship of abrand, product, or service to something similar offered by a competitor.

Lesson 1 23

When developing a positioning strategy, many firms create aperceptual map to distinguish a product in the minds of con-sumers. Exhibit 2.4 on page 65 illustrates a perceptual mapfor images of pain relievers. Additionally, when positioning aproduct, marketers typically focus on one or more distin-guishing features as a basis. The four most important criterianoted in your textbook are desirability, uniqueness, visibility,and affordability.

Irrelevant Attributes and Positioning

Irrelevant attributes are characteristics that appear to distin-guish a product from a similar one. For example, soaps maybe distinguished by their scent or color, which doesn’t reallyimpact their effectiveness. In the short term, irrelevant attrib-utes may boost sales, but over time their effectiveness as anincentive often diminishes in the face of competition.

Selecting a Unique Selling Proposition

When firms select and focus their marketing efforts on a singlebenefit that distinguishes a product or service, they’re employ-ing what’s known as a unique selling proposition (USP). Asyour textbook notes, Volvo has highlighted its excellent safetyrecord as a feature across all of its marketing materials. Thisfocus has established Volvo in the minds of consumers asnumber one in safety along with what some researchersrefer to as a mental product ladder. Another USP is creatinga personality for the brand or product, which serves as thebasis for a large promise of benefits for the customer.

Repositioning

Of course, it’s possible that the competitive environment maychange. If that happens, marketers must adapt their positioningstrategies and reposition the brand by modifying its formulation,emphasizing new or different uses or benefits, or changingthe brand image or design. Repositioning is typically supple-mented through promotion, advertisement, and differentpricing strategies. Communication efforts, which can be quite expensive and time-consuming, are also critical to arepositioning effort.

Consumer Behavior24

This completes your second assignment. Review any materialyou found difficult. Then take Self-Check 2. Check youranswers with those provided in the back of this study guide.Review the material for any of the questions you missed.

After you complete Self-Check 2, review any material fromAssignments 1 and 2 that you found difficult. When you’resure you understand the information covered in Lesson 1,take the examination.

When you complete the exam, you’ll be ready to begin Lesson 2.

Key Terms

Term Page

mass-market strategy 41

market segmentation 41

market targeting 41

positioning 42

geographic segmentation 44

demographic segmentation 45

geodemographic segmentation 50

psychographic segmentation 54

AIO inventories 54

behavioral segmentation 55

market profile 57

undifferentiated strategy 58

multisegment strategy 59

concentration strategy 61

customization strategy 61

mass customization 61

personalization 62

perceptual map 64

repositioning 66

Lesson 1 25

Self-Check 2


______ 1. Market targeting is the act of dissecting the overall marketplace into a number of sub-

markets that may require different products or services and thus can be approached

with different marketing mixes.

______ 2. A manufacturer that subdivides the market based on age is using

demographic segmentation.

______ 3. A retailer who subdivides the market by stage in the family life cycle is using

behavioral segmentation.

______ 4. PRIZM, ESRI Tapestry, and PersonicX are all basic geodemographic

segmentation systems.

______ 5. In a concentration targeting strategy, the company individualizes its products and

services to meet each customer’s specific requirements.

(Continued)

Consumer Behavior26

Self-Check 2


6. A _______ strategy is based on the assumption that there’s a single, large, homogeneousmarketplace with common needs.

a. multisegment c. concentrationb. mass market d. customizing

7. A health club that targets persons who enjoy aerobics employs _______ segmentation.

a. demographic c. geodemographicb. geographic d. psychographic

8. An undifferentiated targeting strategy would most likely be used when a

a. product is relatively new to the marketplace.b. product’s price is higher than the competing products.c. product faces intense competition.d. product is heavily advertised.

9. Factory 121, a Swiss watch company, established a website where customers can create anddesign their own individually made Swiss timepieces in a fun and playful manner. This mannerof conducting business exemplifies a(n) _______ strategy.

a. undifferentiated c. concentrationb. multisegment d. mass customization

10. A product’s _______ refers to the manner in which it’s perceived by consumers in relation tosimilar products offered by the competition.

a. position c. portraitb. market share d. placement


Individual Influences on Behavior

ASSIGNMENT 3Read this introduction. Then read Chapter 3, “ConsumerPerception” pages 73–106, in your textbook, ConsumerBehavior.

Chapter 3 examines the vital role perception plays in shapingconsumer behavior. As you read through the material, you’lllearn about the various stages of the perception process, aswell as factors that influence perception itself.

What Is Perception?

Your textbook begins with a basic definition of perception,which is understood as the process of selecting, organizing,and interpreting sensations into a meaningful whole. As ispointed out, perception is subjective and can be manipulatedor altered by many factors. Understanding the dynamics ofperception is critical to developing a successful marketing plan.

Exposure, Attention, and Sensation

The fundamental building blocks of perception are threeinterrelated experiences. The first is exposure, or the act ofdeliberately or accidentally coming into contact with environ-mental stimuli. The second is attention, which is directing themind to a stimulus or a task. The third is sensation, a processthat involves receiving input from the sensory receptors (eye,ears, nose, mouth, and touch) and the transmission of thisinformation to the brain through the nervous system.

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Consumer Behavior28

Sensory Systems

Exhibit 3.1 on page 78 illustrates the process of perception—that is, the relationship between the sensory organs, the sensefaculties (such as sight, smell, and taste) and the processingand interpretation of sensory stimuli. The material in thissection examines in detail the role and importance of eacharea of sensory perception.

For example, research indicates that nearly 80 percent of theinformation we receive from our environment is visual. Thisis a key understanding in product design, as well as develop-ing marketing or promotional materials that attract interest.Likewise, smell plays a significant role, especially in arousingemotional responses and triggering memories.

The role of taste is understandably central in the success of introducing or repositioning a food or beverage. Sound,meanwhile, plays a key role in influencing consumer perception.In-store announcements and spoken tag-lines in televisionand radio advertisements can be instrumental in shapingconsumer responses; while music, skillfully utilized in retailor restaurant settings and advertising, can greatly impactconsumer experience. Touch also plays a vital part in con-sumer behavior, particularly regarding items like clothingand furniture, where the feel of fabric, wood, and other mate-rials often determines the choice of one product over another.

While the five senses are necessarily explained separately,they’re actually closely interrelated. For example, the sense oftaste often works with the sense of smell. In some instances,all five senses are so deeply integrated that they function as asort of sixth sense, an experience referred to as synesthesia.

Input Variation and Its Effect on Sensation

Variations in the amount, variety, and intensity of sensoryinput can have a profound effect on consumer behavior. Peopletend to become more sensitive in environments where stimuliare minimal. This insight helps us to understand why peopletend to just ignore advertisements when confronted with too

Lesson 2 29

many promotional messages—a situation referred to as perceptual overloading. In such situations, a capacity known asperceptual vigilance—an automatic ability to filter out sensorystimulation—takes over.

Perceptual Selectivity

Most of us are capable of filtering the massive amounts ofstimuli we receive through our environment on a daily basis—akey factor in understanding consumer behavior. For example,we demonstrate selective exposure—the tendency to ignoremedia or advertising related to topics unimportant to us—andpay selective attention to information that interests us, whiledisregarding information that isn’t relevant to our needs andconcerns. The influences on perception are illustrated inExhibit 3.2 on page 85.

Two other processes play important roles. Perceptual defenseblocks stimuli that adversely impact our beliefs or self-image.Selective sensitization, meanwhile, predisposes us to be opento stimuli that conform to our needs, preferences, and desires.

After our attention has been engaged by stimuli, we go througha process of consciously interpreting our perceptions. At thispoint, our perceptions begin to be weighed against memoryand experience as a means of determining its relevance andemotional effect, a process referred to as selective interpretation.

The processes involved in perceptual selectivity present cer-tain challenges to marketers, who must find creative ways toengage consumers’ attention. This effort is especially criticalin today’s marketplace, where consumers are bombardedwith advertising and enjoy the capability of skipping or fast-forwarding through television advertisements or blockingonline ads. In addition, they must contend with adaptation,which is the capacity to simply filter out stimuli with whichpeople have become overly familiar.

Consumer Behavior30

Stimulus and Individual Factors of Perception

Consumer perceptions are heavily influenced by the shape,size, scent, color, or taste of a product—the physical attrib-utes that attract or direct attention, which are collectivelyreferred to as stimulus factors. Additionally, perceptions areinfluenced by individual factors, such as a consumer’s needs,goals, experiences, expectations, and lifestyle. One importantindividual factor is attention span. People can pay attention onlyto a small number of inputs at a time, generally collected inwhat are known as chunks, organized groups of information.

Research into the ways that consumers process informationto form perceptions indicates two distinct pathways. Bottom-up processing begins with registering the stimulus factors,which are then sorted and organized in higher regions of thebrain, and ultimately registered in long-term memory as adistinctive whole. Conversely, top-down processing beginswith individual factors—such as memories, needs, interests,beliefs, expectations—that then influence the consumer’s per-ception of the meaning of a stimulus. Both pathways areillustrated in Exhibit 3.3 on page 89.

Threshold Levels

From studies of the relationship between sensory stimulationand sensation, researchers conclude that each of the five sen-sory faculties—sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch—haslimits in terms of its ability to respond to the intensity ofstimuli. Three such limits, or thresholds, have been identified:

■ The absolute threshold—the lowest level of intensity atwhich a stimulus may be detected

■ The terminal threshold—the maximum intensity of astimulus, beyond which no greater sensation is detected

■ The differential or just-noticeable difference (JND) threshold—the smallest increase in intensity that a person can detect

Lesson 2 31

The JND threshold is of particular interest to marketers,depending on whether or not they hope to achieve or avoid a detection of difference in a product’s size, quality, price, or other attributes.

Situational Influences on Perception

In addition to stimulus factors and individual factors, perception can also be influenced by the situation in whichconsumers find themselves. How we feel at a particular timeand in specific circumstances represents a mental and emo-tional state known as a situational self-image, which, in turn,influences how we respond to stimuli.

A number of environmental conditions, known as situationalvariables, contribute to consumer perception—and thereforeconsumer behavior. These include

■ Physical surroundings

■ Social surroundings

■ Task definition, or the role one plays in the purchasing process

■ Time perspective (when a consumer goes shopping relative to the time of year, time of day, and other time-related events)

■ Antecedent state, the physical or psychological state of aperson immediately preceding his or her current state

Gestalt Psychology

A different understanding of the perceptual process is held byGestalt psychologists, who advocate that people perceive stimulias complete wholes and meaningful patterns. The German wordGestalt may be translated as “whole or total impression.” CertainGestalt principles are particularly relevant to marketers whenconsidering consumer behavior:

■ Closure, the tendency to perceive complete objects evenwhen parts are missing

■ Proximity, the association of one object with anotherbased on spatial or temporal closeness

Consumer Behavior32

■ Context, the surroundings, situation, or setting in whichan object is perceived

■ Figure and ground, the suggestion that objects are perceived in relationship to their background

Perceptual Categorization

Another aspect to consider is the tendency to group objects intological categories or classes, a process known as perceptualcategorization. Consumers tend to mentally arrange similaritems—such as detergents, fruits, or dairy products—intoeasily definable categories. Within each category, there mayalso be subcategories. For example, cars may be subdividedinto luxury cars, economy vehicles, trucks, and minivans.Marketers can use this understanding to better position theirproducts in categories that consumers can easily recognize.

Given the complexity of the marketplace and the variety ofproducts available, consumers often rely on cues or bench-marks to guide their purchasing choices. Such cues arereferred to as surrogate indicators and may include suchattributes as brand, price, and country of origin.

Consumers also tend to differentiate between products throughprototype matching, a process of comparing alternative brandsin a product category to a standard, or leading brand. Usingthe leading brand as a perceptual guide, or prototype, theconsumer gauges how well the product they’re consideringmeasures against the ideal.

Perceptual Inference

Beliefs about products, brands, stores, and firms based onprior experience or previously acquired information such asproduct reviews create another level of influence, referred toas perceptual inferences. Your textbook identifies three suchinferences:

■ Evaluation-based inferences (also known as the haloeffect) are associations based on prior positive or negative experience with a product or brand.

Lesson 2 33

■ Similarity-based inferences arise from associationsbetween new or unfamiliar products with familiar ones.

■ Correlational influences are based on general ideasapplied to specific products. For example, if a consumerbelieves that the higher the dosage of an ingredient inallergy medication is better, he or she will likely choosethe brand that contains the highest dosage.

Schema and Scripts

Information about objects is typically stored in consumers’memory in an organized manner that allows people to moreefficiently shop for goods and services. Cognitive psychologistsrefer to these organizational frameworks as schema, sets of expectations that help to understand and interpret newinformation. General schemas—for example, expectationsabout automobiles—may be subdivided into more specializedsubschemas—for instance, understandings and expectationsassociated with hybrids or standard transmission.

We also organize our understanding of appropriate behaviorin response to recurring events (or events similar to experi-ences we’ve had in the past) according to scripts. In general,these serve as outlines or patterns that guide us through var-ious interactions toward an expected or foreseeable outcome.

Perception and Images

Of critical importance to marketers is the image of a brand andits associated products. In marketing terms, the word imagerefers to the overall impression of what a firm, product, brandor store represents. A number of elements—including stimu-lus factors, individual factors, situational factors, advertising,and symbols—must be carefully integrated to create andmaintain a successful image. Additionally, the image must be designed in a way that appeals to the targeted market. As your textbook notes, the image created for Armani suitsdiffers significantly from that of suits available at Sears.

Images aren’t confined only to brands and products. Stores,too, promote and maintain an image tailored to meet theneeds and expectations of their targeted customer base.

Consumer Behavior34

The low-price image associated with Walmart is aimed toappeal to a different segment than the fashionable, exclusive,and expensive image promoted by Saks Fifth Avenue orNieman Marcus.

An effective marketing strategy takes into account the impor-tance of imagery, the process by which consumers visualizesensory information in what’s commonly referred to as work-ing memory—the ability to retain and manage informationover short time periods. Images are created and maintainedthrough promotion. Advertising, in particular, is oftenreferred to as image management.

Creating and maintaining a clear, positive image is crucial to a firm’s success. When dramatically adverse events occur,products are discovered to have defects, or services becomeunreliable, firms—and marketers especially—must work hardto restore their image or the image of their products.

Successfully maintaining an image over time results in a per-ception of added value referred to as brand equity—a perceivedadvantage of a particular brand within a product line or cate-gory over other brands in that line or category. Maintainingbrand equity not only grows profit and extends market share,it also helps to ensure loyalty.

Risk Perception

Exchange almost always involves some element of risk, and theperception of risk involved in purchasing goods and servicesis another factor that marketers need to consider in under-standing consumer behavior. In general, the perception ofrisk can be broken down into five categories:

■ Functional risk, the possibility that the product or servicedoesn’t perform as expected

■ Financial risk, the prospect that the product or servicemay not be worth the cost

■ Physical risk, the potential danger the product or serv-ices may pose to consumers, their households, or theenvironment

Lesson 2 35

■ Social risk, an evaluation of the way others may view thepurchase

■ Psychological risk, the possibility that an incorrect choicemay damage a consumer’s self-image

Key Terms

Term Page

perception 75

exposure 77

attention 77

sensation 77

synesthesia 83

perceptual overloading 84

perceptual vigilance 84

selective exposure 84

selective attention 84

perceptual defense 84

selective sensitization 85

selective interpretation 85

adaptation 87

stimulus factors 87

individual factors 87

chunk 88

bottom-up processing 88

top-down processing 89

absolute (lower) threshold 90

terminal (upper) threshold 90

differential threshold or just noticeable difference (JND) 90

situational self-image 92

situational variables 92

Gestalt 94

closure 95

(Continued)

Consumer Behavior36

This completes your third assignment. Review any material youfound difficult. Then take Self-Check 3. Check your answerswith those provided in the back of this study guide. Reviewthe material for any of the questions you missed.

Key Terms

Term Page

grouping 95

proximity 95

context 95

figure and ground 95

perceptual categorization 96

surrogate indicators 97

prototype matching 98

perceptual inferences 98

schema 99

script 99

image 100

imagery 102

brand equity 103

Lesson 2 37

Self-Check 3


______ 1. Three concepts intimately relate to perception: exposure, processing, and outcome.

______ 2. Research shows that a change in package color can win the attention of consumers

who aren’t loyal to a particular brand of product.

______ 3. Perceptual vigilance is a term used to express our ability to discard much of what we

perceive through our senses.

______ 4. The terminal threshold is the lowest level at which an individual can

experience a sensation.

______ 5. A product’s image can differ greatly from its physical attributes.

(Continued)

Consumer Behavior38

Self-Check 3


6. David is a heavy smoker. One evening while watching TV, he came upon a report that cited newevidence linking cigarettes to a variety of heart and lung diseases. David immediately discreditedthe reliability of the studies that led to such conclusions. David’s action is an example of

a. selective attention. c. perceptual sensitization.b. selective exposure. d. perceptual defense.

7. Beverly eats at Buckeye’s restaurant because of the good manners displayed by its waiters. Inthis case, Beverly’s behavior is being influenced by the situational variable known as the

a. antecedent state. c. task definition.b. time. d. social surroundings.

8. In the information processing domain known as bottom-up, which of the following regarding a car-buying process would qualify as sensory inputs that have a strong bearing on thebuyer’s perception?

a. A car’s size and stylingb. The buyer’s needs, interests, and expectationsc. The perception of functional riskd. Brand equity

9. A _______ is a set of expectations that provide a structure for understanding and interpretingnew information.

a. halo effect c. schemab. script d. context

10. A belief that a person unconsciously or consciously assigns to a product based on previouslyacquired information and one’s own personal experience is known as

a. a perceptual inference. c. prototype matching.b. perceptual overloading. d. subliminal perception.


Lesson 2 39

ASSIGNMENT 4Read this introduction. Then read Chapter 4, “ConsumerLearning and Memory” pages 109–143, in your textbook,Consumer Behavior.

What Is Learning?

In terms of consumer behavior, learning is understood as avehicle through which consumers adapt to change and solveproblems. Nearly all aspects of human behavior involve sometype of learning. Chapter 4 examines three major schools oflearning theories as well as the processes of memory and forgetting.

The chapter begins with a broad definition of learning as anexperience that produces relatively lasting changes in a per-son’s capabilities and behavior. It also offers a more specificexplanation of the term as a process through which changesoccur in a person’s long-term memory. In the area of consumerbehavior, the definition is even more specifically understoodas the acquisition of skills and knowledge that allows peopleto function in the marketplace.

Motivation plays a key role in understanding how involvedconsumers are in the process of learning about products andservices. In low-involvement situations, consumers have little orno motivation to take in information about certain productsor services. In high-involvement situations, consumers arehighly motivated to learn about specific products or services.As you saw in the hypothetical case presented in Chapter 1,the Donato family was highly motivated to learn about theeffects of getting a dog.

Learning Theories

Psychologists and social scientists have presented a variety oftheories describing how people learn. Your textbook focuseson three particular theories especially useful to marketers,who face the task of motivating consumers.

Consumer Behavior40

Classical Conditioning

Classical conditioning, based on the work of Russian physiol-ogist Ivan Pavlov, represents the view that learning involvesforming associations between environmental events, or stimuli.Exhibit 4.1 on page 114 illustrates the principle of classicalconditioning. Research has shown that associating certaintypes of music, humor, or other stimuli with a product canpositively or negatively impact consumer behavior.

According to the classical conditioning model, four conditionsmust be met for learning to occur:

■ Repetition

■ Contiguity, or the spatial or temporal proximity of objects

■ Contingency, presenting stimuli in the proper order

■ Congruity, the consistency or relatedness of consecutivelypresented cues that make up the entire stimulus event

Operant Conditioning

Operant conditioning represents the view that learning is achieved through experiencing the positive or negative consequences of behavior. When a certain type of behavior is rewarded by a positive or pleasant consequence, a habit isformed. In psychological terms, the type of reward received orconsequence experienced is known as reinforcement. In mar-keting terms, positive reinforcement encourages behavior withpleasant consequences, such as enjoyment of a product orservice. Negative reinforcement, not be confused with punishment,refers to the relief or removal of a negative or painful situation.Exhibit 4.2 on page 119 offers a schematic illustration of theprocess of operant conditioning.

Like classical conditioning, learning though operant conditioningdepends on certain criteria. There must be a reinforcementschedule, a pattern in which reinforcements are offered. Theschedule may be continuous, or intermittent. Timing also playsa key role, and is described in terms of practice schedules.Massed, or concentrated, practice schedules concentrate learningover a brief period to speed up the learning process, whereasspaced, or distributed, practice schedules spread the pace oflearning over a longer period to maximize retention.

Lesson 2 41

Marketers employ various strategies to apply operant condi-tioning principles, often breaking down larger behaviors intosmaller increments and reinforcing behaviors leading up to a purchase—a process known as behavior shaping. Anotherstrategy is ecological design, which is planning a physicalspace to elicit a favorable consumer response. Ecologicaldesign plays a critical role in what researchers in the field ofconsumer behavior refer to as the servicescape, the combina-tion of physical and social elements that influence consumerperception in a consumption setting.

Applications of Conditioning Theories: Stimulus Generalization and Discrimination

Both classical and operant conditioning models of learningnote two prominent tendencies in people’s response to stimuli.The first is generalization, a tendency to apply the responseto a particular product to a whole range of similar products.Conversely, stimulus discrimination represents the tendencyto differentiate between and respond differently to similar,typically competitive, products.

Cognitive Learning

Conditioning learning theories are based on the assumptionthat learning is accomplished through behavior. By contrast,cognitive learning theory advances the view that learningoccurs through the thought processes applied to achieving a goal or solving a problem. Cognitive learning theory alsoemphasizes the role of subjective experience—a synthesis ofbeliefs, values, attitudes, experiences, and expectations—inthe way that we process and adapt to new information.

Neo-Pavlovian Conditioning

In recent years, researchers have begun to reexamine classicalconditioning models in light of the insights offered by cogni-tive learning theory. As a result, a new model, neo-Pavolvianconditioning, has emerged. Integrating elements of both con-ditioning and cognitive models, neo-Pavolvian conditioningtheory recognizes that learning isn’t limited to acquiring new

Consumer Behavior42

behavioral responses to stimuli, but rather involves develop-ing knowledge about the environment through complexassociations among a wide variety of objects and events.

Which Learning Theory Do Marketers Employ?

The decision to apply the principles of different learning theories in the development of marketing strategy varies fromfirm to firm and product to product. As your textbook notes,the Walt Disney Company relies upon classical conditioningthrough the instant response to the well-known Mickey Mousecharacter. Sony relies in large part on operant conditioningby featuring the superior quality of its products as a positivereinforcement tool. Other firms use cognitive learning theoryprinciples to provide logical, information-based consumerappeals.

Learning and HemisphericSpecialization of the Brain

Over recent decades, researchers have advanced the viewthat learning is influenced by hemispheric specialization ofthe brain—an understanding that the left and right hemispheresof the brain process, organize, and encode information differently.The left hemisphere specializes in logical, analytical, and verbalprocesses, while the right hemisphere focuses more on recog-nizing and storing patterns of information—and is particularlyadept at recognizing and responding to visual patterns.

The insights gained can be applied in various ways. One suchapplication involves distinguishing learners into four distincttypes. Another involves designing information-heavy marketingmaterials that engage to the logical, analytical left hemisphere,and more visual, holistic messaging that engages the righthemisphere.

Lesson 2 43

Learning in a Social Context: Vicarious Learning

A number of researchers have concluded through the studyof human behavior that learning frequently occurs in a socialcontext. In particular, people tend to change their behaviorafter observing the activity of others and the consequences of that behavior. This process is known as vicarious learning.

Learning Curves

Learning is not a static process. As we continue to repeatpatterns of thought and behavior, the tasks we perform becomeeasier. This is known as the learning curve or experience effect,which has important implications in predicting and shapingconsumer behavior.

Through learning, we develop habits, which can be translatedinto brand loyalty, the habit of consistently choosing a specificbrand from among a variety of similar, competing products.Marketers can encourage brand loyalty through various rela-tionship marketing activities that build positive bonds withconsumers.

In many instances, however, brand loyalty results simply frominertia, the habit of choosing a particular brand because it’sfamiliar. This is a low-involvement process that can sometimeslead to consumers switching brands, because they don’t recognize differences between different brands—a situationreferred to as brand parity. Researchers have identified fourdistinct purchasing patterns associated with switchingbrands:

■ Reversion—switching back to an original brand

■ Conversion—a situation in which consumers remain loyalto a new brand

■ Vacillation—random switching between brands

■ Experimentation—a more systematic trial of different brands

Consumer Behavior44

Memory and Retention

An effective marketing strategy depends in large part ondeveloping messages that consumers can easily rememberand retain over long periods. To facilitate this, marketersoften employ mnemonic devices, auditory or visual cues thatcondense information about a brand, product, or service in away that can be easily retained. Prime examples include Apple’siconic brand image and the “Have it your way” slogan usedby Burger King.

The prominent role of search engines in contemporary lifeposes a certain challenge to today’s marketers. Referred to as the Google effect, consumers appear to be less reliant onretention when information is widely and readily availablethrough a quick search.

Carefully study pages 136–138, which explain the complexstructure of memory, explaining the differences between sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory.Sensory memory, the foundation of memory, involves the initialprocessing of information, typically associated with an object’sphysical attributes. After the initial phase, information is sentto short-term memory, the storage function or system thatallows us to quickly process information and hold it for brief(30 seconds or less) periods. Short-term memory can holdonly about 4–7 bits of information at a time. The process isfacilitated by rehearsal, which allows the information to beencoded—transformed into symbols such as words or imagesthat can be stored as a perceived idea.

Long-term memory, by contrast, is a kind of informationwarehouse in which ideas and information are stored formuch longer periods. Long-term memory is organized interms of knowledge structures, groupings of related pieces of information into larger wholes.

Information Retrieval

The process through which we access information stored inlong-term memory is known as information retrieval. Marketerscan facilitate information retrieval through simple visual orauditory cues, like the “He likes it! Hey Mikey” device used by Quaker Oats to promote Life Cereal.

Lesson 2 45

Extinction and Forgetting

The loss of information, skills, and behavioral responses isvariously referred to as extinction and forgetting. Typically,extinction occurs when there’s a break in the link betweenbehavior and an expected reward. Forgetting typically occurswhen a stimulus is no longer repeated or perceived.

Interference—the process of acquiring new information thatcompetes with information acquired earlier—is considered amajor factor in the process of forgetting. Your textbook iden-tifies two types of interference: retroactive, in which recentlyacquired information interferes with the recall of previouslylearned information, and proactive, in which prior learning takesprecedence over newly acquired information. The dynamics ofinterference are illustrated in Exhibit 4.4 on page 141.

Because of the variety of competing products in today’s marketplace, interference poses a significant challenge formarketers. Information overload can cause confusion in theminds of consumers, especially given the competitive nature ofadvertisements promoting different brands within a particularproduct category.

Key Terms

Term Page

learning 111

low-involvement learning 113

high-involvement learning 113

classical conditioning 113

repetition 116

contiguity 116

contingency 117

congruity 118

operant (instrumental) conditioning 118

positive reinforcement 119

negative reinforcement 119

(Continued)

Consumer Behavior46

Key Terms

Term Page

reinforcement schedule 120

continuous reinforcement 120

intermittent reinforcement 120

massed (concentrated) practice 120

spaced (distributed) practice 120

behavior shaping 121

ecological design 121

servicescape 121

stimulus generalization 122

stimulus discrimination 122

cognitive learning 124

subjective experience 125

neo-Pavlovian conditioning 127

hemispheric specialization of the brain 129

left hemisphere 129

right hemisphere 129

vicarious learning 131

learning curve (experience effect) 132

brand loyalty 133

inertia 134

brand parity 135

mnemonic devices 135

Google effect 136

sensory memory 136

short-term memory (STM) 136

encoding 137

long-term memory (LTM) 137

knowledge structures 137

(Continued)

Lesson 2 47

This completes your fourth assignment. Review any materialyou found difficult. Then take Self-Check 4. Check youranswers with those provided in the back of this study guide.Review the material for any of the questions you missed.

Key Terms

Term Page

information retrieval 138

retroactive interference 140

misinformation effect 141

proactive interference 141

Consumer Behavior48

Self-Check 4


______ 1. In high-involvement learning situations, individuals are motivated to process the

information to be learned.

______ 2. The learning principle of contingency states that the unconditioned stimulus should

precede the conditioned stimulus.

______ 3. The learning principle of contingency states that the conditioned stimulus should

precede the unconditioned stimulus.

______ 4. The concept of hemispheric specialization of the brain is of special importance to

marketers in guiding their selection of promotional media.

______ 5. Proactive interference occurs when misleading details are suggested to a person after

witnessing an event.

(Continued)

Lesson 2 49

Self-Check 4


6. Repetition, contiguity, contingency, and congruity are basic premises of which of the followinglearning theories?

a. Classical conditioning c. Cognitive learningb. Operant conditioning d. High-involvement learning

7. In the realm of conditioning theories, extinction is caused by

a. high involvement. c. contingency.b. contiguity. d. ceasing to reinforce a learned response.

8. Rebecca owns an upscale clothing store. To increase the shopping enjoyment of her customers,she changed the color scheme of her store, set up attractive displays, and started playingrelaxing background music. Rebecca’s calculated planning of physical space is known as

a. spaced practice. c. behavior shaping.b. massed practice. d. ecological design.

9. Charles has always been impressed with the quality of Kellogg’s cereals. When he saw a new brand of Kellogg’s cereal in the store, he assumed that it must also be good. This is an example of

a. behavior shaping. c. stimulus generalization.b. reinforcement. d. stimulus discrimination.

10. Martin is a financial consultant at XYZ Financial Consulting. He works until 7 o’clock everyevening because he notices that those who work longer hours are more likely to get promoted.Martin’s practice of working longer hours is a result of

a. classical conditioning. c. low-involvement learning.b. vicarious learning. d. retroactive inference.


Consumer Behavior50

ASSIGNMENT 5Read this introduction. Then read Chapter 5, “ConsumerAttitudes” pages 149–180, in your textbook, Consumer Behavior.

What Are Attitudes?

Attitudes are defined as learned predispositions to respondconsistently to a particular object. This definition incorporatesthree key elements that make up attitudes: They’re learned,they’re consistent, and they’re responsive, formulated as aresult of personal experience and acquired information. Anythingabout which we hold an attitude is referred to as an attitudeobject. Chapter 5 explores consumer attitudes, which manyexperts believe are the single most important influence onconsumer behavior.

Valence, Intensity, and Centrality of Attitudes

Attitudes can be further understood in terms of three specificaspects. The attraction or repulsion that directs people towardor away from an object is referred to as valence. The strengthwith which people hold their attitudes is described in termsof intensity. The proximity with which an attitude reflects aperson’s core values and beliefs is referred to in terms of its centrality.

Sources of Attitudes

A variety of sources contribute to the formation of attitudes.Your textbook identifies three of the most significant sources as

■ Personal experience with objects

■ Social interaction

■ Exposure to mass media, the Internet, and social media

Lesson 2 51

The Function of Attitudes

Attitudes serve four major functions in shaping our responsesto various objects. Some attitudes are utilitarian, in the sensethat we view an object as a means to achieving an end. Forexample, our attitudes toward cosmetics or colognes are basedon whether or not those particular products effectively makeus look prettier or smell nicer. The ego-defensive functioncomes to the fore when we’re seeking products that protectour sense of self and mask personal inadequacies. The value-expressive function of attitudes guides consumers towardproducts or services that reflect their primary values andindividual preferences. The knowledge function helps them toorganize, summarize, and predict the vast and complicatedamount of information encountered every day.

Do Attitudes Determine Behavior?

While attitudes can influence behavior, research indicates thatthey aren’t absolute determinants of behavior. So far, studiesshow conflicting evidence regarding a correlation between anexpressed attitude and actual behavior. Investigators havefound more success in identifying when to expect a linkbetween attitudes and behavior, which in turn depends on anumber of moderating variables such as the qualities of thebehavior (whether it’s generalized or specific), the qualities ofthe person holding the attitude, the qualities of the situationin which the behavior occurs, and the qualities of the attitudeitself.

Consumer Behavior52

The Traditional Model of Attitudes

To better understand how attitudes are formulated and how they influence behavior, market researchers turn to the traditional model of attitudes, which holds that attitudesconsist of three interrelated components:

■ The cognitive component—what someone thinks he or sheknows about an object

■ The affective component—the positive or negative feeling about an object

■ The behavioral or conative component—the tendency toactually behave or intend to behave toward an object

Attitude Components and Marketing Strategy

Using the traditional model, marketers typically seek to addressall three components. They create informative materials toaddress the cognitive component, the affective componentwith messaging that appeals to emotions, and the behavioralcomponent by offering incentives such as coupons, samples,and rebates.

Fishbein’s Mutli-Attribute Model of Attitudes

University of Pennsylvania Professor Martin Fishbein introduceda different model of attitudes known as the multi-attribute model,which suggests that attitude objects have a number of attrib-utes that vary in importance to the same person. Fishbeintheorized that a person’s overall evaluation of an object—referred to as an attitude-toward-the-object—resulted from theinteraction between an individual’s beliefs about the object(which consists of a variety of specific attributes) and his orher evaluation of the presence and desirability of these attrib-utes in a brand.

Lesson 2 53

He further suggested that these variables could be quantifiedin a way that allowed marketers to numerically rate the atti-tudes toward their own products and those of competingbrands. Exhibit 5.2 on page 162 offers a sample illustrationof this quantification and rating formula.

However, because positive attitudes toward an object don’tnecessarily translate into actual purchases, Fishbein and hisassociates eventually abandoned the attitudes-toward-objectapproach in favor of an attitudes-toward-action model ofexamining the relationship between attitude and behavior.

The Theory of Reasoned Action

Fishbein and his associate Icek Ajzen went on to develop amodel known as the theory of reasoned action (TORA), in whichbehavior is determined by an individual’s intention to behave.According to this model, intention—the subjective determinationto act in a certain way toward an attitude object—determinesa person’s attitude toward purchasing an object.

Two primary factors contribute to taking action in the contextof the TORA model. The first is attitude-toward-the-behavior, ageneral evaluation of the action and its consequences. Thesecond involves consideration of subjective norms, which consistof our beliefs about what the important people around usthink we should do or refrain from doing, along with our tendency to conform to those expectations.

Theories of Goal Pursuit and Trying

Other approaches explore the pursuit of goals, or objectivesin which some obstacle stands in the way. Because life eventstend to get in the way of achieving goals, however, behaviorfocuses more precisely on trying to achieve them. The theoryof trying identifies three different attitudes about goals: atti-tudes toward the consequences of succeeding, attitudes towardthe consequences of failing, and attitudes toward the processof striving to achieve a goal. According to this approach, consumers may perceive the purchase of a product as an

Consumer Behavior54

attempt to achieve a goal, and savvy marketers employ avariety of trial strategies to entice consumers to make anactual purchase.

How Attitudes Are Formed

Attitudes, as noted earlier, are learned responses that may beacquired through one or more of the learning models describedin Chapter 4. According to the classical conditioning model, apositive response can be elicited by presenting a known brand—which serves as a conditioned stimulus—along with anunconditioned stimulus, such as a new product introducedunder the brand’s name. Firms like Apple have capitalized onthis type of conditioned attitude formulation by introducingproducts under a unified brand name.

Attitudes may also be formed through operant conditioning,for example by rewarding consumers with special deals andpackages or, in the case of seasonal shopping, offering specialdiscounts or prizes to early bird shoppers. According to thecognitive learning model, consumers form attitudes throughexposure to information provided by marketers as well asthrough their own experience, knowledge, and goals.

Attribution Theory

Another model of attitude formation is attribution theory,which holds that people seek to understand the causes ofevents in their lives. If a task is performed more successfullyand efficiently using one brand or product over another, thereason for the success is often attributed to the brand orproduct. Many graphics designers, for example, prefer Applecomputers for their work because the tight integration betweenthe operating system, hardware, and graphics software makesthe process simpler and more efficient.

Marketers often include attributions when describing theirproducts’ benefits. Interestingly, many consumers understandthis marketing tactic, and formulate a more confident attitudetowards firms and products that also include disclaimers.Pharmaceutical companies, in particular, have utilized thisunderstanding by prominently noting the potential sideeffects of their products alongside the benefits.

Lesson 2 55

How Attitudes Are Changed

Attitudes are often hard to change, depending on their centrality, intensity, and the extremity of their valence.Negative attitudes toward a product or brand present mar-keters with an especially challenging task. To achieve attitudechange, marketers rely on strategies derived from cognitiveconsistency theory and information-processing theory.

The foundation of cognitive consistency rests on the idea thatpeople try to maintain consistency between the three componentsof attitude: beliefs, emotions, and behavior. To foster a changein attitude, marketers rely on creating some sort of dissonance,which, according to the model of cognitive dissonance theory,creates psychological tension between a person’s beliefs andbehavior. When this tension is experienced, a person is moti-vated to change his or her beliefs or behavior to restore balance.Insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies, forexample, play on consumer fears to create a dissonance thatcan be resolved only by purchasing their products.

By contrast, an information-processing approach relies onproviding relevant facts to aid consumers in reaching a logi-cal conclusion that will result in a change in behavior. Thisstrategy was successfully employed by Burger King severalyears ago, by promoting the fact that their hamburgers werecharbroiled rather than fried, like McDonald’s. Consumerswho perceived charbroiling as a healthier alternative wouldbe more likely to change their purchasing behavior.

The information-processing approach relies upon several procedural steps to successfully bring about a change in attitude. These are outlined in Exhibit 5.3 on page 174.

In addition, a number of information-processing strategiescan be employed, including

■ Making comparisons against competition

■ Emphasizing brand attributes

■ Adding new attributes

■ Providing knowledge of alternatives of consequences

■ Changing the relative value of attributes

Consumer Behavior56

Consumer Reaction to Marketers’Attitude-Related Strategies

To gauge consumer response to marketers’ attempts tochange attitudes, researchers have developed the elaboration-likelihood model (ELM), an approach that suggests that aconsumer’s level of involvement determines the most suitablepath to changing attitudes. The more relevant the informationin the message is to the consumer, the more likely he or sheis to be engaged by it or elaborate on the information. In high-involvement processes, consumers are more likely to carefullyevaluate information, a process referred to as the central routeto persuasion. When information is less relevant, consumersare less likely to process the information in a message, a phenomenon known as a peripheral route to persuasion.

Key Terms

Term Page

attitudes 151

attitude object 152

valence 152

intensity 152

centrality 152

utilitarian function 154

ego-defensive function 154

value-expressive function 156

knowledge function 156

traditional model of attitudes 159

cognitive component 159

affective component 160

behavioral (conative) component 160

multi-attribute model 161

attitude-toward-the-object 161

(Continued)

Lesson 2 57

This completes your fifth assignment. Review any materialyou found difficult. Then take Self-Check 5. Check youranswers with those provided in the back of this study guide.Review the material for any of the questions you missed.

Key Terms

Term Page

theory of reasoned action (TORA) 163

intention 163

attitude-toward-the-behavior 164

subjective norms 164

goals 164

attribution 170

attitude change 171

cognitive consistency 171

cognitive dissonance theory 171

postpurchase dissonance 172

information-processing approach 172

elaboration-likelihood model (ELM) 176

central route to persuasion 176

peripheral route to persuasion 176

Consumer Behavior58

Self-Check 5


______ 1. Most shopping-related attitudes are peripheral.

______ 2. The two sources of attitude formation are social interaction and exposure to mass and

electronic media.

______ 3. In the traditional model of attitudes, the affective component is also known as the

conative component.

______ 4. In the realm of attitude formation, the practice of family branding applies classical

conditioning concepts to establish desirable positive attitudes toward the brand.

______ 5. Attitude-toward-the-ad models suggest that the factors of where, when, and in what

context an ad is seen are among the variables that may shape the attitudes we form

toward the ad and, in turn, toward the product.

(Continued)

Lesson 2 59

Self-Check 5


6. The _______ component of an attitude deals with what we think we know about an attitude object.

a. behavioral c. affectiveb. motivational d. cognitive

7. Fishbein hypothesized that an attitude-toward-an object is a function of a person’s beliefsabout an object and the person’s

a. evaluative aspects of those beliefs. c. age.b. social class. d. environment.

8. According to _______, we attempt to ascertain the causes of events in our daily lives.

a. the theory of reasoned action c. balance theoryb. attribution theory d. cognitive dissonance theory

9. According to _______, once an alternative has been chosen, attractive features of therejected alternatives and unattractive features of the selected alternative become magnified in the consumer’s mind.

a. cognitive dissonance theory c. attribution theoryb. the elaboration-likelihood model d. the theory of reasoned action

10. The _______ holds that recipients of a message process it differently based on their level of involvement.

a. multi-attribute model of attitudes c. elaboration-likelihood modelb. theory of reasoned action d. traditional model of attitudes


Consumer Behavior60

NOTES

Lesson 2 61

ASSIGNMENT 6Read this introduction. Then read Chapter 6, “Motivation andEmotion,” pages 185–217, in your textbook, Consumer Behavior.

What Is Motivation?

Your textbook defines motivation as a state in which energy is mobilized and directed in a selective manner toward achievingdesired goals. For motivation to occur, two conditions mustbe met. The first is arousal, a state of tension that occurs primarily from unfulfilled needs. The second is direction, theend toward which action is stimulated.

Chapter 6 explores the dynamics of motivation and describesthe elements that constitute it. It also examines various theo-ries of motivation and discusses the function of emotions indriving consumer behavior.

Classifying Consumer Motivations

Motivation isn’t directly observed. Rather, it’s a hypotheticalpsychological construct, or abstraction, which social scientistsinfer from observations of behavior. Motivations are typicallyclassified according to opposing pairs:

■ Conscious versus unconscious

■ High urgency versus low urgency

■ Positive versus negative

■ Intrinsic versus extrinsic

■ Rational versus emotional

Exhibit 6.1 on page 193 offers a partial listing of rational and emotional motives and the marketing appeals used tostimulate them.

Consumer Behavior62

Elements of Motivation

Motivation is understood to consist of four interrelated groupsof elements. The first is needs, internal forces that stimulatebehavior toward attaining goals. Needs are further subdividedinto physiological needs, which are the essential physicalrequirements to maintain life, and acquired needs, which arelearned and conditioned by relationships with those aroundus and the cultures in which we’re raised.

After needs have arisen, a state of tension occurs that promptsa person to satisfy, minimize, or eliminate the need. This tensionis commonly referred to as motive.

This prompting to action is typically directed toward a specificresult, referred to as a goal. In terms of consumer behavior,goals may be generic—associated with broad categories ofproducts or services—or brand-specific, directed toward particular, identifiable, or labeled options within a productcategory.

The final group consists of desires, belief-based emotionalelements that can be described in terms of longing, yearning,and strongly wishing for something.

Theories of Motivation

Researchers across a wide range of disciplines have soughtways to describe the underlying principles of motivation. Forthe sake of clarity, your textbook organizes these differenttheories into four basic categories.

Instinct theories suggest that motivations are based on geneti-cally transmitted physical and behavioral characteristics thatenable members of a species to survive in their environment.

Drive theories, meanwhile, describe motivation in terms of thetension that arises when we sense a physical or psychologicaldissatisfaction or imbalance. Biologist William B. Cannoninvented the term homeostasis to describe the self-regulatingmechanism that keeps all bodily systems in balance. Drivetheories are based on the idea that one is most motivatedwhen one wants to remove a tension. Once homeostasis isrestored, the motivation subsides.

Lesson 2 63

By contrast, arousal theories explain motivation in terms of a human need for stimulation. According to this category ofmotivational theory, people can be defined as high-sensationseekers and low-sensation seekers, depending on the intensityor thrill of the sensation they seek. A person’s inclination toseek or avoid challenging or thrilling activities is described interms of seeking an optimal sensation level (OSL).

Cognitive theories describe motivation in terms of rationalactivities of problem solving and information gathering thataid us in dealing with our environments. In this view, mentalprocesses such as learning, thinking, feeling, remembering,and forgetting are intertwined with purposeful behavioralactivities.

Motivational Conflict

Often, needs, motives, and goals arise simultaneously, withvarying degrees of intensity and direction. When multiple needsarise at once and fulfilling one goal presents a challenge to orinhibits fulfilling another, a person finds himself or herself ina situation of motivational conflict. Such conflicts are sometimesdescribed in terms of approach, forces that propel movementtoward a goal, and avoidance, forces that inhibit moving towarda goal. Exhibit 6.2 on page 203 illustrates three general cate-gories of motivational conflict:

■ Approach-approach, in which consumers must choosebetween two desirable objects or outcomes

■ Approach-avoidance, in which consumers must part with money, time, or other resources to obtain a product or service

■ Avoidance-avoidance, in which consumers must choosebetween two undesirable options, such as paying formajor repairs to an old car or purchasing a new one

Consumer Behavior64

Motivation Research

In an effort to understand why consumers behave as they doand choose certain brands and products over others, marketersturn to motivation research, various tools and techniquesdeveloped to examine the forces behind consumer choices.

One such approach involves using projective techniques, speciallydesigned psychological tools used during in-depth interviewsto determine the real reasons behind behavior. Projectivetechniques essentially involve presenting interview subjectswith an ambiguous scenario and asking them to comment on it or respond to it, thereby projecting themselves into the situation.

Association tests, such as free-word associations or sentencecompletions, examine and record the immediacy of a subject’sresponses to verbal stimuli. The Zaltman Metaphor ElicitationTechnique (ZEMT), by contrast, asks subjects to collect sets ofimages that represent their feelings about a particular topicas a means of determining their deeper, nonverbal responsesto a product or brand.

Focus groups are a time-honored method of research that bringstogether a small group of people to discuss their reactions toa particular topic or object. Unlike structured questionnaires,focus groups are free-form discussions moderated by a leader,which allow for diverse thoughts and opinions to be voiced.

Emotions

Chapter 6 concludes with a brief examination of emotions,the feeling states that form the context for our motivations,goals, and behavior. Marketers often rely on strategies thatelicit strong emotional responses as a means of driving pur-chasing behavior. Many successful strategies establish strongemotional connections to a specific brand or product, aprocess known as bonding.

The nature of emotions is a continuing area of research asscientists in different disciplines seek to trace the complexphysiological and psychological interactions that both createand reflect emotions. Different emotions elicit different types

Lesson 2 65

of responses. Especially charged emotional situations canlinger in memory, creating patterns of behavior that can betraced and studied.

Emotions are generally understood as individual responses tospecific stimuli in the environment, whereas moods are typi-cally viewed as impermanent feeling states or frames of mind.Nevertheless, mood can influence behavior, as well. A personin a good mood is likely to be more flexible and open to tryingnew things than someone in a bad mood.

Marketing and PromotionalApplications of Emotion

Marketing strategies—in particular, advertising—often useemotions that directly relate to a particular product’s attributesand benefits. For example, Rolex watches stress achievementand feelings of comfort and wealth. Other strategies involveremote emotional appeals, playing on emotions that aren’tnecessarily related to the product or service, but make theadvertisement or promotional vehicle more memorable—oftenthrough humor or sexual innuendo.

A variety of techniques have been developed to measure consumers’ emotional responses to advertising. The Pleasure-Arousal-Dominance (PAD) scale relies on emotion-signifyingpairs of adjectives, such as “happy-sad,” to gauge levels ofpleasure. The Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM) method repre-sents each PAD dimension with the images of a characterarranged along a nine-point scale. The Emotional MeasurementSystem (EMS) developed by the BBDO Advertising Agencytests responses to an advertisement by asking subjects toquickly sort through a large collection of photographs depict-ing different facial expressions and select those that bestrepresent their feelings about the ad.

Consumer Behavior66

Key Terms

Term Page

motivation 187

arousal 187

direction 187

intrinsic motivation 190

extrinsic motivation 190

rational motives 190

emotional motives 192

needs 192

physiological needs 193

acquired needs 193

motive 194

goal 194

generic goals 194

brand-specific goals 194

desires 196

instincts 198

homeostasis 199

high sensation seekers (HSS) 200

low sensation seekers (LSS) 200

optimal stimulation level (OSL) 200

general sensation-seeking scale (GSSS) 200

motivational conflict 203

approach-approach conflict 204

approach-avoidance conflict 204

avoidance-avoidance conflict 204

motivation research 205

projective techniques 205

association tests 207

(Continued)

Lesson 2 67

This completes your sixth assignment. Review any materialyou found difficult. Then take Self-Check 6. Check youranswers with those provided in the back of this study guide.Review the material for any of the questions you missed.

Key Terms

Term Page

Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZEMT) 208

focus groups 209

emotion 209

mood 211

bonding 214

Consumer Behavior68

Self-Check 6


______ 1. Conscious motives are referred to as latent motives.

______ 2. Needs are internal forces that prompt behavior toward goal-oriented solutions.

______ 3. In the majority of cases, motives are directed toward reducing bodily deficiencies,

whether biogenic or psychogenic.

______ 4. Using the Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique to determine the type of individual

who is a likely buyer of a sports car, respondents are shown a set of photos of different

individuals, and are then asked to select the ones that they believe portray those who

are the most probable buyers of sports cars.

______ 5. Disequilibrium or imbalance of the state of homeostasis is a driving force that causes

motivation and impels action.

(Continued)

Lesson 2 69

Self-Check 6


6. When an individual engages in some behavior for the inherent pleasure of the activity itself, this situation is known as

a. positive influence. c. negative influence.b. intrinsic motivation. d. social influence.

7.T he four elements inherent in motivation are

a. needs, attitudes, goals, and desires.b. needs, motives, goals, and perceptions.c. needs, attitudes, motives, and desires.d. needs, motives, goals, and desires.

8. _______ theories suggest that people often seek stimulation instead of trying to avoid it.

a. Arousal c. Instinctb. Cognitive d. Drive

9. In using the projective technique known as the Thematic Apperception Test, a respondent is

a. shown a picture depicting some shopping action and is asked to interpret the situation.b. asked to provide 12 images or photos that represent his/her feelings toward the

brand/issue.c. given a number of incomplete sentences and asked to spontaneously complete each

thought.d. presented with a cartoon depicting two interacting individuals and asked to provide the

missing dialogue.

10. Shirley is having difficulty deciding whether she should spend her spring break in Florida orArizona. Shirley is experiencing an _______ conflict because she can’t decide between twoattractive alternatives.

a. avoidance-avoidance c. approach-avoidanceb. approach-approach d. approach-resolve


Consumer Behavior70

ASSIGNMENT 7Read this introduction. Then read Chapter 7, “Personality,Lifestyle, and Self-Concept” pages 221–249, in your textbook,Consumer Behavior.

What Is Personality?

Chapter 7 explores several theories of personality and theirapplication to marketing strategies. It also discusses consumerlifestyles as a basis for segmentation, targeting, and positioning.The chapter concludes with a discussion of self-concept andits effects on consumer behavior.

Your textbook defines personality as the sum total of an individual’s inner psychological attributes. Note the stress on the word individual. As you’ll see, everyone’s personality is different and represents a unique style of responding toenvironmental stimuli.

Diversity of Personality Theories

Theories of personality differ greatly. However most social sci-entists agree that personality is for the most part the socialface of an individual’s experiences, which influence the wayeach person thinks, feels, acts, communicates, desires, anddreams. Marketers who understand the influences that shapepersonality use these insights to more successfully approachsegmentation, targeting, and positioning as well as tailor moreeffective promotional appeals. Chapter 7 examines three promi-nent theories of personality together with their marketingimplications.

Freudian Theory of Personality

Freud viewed personality as the outcome of interactionsbetween three components of the human mind: the id, thecomponent that demands pleasure or immediate gratification;the superego, a mainly unconscious storehouse of social, moral,and ethical rules; and the ego, the conscious component thatmediates between the id’s drives and the superego’s controls.

Lesson 2 71

Freud held that anxiety served as a signal to the ego to thepresence of danger, and therefore plays an important role inthe development of personality. He described three differentkinds of anxiety: reality, or objective, anxiety, which signalsactual danger; neurotic anxiety, a conflict between the id andthe ego associated with fear of the negative consequences ofpleasure and gratification; and moral anxiety, which representsa conflict between the id and the superego, or a fear of one’sown conscience.

To deal with anxiety, Freud proposed that people developvarious defense mechanisms, through which they deny ordistort anxiety-producing situations in an attempt to protectthe ego. Some of these are listed in Exhibit 7.1 on page 227.He also held that certain intense experiences of anxiety orextreme frustration or satisfaction of desire can permanentlyhalt the development of personality, a situation he referred toas fixation.

Many promotional appeals are directed toward the id, emphasizing the pleasure or gratification offered by a product or service. Strategies that appeal to the ego are frequentlydesigned to address relief from the stress or anxiety of dailyliving or of making purchasing choices. Appeals to the superegotend to address social, moral, or ethical concerns, persuadingconsumers to purchase products that are environmentallyfriendly or that represent sound, lasting investments.

Neo-Freudian Personality Theory

While Freud considered biological instincts and sexual drivesas the basis of personality, several of his students offered adifferent view, based on social variables. Alfred Adler, forexample, viewed personality as a set of behaviors aimed atachieving superiority and perfection, as a compensation forchildhood feelings of inferiority. Karen Horney, meanwhile,proposed that personality develops as a response to the veryearly experiences of childhood insecurities and anxieties. Shesuggested three basic personality types: a compliant personality,which moves toward others when anxious or insecure; theaggressive personality, which moves against others whentroubled; and the detached personality, which moves away fromothers when dealing with anxiety, tension, or other conflicts.

Consumer Behavior72

Erich Fromm held that people feel lonely and separated fromnature and others and saw the development of personality as an effort to connect and enjoy feelings of love and security.Henry Stack Sullivan, meanwhile, viewed the development ofpersonality as the result of a network of interpersonal rela-tionships in which a person is enmeshed, and that behaviorstems from seeking rewarding social connections.

Marketing strategies that build on neo-Freudian theories typically emphasize the social aspects of consumer behavior,appealing to the love and concern for family, friends, and others,the desire to make a positive social impression or avoid anegative one.

In an effort to identify personality types, Joel B. Cohen developed a compliance-aggressive-detachment (CAD) scaleparadigm based on a series of questions regarding the desirabilityor undesirability of different situations. Market researchersuse the CAD scale paradigm to evaluate various topics suchas purchase involvement, product evaluation, and socialinfluences on consumption.

Trait Theory

Trait theory describes people in terms of their dominant characteristics, or traits, which appear as consistent behav-ioral responses toward environmental stimuli. The theory isbuilt on the assumption that traits

■ are identifiable

■ are relatively stable across a variety of situations and environments

■ vary in intensity among individuals

Trait theory also assumes that a limited number of traits arecommon to most individuals and that people who have simi-lar traits with the same degree of intensity will share similargoals and behavior patterns.

Lesson 2 73

Marketers find this theory extremely useful because it allowsthem to appeal to a person’s specific tendencies, which arerelatively easy to predict in a given situation. Commonlyidentifiable traits include

■ innovativeness, the degree to which a person likes to trynew things

■ materialism, the extent to which a person likes to purchase and own products

■ self-consciousness, the degree to which someone is concerned about projecting an image of self to others

■ the need for cognition, the degree to which a personneeds to think about things

A more extensive and detailed list of traits and their relation-ship to consumer behavior can be found in Exhibit 7.3 onpage 233.

Measuring Traits and Marketing Applications of Trait Theory

An individual’s traits are typically identified through longquestionnaires known as personality tests, which are designedto reveal their response tendencies. Results of personalitytests can then be correlated with product purchasing data toidentify purchasing behavior patterns that can then be appliedto larger market segments. Such correlations can revealquantifiable links between certain traits and post-purchaseprocesses such as satisfaction, loyalty, and word-of-mouth.

They can also be used to predict behaviors. For example,high-sensation seekers have been shown by one study toenjoy trying new things and to respond positively to highlyinformative promotional appeals. Nevertheless, when apply-ing trait theory to market segmentation, marketers need to ascertain whether the segment is sufficiently large anddemographically homogenous to reflect genuine potential.

Consumer Behavior74

Psychographics

As mentioned briefly in Chapter 1, psychographics is a segmentation approach that categorizes people according to their lifestyles. Psychographic profiles are most commonlyidentified through large-scale surveys aimed at determiningpeople’s activities, interests, and opinions, which are commonlyreferred to as AIO inventories. Exhibit 7.4 on page 238 showsa sample of questions drawn from a typical AIO inventory.

One of the most widely used psychographic survey tool is theVALS system, a two-dimensional scale that provides a kind ofpsychographic segmentation map or graph. The system is basedon the view that three primary motivations drive consumerbehavior: ideals, achievement, and self-expression. Thesemotivations form the basic framework for segmentation, and the horizontal dimension of the resulting map.

Additionally, the VALS system segments by resources, whichinclude psychological, physical, demographic, and materialdata. These attributes make up the vertical dimensions of the map. The resulting map identifies eight distinct segments,each of which represents a unique combination of psychologi-cal and demographic characteristics. The eight segments areillustrated in Exhibit 7.5 on page 240. Exhibit 7.6, on page241, provides a detailed description of each segment.

The Self-Concept

The term self-concept refers to the overall feelings and beliefsa person has about himself or herself. Arising through self-assessment as well as comparison with others and concernfor others’ perceptions, self-concept is somewhat narrower in scope than personality, inasmuch as it reflects a person’sview about himself or herself. It’s a valuable indicator formarketers, however, because how people feel about them-selves and what they believe about themselves influencepurchasing behavior.

Lesson 2 75

Variety of Self-Concept

Researchers have suggested that we hold a number of differ-ent self-concepts. Early work by the psychologist Carl Rogers,for example, indicates that we each hold images of our realself, an ideal self, an apparent self, and a reference-group self.Later research has identified other possibilities, such as theextended-self, which is defined in terms of one’s possessions,and the possible-self, or what one would like to become.

Measuring the Self-Concept

One of the most frequently used tools for measuring andidentifying self-concept is the Q-sort technique. A subject isgiven a set of cards printed with a statement about qualitiesor situations and is then asked to sort them into piles thatrepresent how accurately the subject feels the statementreflects himself or herself. A sample of Q-sort questionsappears on the bottom of page 245.

Self-Concept and Social Roles

Self-concept is intimately related to the way we behave towardothers and to the concern we feel about how we appear to others.These concerns and behaviors translate into purchasingbehavior. For example, people who are very concerned aboutthe image they project to others—referred to as high self-monitors—are more likely to choose products based on theirevaluation of how the items will be perceived by others thanlow self-monitors, people who are less sensitive to the waythey present themselves.

Self-Concept and Consumption

Research strongly indicates that the products and servicesthat people consume typically help them define and projecttheir self-concept and social identity, a phenomenon referredto as self-product congruence. This is an important insight formarketers in developing and extending brand images andpersonalities, because the choice of a particular brand oftenreflects the image the consumer has of himself or herself.

Consumer Behavior76

This completes your seventh assignment. Review any mate-rial you found difficult. Then take Self-Check 7. Check youranswers with those provided in the back of this study guide.Review the material for any of the questions you missed.

Key Terms

Term Page

personality 223

id 226

superego 226

ego 226

reality (objective) anxiety 226

neurotic anxiety 226

moral anxiety 226

defense mechanisms 226

fixation 226

neo-Freudian theory 228

compliance-aggressiveness-detachment (CAD) scale 230

trait theory 232

traits 232

personality tests 235

psychographics 237

AIO inventories 238

VALS 239

self-concept 243

extended-self 245

possible-self 245

self-product congruence 247

Lesson 2 77

Self-Check 7


______ 1. Personality is the static sum of an individual’s inner psychological attributes that make

the person what he or she is.

______ 2. When Toyota claims to be the most environmentally conscious automaker due to the

firm’s introduction of hybrids and electric cars, Toyota is appealing to the id component

of Freudian personality theory.

______ 3. Consumers’ use of antiperspirants and mouthwashes in an effort to be sensitive

toward others and avoid offending them reflects an application of neo-Freudian

personality themes.

______ 4. Traits tend to be relatively stable and identifiable, but vary in intensity among

different individuals.

______ 5. The category known as makers is a VALS segment that can be described as poorly

educated and low-skilled.

(Continued)

Consumer Behavior78

Self-Check 7


6. According to Freud, the conscious control center that mediates the id’s uninhibited impulsesand the superego’s constraints is known as the

a. defense mechanisms. c. id.b. self-concept. d. ego.

7. Adler, a neo-Freudian personality theorist,

a. proposed that personality is the set of behaviors an individual employs in pursuit of superiority and perfection.

b. suggested that personality develops as individuals attempt to deal with anxiety.c. asserted that humans feel lonely and isolated because they have become separated

from nature and other people.d. suggested that humans continually attempt to establish rewarding

interpersonal relationships.

8. A trait that measures the degree to which an individual is likely to tolerate risk is known as

a. dogmatism. c. category width.b. compulsiveness. d. variety seeking.

9. Maria is a successful, sophisticated, take-charge individual who welcomes change and displayshigh self-esteem, abundant resources, and a taste for upscale products. In terms of the eightVALS segments, Maria is a(n)

a. experiencer. c. innovator.b. thinker. d. achiever.

10. Joanne believes that people see her as a hardworking young woman who enjoys outdoorsports. This view that she thinks people have of her is her

a. real-self. c. extended-self.b. reference-group self. d. ideal-self.


Lesson 2 79

ASSIGNMENT 8Read this introduction. Then read Chapter 8, “ConsumerDecision Making” pages 255–283, in your textbook, ConsumerBehavior.

The Decision Process

Chapter 8 focuses on the processes consumers use to maketheir buying decisions. As your textbook notes, a decision isan act that can occur only when a consumer is faced with twoor more alternative courses of action. The process involvesconsidering, evaluating, and choosing between alternatives.Some decisions, such as choosing whether or not to buy anew product, appear simple, while others involve more com-plicated sets of choices. For example, if a person decides tobuy a new car, he or she has to decide on the type of car, themake, the model, the color, and optional components. In eithercase, several objective and subjective factors come into play.

Are Consumers Rational?

Classical economic theory depicted consumers as logical,information-gathering, problem-solving agents. As you’veseen, however, a number of psychological, emotional, andsocial factors contribute to purchasing and consumptionbehavior. Additionally, studies have shown that consumerstake a number of shortcuts when making purchasing decisionsand employ what social scientists refer to as constructive processing to determine the cognitive effort required to meet a given task.

Effort Variations in Consumer Decision Making

The amount of effort a consumer exerts in making a decisionvaries according to the degree of involvement, or personal rel-evance, that a purchase holds for him or her. As you saw inChapter 1, low-involvement purchases are those that a consumerviews as relatively unimportant in terms of the outcome or

Consumer Behavior80

effect they’ll have. High-involvement purchases, by contrast,represent decisions that consumers feel will have significantfinancial, social, or psychological consequences.

Nonprogrammed Decisions

Nonprogrammed decisions are purchase decisions with whichthe consumer has little or no prior experience or familiarity.In such cases, a range of decision process possibilities arises.A high-involvement purchase, such as buying a house, willusually entail extended problem solving, a high level of effortexpended toward gathering information and evaluatingalternatives.

When consumers have some experience with a purchasingsituation or the consequences involve little risk—for instance,replacing a lamp or purchasing a new landline phone—they’lltypically adopt a limited problem-solving approach. In suchcases, they’ve already evaluated certain criteria, such as thebrand, price, and product options.

Impulse purchases, meanwhile, are spontaneous and unplanned.Very little cognitive effort is exerted, and the decision is ofteninfluenced by environmental cues, such as price deals, specialoffers, point-of-purchase displays, or salesperson suggestions.Mood and emotions also play a significant role.

Programmed Decisions

Purchases habitually made as part of a person’s daily orweekly routine and requiring little or no cognitive effort arecommonly referred to as programmed decisions. Purchasesbased on brand loyalty represent special cases of programmeddecisions, as prior satisfaction with the brand minimizeseffort, speeds shopping, and reduces the risk of purchasingan unsatisfactory product.

Lesson 2 81

The Nature of the Consumer Decision Process

The consumer decision process is regarded as a form of prob-lem solving, which can be broken down into a sequence offive stages, which are illustrated in Exhibit 8.1 on page 262.These stages are described as follows:

1. Problem recognition. In this stage, a person becomesaware of a goal but is uncertain as to the best solution to attain it. In other words, an individual realizes that adifference exists between the desired state and the actualstate of affairs. Problems can include

■ assortment depletion (running low or out of goods)

■ changes in life circumstances

■ product acquisition (the purchase of supplies or accessories)

■ expanded or contracted means

■ expanded awareness (learning about new orimproved products or services)

2. Search activity. During the second stage, consumers mayconduct searches to identify and become familiar withcourses of action that may be taken to solve the problem.Searches may be internal, involving the retrieval of infor-mation already stored in long-term memory. Because ofthe complex structure of memory, information aboutproducts is often simplified to make it easier to access.Two common simplification strategies are sharpening—which involves focusing on specific details, such as thebrand—and leveling, which involves generalizing, oromitting details about a product.

Consumers may also conduct external searches, seekinginformation from various sources such as advertising andpromotional materials, Internet search engines, and commercesites. They may also solicit information from interpersonalsources, including friends, family members, social mediagroups, and salespeople.

Consumer Behavior82

3. Identifying and evaluating alternatives. Once a consumeris aware of a problem and has gathered the necessaryinformation, he or she can evaluate the alternatives toresolve it. The consumer must first identify the criteria to use in this evaluation, which often consists of a sub-set known as the brand set, a few brands that come tomind when thinking of a product category.

Certain product characteristics serve as evaluation crite-ria. These may include salient attributes, or importantaspects, of a product and determinative attributes, thefeatures that distinguish one product from another, similar one.

Three additional factors influence the evaluation process.The first is the positive or negative perception of the valueof the alternatives. Prospect theory is one attempt to maphow value is determined. Exhibit 8.2 on page 270 illus-trates the hypothetical value function derived from prospecttheory. The second factor is how the decision is framed,or viewed from the perspective of loss or gain. The thirdfactor involves evaluating a decision against memories ofthe outcomes of similar problems.

4. Purchase or commitment. At the purchase or commitmentstage, the consumer often invokes various decision rules toprocess information and make a choice. These rules aredetailed in Exhibits 8.3 and 8.4 on pages 272 and 273–274.They may be broadly categorized as compensatory—inwhich a high evaluation of one product attribute out-weighs the shortcomings of others—or noncompensatory,in which a high evaluation of one attribute doesn’t offsetthe low evaluation of others.

5. Postpurchase considerations. In today’s market, the pur-chase decision is the beginning of a process of building arelationship between firms and consumers. As a meansof enhancing a firm’s relationship with its customers,building brand loyalty, and expanding market share, manyfirms have begun to adopt the Customer TouchpointManagement (CTM) system, a framework in which everyinteraction between a firm’s representative and the customer is referred to as a touchpoint.

Lesson 2 83

Customer satisfaction, the attitude formed toward a purchase, is a significant factor for the firms involvedand for the consumer. In general, the satisfaction with a product or service depends on how it performs. Somestudies have identified two facets of performance: instru-mental performance, the product or service’s functionalcharacteristics, and expressive performance, the social or psychological satisfaction that the consumer derivesfrom the product.

Literature Review of Customer Satisfaction

A wide range of research indicates that the level of customersatisfaction is positively related to the amount of effort expendedduring the process of obtaining a product. In addition, satis-faction may be evaluated based on the expectations the consumerhas rather than the actual product itself.

Consumer Complaint Intentions and Behavior

Customer dissatisfaction can be a source of major loss to a firm,given the extraordinary reach of social media sites, includingpopular sites like Facebook and Twitter, and dedicated com-plaint sites such as Gripevine.com and wacktrap.com. Awareof the fact that many firms are proactively monitoring socialmedia sites for customer complaints, consumers are turningout in greater numbers, in the expectation that they’ll receiveattention from company directors and some resolution to theirgrievances. In turn, many of today’s firms view complaints as an opportunity not only to learn more about consumers’expectations, wants, and needs, but also to establish them-selves as leaders in customer service.

Consumer Behavior84

Measurement Standards for Customer Satisfaction

A variety of methods for measuring customer satisfactionhave been developed in an attempt to capture consumers’attitudes about a product’s or a firm’s performance. Theseinclude

■ The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ASCI)

■ The Kano Model

■ SERVQAUL or RATTER

■ J.D. Power and Associates ratings and rankings

■ A.T. Kearney’s Customer Satisfaction Audit

To Whom Do Consumers Complain?

Consumers direct their complaints to a variety of places,including social media sites and popular forums monitoredby businesses. Other options include creating and spreadingpetitions through organizations like Change.org. Customerscan also submit complaints directly to a firm’s customerservice department, state and federal agencies, mass-mediaoutlets, credit card companies, and the Better Business Bureau.

What Can Be Done?

The chapter concludes with a brief discussion of the variousways firms manage customer disputes and complaints. Theseinclude setting up web-enabled customer contact centers,toll-free customer hotlines, and dedicated consumer affairsoffices. Some firms proactively address the issue of customerdissatisfaction through establishing consumer education pro-grams, under the assumption that knowledge plays a vitalrole in managing expectations.

Lesson 2 85

Key Terms

Term Page

constructive processing 259

involvement 259

low involvement 259

high involvement 259

nonprogrammed decision 260

extended problem solving 260

limited problem solving 260

impulse purchases 260

programmed decisions 261

brand loyalty 261

internal search 264

sharpening 264

leveling 264

external search 264

evoked set 267

heuristics 268

evaluative criteria 268

salient attributes 269

determinant attributes 269

prospect theory 269

framing 270

decision rules 272

compensatory decision rule 272

noncompensatory decision rule 272

instrumental performance 274

expressive performance 274

consumer satisfaction 275

Consumer Behavior86

This completes your eighth assignment. Review any materialyou found difficult. Then take Self-Check 8. Check youranswers with those provided in the back of this study guide.Review the material for any of the questions you missed.

You’ve also completed your second lesson. After you completeSelf-Check 8, review any material from Assignments 3 through8 that you found difficult. When you’re sure you understandthe information covered in Lesson 2, take the examination.When you complete the examination, you’ll be ready to beginLesson 3.

Lesson 2 87

Self-Check 8


______ 1. Lacking experience and knowledge about buying her very first car, Letitia faces an

extended problem-solving decision.

______ 2. The concept of leveling indicates that as consumers become familiar with a product

category, they tend to evaluate the alternatives in it by brand rather than by product

attributes.

______ 3. The four factors that are significant in determining the amount of external search

undertaken by consumers are price, brand, image, and risk.

______ 4. According to prospect theory, when decision makers evaluate the positivity or negativ-

ity of various alternatives, consumers’ psychological valuations of the options coincide

with these options’ actual or objective value.

______ 5. Consumer satisfaction is influenced both by the level of effort expended by consumers

and by their level of expectations.

(Continued)

Consumer Behavior88

Self-Check 8


6. An out-of-town electronics dealer sells the laptop computer that Jason wanted for $20 lessthan local dealers. After Jason considered the effort required to travel to the distant dealer, he decided to purchase it locally. In his decision to shop locally, Jason engaged in

a. constructive processing.b. nonprogrammed decision making.c. programmed decision making.d. leveling.

7. Marian considers the purchase of food for her German Shepherd an unimportant task andregards the outcome of the decision as inconsequential. Marian’s purchasing of dog food isa(n) _______ decision.

a. programmed c. associativeb. low-involvement d. high-involvement

8. Those few brands that are serious alternatives a consumer actually contemplates when buyinga product constitute

a. the inert set. c. the consideration set.b. the evoked set. d. determinant attributes.

9. When facing a decision about which product to buy, Ricky generally selects the store brand.This inclination is a result of Ricky’s tendency to use

a. heuristics. c. sharpening.b. fewer resources. d. leveling.

10. The _______ decision rule appears to be the most common decision strategy that consumersuse to arrive at product choices.

a. simple-additive c. affect-referralb. weighted-additive d. lexicographic


Social and CulturalInfluences on Behavior

ASSIGNMENT 9Read this introduction. Then read Chapter 9, “Diffusion ofInnovation” pages 289–318, in your textbook, ConsumerBehavior.

Where Did It All Begin?

How does a new product like the iPad enter the marketplace,and what forces govern its success or failure? Chapter 9 focuseson two related processes: diffusion and adoption. Diffusion isthe spread of a new product or idea in the marketplace. Adoptionrefers to the decision process that consumers go through beforeaccepting a new product or service.

The Diffusion Process

Your textbook describes diffusion as the process throughwhich innovation extends through the marketplace by meansof communication over a period of time. It further outlinesfour basic elements of this process:

■ The innovation

■ Channel of communication

■ The social system

■ Time

The Innovation

Innovation refers to the development of a new product or service.Sometimes, an innovation represents an implementation ofgenuinely new products that come to market as a result ofadvances in technology and manufacturing. More frequently,innovations consist of modifications to existing products,such as adding new features or ingredients.

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Consumer Behavior90

Innovations fall into three general categories:

■ Discontinuous innovations, which are unique, groundbreaking products that radically alter existing consumption habits

■ Dynamically continuous innovations, new products that require some new learning for consumers, but don’t significantly impact existing usage patterns

■ Continuous innovations, which consist of extensions ormodifications of existing products that require little or no adjustment by consumers

Some researchers extend these categories with a fourth type,symbolic innovations, which describe products like designermineral water that convey new social or psychological meanings.

While FTC rules limit usage of the word new in advertisingmaterials to a period of six months from the time products thatenter the marketplace, consumers’ perception of newness is highly subjective. Also, many firms adopt a multifacetedapproach to innovation. In addition to introducing genuinelynew products, they may also introduce line extensions, addfeatures, improve quality, or promote new uses for existingproducts.

Factors That Influence ConsumerAdoption of New Products

Five product characteristics govern consumer acceptance ofnew products and practices:

■ Relative advantage—a perceived value or benefit compared to existing alternatives

■ Compatibility—a perceived consistency with consumers’beliefs, values, experiences, and habits

■ Simplicity-complexity—the relative ease of understandingand using the product

■ Observability—the degree to which a new product is visible and information is available

■ Trialability and divisibility—the opportunity to try a newproduct and/or to sample it in small amounts

Lesson 3 91

The Channel of Communication

For consumers to be aware of a new product, informationabout its availability and features must be communicated topotential adopters. The two major avenues of communicationare mass communication, which disseminates informationthrough mass media channels such as websites, television,newspapers, magazines, and radio; and personal communication,which is direct communication through individual interactionsor group presentations.

The Social System

The values, traditions, customs, and norms of a social systemexert a tremendous impact on the adoption of new products.Three social factors are considered especially significant:

■ Compatibility with the values shared by members of asocial system

■ Homogeneity of the social system

■ Geographical proximity and cultural similarity

Time

Two variables influence the development and introduction of new products: the rate of adoption, the length of time con-sumers accept and adopt an innovation, and the frequency ofpurchase (sometimes referred to as the repurchase rate), thelength of time between a consumer’s initial purchase andsubsequent purchases of the product.

As illustrated in Exhibit 9.1 on page 307, adopters of newproducts may be divided into five categories, depending onthe amount of time that passes between the introduction ofthe product and purchase of the product:

■ Innovators, the first 2.5 percent of the market to adopt anew product

■ Early adopters, the next 13.5 percent, who adopt aninnovation early in its life cycle

Consumer Behavior92

■ The early majority, the next 34 percent who adopt aproduct in its early stages after more deliberation

■ The late majority, the next 34 percent of adopters, who maylack the resources to purchase a new product and/ormay be culturally or socially less inclined to accept innovation

■ Laggards, the remaining 16 percent, which typicallycomprises people with limited resources who are averseto change or resistant to social pressure

Research indicates a relatively reliable model of diffusion overtime. Known as the S-shaped diffusion curve, the model holdsthat acceptance begins slowly, then speeds up rapidly, andfinally tapers off to a slower pace. Exhibit 9.2 on page 311offers an illustration of a modified S-shaped diffusion curve.

Stages of the Adoption Process

Your textbook describes five stages, or successive judgments,through which consumers often—but not always—pass in theprocess of adopting a new product.

■ Knowledge, or being made aware of the new product

■ Persuasion, or formulating a favorable or unfavorableattitude toward the product

■ Decision, or choosing or declining to adopt the innovation

■ Implementation, or acting on the decision to adopt

■ Confirmation, or assessing satisfaction with the purchaseand determining whether or not to continue purchasing it

Note that part of the confirmation stage may involve discontinuance, or reversing a purchase decision. This canoccur if a consumer is dissatisfied with his or her purchase.

Lesson 3 93

Resistance to Adoption

Sometimes new products or services fail to catch on or catchon less widely than a firm anticipates. The potential obstacles,or barriers, may be classified in terms of functional barriersand psychological ones. These include

■ Value barriers, which arise when the performance of theproduct relative to its price doesn’t meet expectations

■ Usage barriers, which arise when a product is not relevant to a consumer’s regular routine

■ Risk barriers, which arise when there’s uncertainty aboutadopting a new product

■ Tradition barriers, which arise when cultural norms orvalues inhibit adoption

■ Image barriers, which arise when a product or brandisn’t widely known or is perceived unfavorably

Key Terms

Term Page

diffusion 291

adoption 291

discontinuous innovations 294

dynamically continuous innovations 295

continuous innovations 295

symbolic innovations 295

relative advantage 298

compatibility 299

simplicity 299

observability 300

trialability 301

divisibility 301

rate of adoption 306

(Continued)

Consumer Behavior94

This completes your ninth assignment. Review any materialyou found difficult. Then take Self-Check 9. Check youranswers with those provided in the back of this study guide.Review the material for any of the questions you missed.

Key Terms

Term Page

frequency of purchase 306

innovators 307

early adopters 308

early majority 308

late majority 308

laggards 309

S-shaped diffusion curve 309

knowledge 311

persuasion 311

decision 313

implementation 313

confirmation 313

discontinuance 313

value barrier 314

usage barrier 315

risk barrier 316

tradition barrier 316

image barrier 316

Self-Check 9


______ 1. Discontinuous innovations entail major technical advances on the part of their creators

and require consumers to learn new consumption patterns.

______ 2. The introduction of the smartphone is an example of a dynamically

continuous innovation.

______ 3. Newness in a product emerges from high technological breakthroughs, not from mere

changes in a firm’s marketing strategy.

______ 4. Today, some innovations have become so technologically complex that consumers shy

away from them. Based on Rogers’s product-adoption characteristics, this tendency is

due to the absence of the factor known as relative advantage.

______ 5. The more homogeneous the social system, the quicker the diffusion process.

(Continued)

Consumer Behavior96

Self-Check 9


6. One example of a _______ innovation was witnessed when Kellogg’s came out with a SmartStart antioxidant breakfast cereal.

a. continuous c. discontinuousb. dynamically continuous d. symbolic

7. Ken is young, venturesome, well-educated, self-confident, and enjoys a high income. Basedon these characteristics, Ken would most likely fit into the _______ adopter category.

a. laggard b. late majorityb. early majority d. innovator

8. The S-shaped diffusion curve concept holds that

a. the probability of purchase of an innovation at any point in time is related to the numberof previous buyers of that innovation.

b. initially, market acceptance of an innovation is rapid.c. acceleration of adoption during the growth stage depends on the price level of

the innovation.d. it’s impossible for marketers to delay the start of the decline stage for a product.

9. General Motors and Ford woo car rental companies to get them to carry their recent modelsso that when drivers try a new car model, they become impressed with its performance andfrequently become potential buyers. According to the text, the strategies employed by GM and Ford build on the _______ factor that enhances consumers’ acceptance of new products.

a. simplicity/complexity c. trialabilityb. compatibility d. observability

10. Mark is hesitant to purchase a Timex Ironman wristwatch due to its hefty price compared toanother watch. In this case, Mark is said to be facing a _______ barrier.

a. risk c. usageb. value d. image


Lesson 3 97

ASSIGNMENT 10Read this introduction. Then read Chapter 10, “GroupInfluence” pages 321–346, in your textbook, ConsumerBehavior.

The Meaning and Importance of Groups

Because groups exert a powerful influence on consumerbehavior, the development of effective marketing strategiesrequires an understanding of the dynamics underlying groupbehavior. For the purposes of this discussion, your textbookdefines the term group as two or more individuals who hold a common set of values, beliefs, and guidelines of acceptablebehavior, or norms.

Selected Types of Groups

Your textbook classifies groups into three categories, definedby intimacy, formality, and purpose. From the standpoint ofintimacy, groups may be defined as primary or secondary.Primary groups are usually small, and members meet orcommunicate regularly. Secondary groups are usually larger,and members don’t communicate or meet face-to-face as often.

Formal groups are highly organized, defined by explicit goals, rules, and procedures, as well as by a clear, usuallyhierarchical, structure. Informal groups usually develop withina formal structure, as members socialize and exchange view-points and ideas that aren’t necessarily related to the definedgoals of the larger, formal group.

Planned groups, such as book clubs, church groups, andcivic organization, are specifically formed to fulfill a purpose.Emergent groups, by contrast, occur more spontaneously,through meeting in the same actual or virtual space. Theymay emerge as smaller subsets of planned groups.

Consumer Behavior98

Other Communities, Subcultures, and Groups

In addition to these categories, your textbook explores differenttypes of group structures notable for their influence on consumer behavior.

■ Social networks and online communities are groups thatshare common interests or affiliations across a variety of political, economic, and geographical boundaries.

■ Consumption subgroups consist of people that self-selectaccording to their attachment or attraction to a particularproduct class, brand, or activity.

■ Brand communities are a specialized group of peoplecommitted to a particular firm or its products.

■ Brand tribes likewise share a commitment to a brand,but tribe members are strongly vested in each other.

Roles and Status

Members of a group typically fulfill roles, which may beunderstood as patterns of behavior that are expected or thatdevelop within a particular social context. Some roles requirethe use of a set of products—imagine a sales rep with a cellphone, tablet, and computer. These products, which assistthe individual in fulfilling his or her role, are referred to asrole-related product clusters.

Related to roles is the concept of status, which your textbookdefines as the rank within a group’s power or prestige hierarchy.Status may be achieved, based on an individual’s accom-plishments or contributions, or ascribed, based on factorssuch as social class, age, wealth, or ethnicity. In general, thehigher an individual’s status within a group, the more influencehe or she has on it.

Lesson 3 99

Social Power

Your textbook identifies five types of power that groups canexert over members in ways that influence behavior, beliefs,and attitudes.

■ Reward power, the ability to reward members who conform to certain expectations

■ Coercive power, the capacity to punish members whodon’t conform to norms or expectations

■ Legitimate power, a sense of obligation to conform to thenorms, beliefs, structure, and/or principles of the group

■ Referent power, which derives from an individual’s desireto identify with a group

■ Expert power, the influence derived from possessing certain skills or knowledge

Reference Groups

Reference groups—sets of people who offer a point of view orstandard for evaluating and patterning behavior, attitudes, or beliefs—exert enormous influence over consumer deci-sions. They may do so by overtly or obliquely pressuringpeople to conform to a certain set of ideas or norms, by pro-viding credible information, or by offering a set of values orguidelines of behavior that serve as a model. Broadly speak-ing, reference groups can be divided into three categories:

■ Membership groups, to which a person belongs by virtueof birth or enrollment

■ Aspirational reference groups, to which an individualhopes and may even expect to belong at some point inthe future

■ Dissociative groups, which may be understood as groupsto which a person doesn’t wish to belong (referred to asnegative reference groups) or to which one previouslybelonged and later rejected (known as disclaimant reference groups)

Consumer Behavior100

Degrees of Reference Group Influence

The power of reference groups to influence behavior, attitudes,and beliefs depends on members’ willingness to conform tothe group’s norms and accept them as their own. Three general levels of conformance have been identified:

■ Compliance, the weakest level, refers to accepting thegroup’s mandates merely to seek approval or avoid disapproval.

■ Identification, through which a member privately andpublically accepts the group’s influence to validate his or her own identity and sense of belonging to the group

■ Internalization, which occurs when the norms of thegroup are inherently consistent with one’s own valuesand beliefs

Reference Group Influence on Consumer Behavior and Marketing Strategy

The primary influence of reference groups on consumerbehavior appears to lie in the domain of the social value of apurchase. However, because people typically belong to manygroups, marketers intending to use reference group influenceas part of a marketing strategy first need to identify the groupor groups most relevant to a given purchasing situation. Onlythen can they design a message tailored to reflect the interests,attitudes, values, and beliefs of the relevant group or groups.

Lesson 3 101

Key Terms

Term Page

group 323

norms 323

primary groups 324

secondary groups 324

formal groups 324

informal groups 325

planned groups 325

emergent groups 325

social networks 326

consumption subcultures 326

brand communities 327

brand tribes 328

roles 328

role-related product cluster 329

status 329

conspicuous consumption 330

reward power 331

coercive power 331

legitimate power 333

referent power 333

expert power 334

reference groups 335

membership reference groups 336

anticipatory aspirational reference groups 337

aspirational reference groups 337

symbolic aspirational reference groups 337

(Continued)


This completes your tenth assignment. Review any materialyou found difficult. Then take Self-Check 10. Check youranswers with those provided in the back of this study guide.Review the material for any of the questions you missed.

Key Terms

Term Page

negative reference groups 337

disclaimant reference groups 337

compliance 339

reactance 341

classical identification 341

reciprocal identification 341

internalization 342

Lesson 3 103

Self-Check 10


______ 1. Norms specify proper and improper actions under particular circumstances and serve as

standards against which members evaluate the appropriateness of their own behavior.

______ 2. A group of five friends who went to the same high school and continue to meet on

weekends qualifies as a primary group.

______ 3. Achieved status within a group can be a result of factors such as social class, wealth,

age, gender, and ethnicity.

______ 4. Reward power involves the power of a group to punish its members to obtain

compliance to norms and expectations.

______ 5. Anticipatory reference groups are those with which an individual has at least some

direct contact and somewhat reasonable expectations of joining at a future date.

(Continued)


Self-Check 10


6. Virtual communities qualify as which type of group?

a. Primary c. Formalb. Secondary d. Planned

7. A(n) _______ is defined as a specialized, non-geographically bound community that’s basedon a structured set of social relationships among admirers of a brand.

a. brand community c. consumption subcultureb. brand tribe d. online community

8. Sales reps for a firm that sells home security systems tell prospects about the dire consequencesfaced by the victims of home intruders. Fear appeals like this one employ which type of socialpower?

a. Reward power c. Coercive powerb. Referent power d. Legitimate power

9. _______ reference groups are those in which an individual’s chances of achieving membershipare remote at best, regardless of his/her sincere desire to join.

a. Anticipatory aspirational c. Negativeb. Symbolic aspirational d. Disclaimant

10. When a person goes along with a group to obtain approval or avoid punishment from itsmembers, _______ has occurred.

a. internalization c. socializationb. identification d. compliance


Lesson 3 105

ASSIGNMENT 11Read this introduction. Then read Chapter 11, “The Family and Generational Cohorts” pages 351–380, in your textbook,Consumer Behavior.

The Family

Families play a significant role in the process of socialization,shaping beliefs, attitudes, values, identity, and self-concept—which, as you’ve seen, are all factors that influence consumerbehavior. Chapter 11 examines the additional factors of fam-ily consumption roles, the family life cycle, and householdtrends as they relate to purchasing behavior, as well as themarketing implications of segmentation by life experience.

Family Consumption Roles

Research has identified eight distinctive, often overlappingroles played by family members, each of which contributes to decision making and purchasing. These roles are listed in Exhibit 11.1 on page 357.

In addition, each role within the family structure can beunderstood in three different ways. The enacted role is reflectedin the actual behavior enacted by a family member in specificsituations. The perceived role represents the way in which afamily member understands his or her role. The prescribedrole consists of the set of expectations held by others in regardto the types of behavior that should or should not be displayedby someone in a given situation.

The Family Decision Process

The influence of family members on the decision process hasbeen the matter of some debate, particularly in terms of thetypes of decisions made by spouses. Recent studies have ten-tatively identified four categories of spousal decision patterns:

■ Autonomic, in which each spouse makes about half of thedecisions independently of the other

■ Husband dominant


■ Wife dominant

■ Syncretic, in which decisions are jointly made by both spouses

These patterns can shift depending on the stage of the decisionprocess—for example, the search stage and the purchase-commitment stage—as well as the type of decision (for exam-ple, high-involvement versus low-involvement). Several otherfactors influence the decision patterns, including

■ Egalitarianism—a value system that emphasizes equalityin spousal relationships

■ Involvement—the relevance of the object of the decision

■ Empathy—the degree to which a one spouse recognizesand identifies with the feelings of the other

■ Recognized authority—the mutually determined or cul-turally imposed right to make certain decisions

Children’s Influence on Family Decision Making

Children can spend their own money, earned through allowancesor outside jobs like babysitting. Recent studies have shown thatthe three categories most impacted by children’s purchasingbehavior are the food and beverage category, electronic items(which include downloaded music and movies as well asphysical products), and clothing and related apparel. A fourthcategory of children’s items, which may be purchased by parentalfigures or by children themselves, are children-specific personalcare products.

Within the family structure, children often play the role ofinfluencers. Their role may be direct, as in situations where theymake explicit requests or offer hints about their preferences, orindirect, in which case parents already know the brands andother product attributes their children prefer and purchasethem as a matter of course.

Lesson 3 107

Advertising to Children

Because of their roles as influencers, children have been thetarget of many advertising campaigns. For many years, televi-sion was the primary vehicle for messaging tailored towardchildren. That trend has changed dramatically in recent yearsas children have become more tech-savvy and spend moretime using electronic devices like smartphones and tablets.

Over the past two decades, ethical concern has led to theenactment of a number of U.S. government regulations toprotect children from abusive or excessive advertising practices.These are summarized in Exhibit 11.2 on page 365. Additionalguidelines have been established for the advertising of foodand beverages directed at children.

The Family Life Cycle

The family life cycle (FLC)—the series of stages through which families typically progress—is also a key determinantin understanding and marketing to families as they undergochanges in needs, resources, and spending habits. The FLCmodel is determined by four primary characteristics: age,marital status, employment status of the head of household,and the absence or presence of children and the ages of thechildren.

The traditional FLC model can be broken down into fivebroad stages:

■ Bachelorhood, the stage prior to forming a family unit

■ Honeymooner, the relationship phase preceding the birthof the first child

■ Parenthood, which continues as long as any child residesin the family home

■ Post-parenthood, which commences once the last childhas left the family home

■ Dissolution, which occurs when one of the spouses orrelationship partners dies


Modernized and Nontraditional Patterns

Recent shifts in cultural, social, demographic, and lifestyletrends have forced a reassessment of the traditional FLCmodel. Consequently, consumer behavior researchers areexpanding their definitions to include nontraditional familyhouseholds—which include childless couples, same-sex couples,single-parent families, extended families, and nonfamilyhouseholds, which include singles, unmarried couples,divorced persons without children, and widows or widowers.

Certain nontraditional living arrangement patterns are of particular importance to marketers and consumer behaviorresearchers. These include phenomena such as

■ Latchkey kids, children who regularly return from schoolto an empty home

■ Boomerang children, who return to the family home aftercollege or who remain in the home into adulthood

■ The sandwich generation, which comprises families sup-porting both children and their own aging parents

■ Single parents

■ Live alones, or adult singles

Generational Marketing

In addition to segmentation by more established factors, suchas geography, income, education, and gender, marketers haverecognized the importance of marketing to groups of peoplewho shared similar, significant life experiences—such as cul-tural milestones and shifts—during their formative years. Themembers of these groups are referred to as cohorts.

While there’s some disagreement and overlap, these cohortsare broadly divided into five distinct categories:

■ Boomers I, people born between 1946 and 1954

■ Boomers II, people born between 1955 and 1965

■ Generation X, people born between 1965 and 1977

Lesson 3 109

■ Generation Y (also known as Millennials), people bornbetween 1978 and 1994

■ Generation Z, people born after 1995

Marketing Applications of Generational Cohorts

The potential of generational marketing resides in the abilityto tap into the values, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors sharedby a fairly homogenous group of individuals. The implicitpsychological consistency within each generational cohortallows marketers to tailor messages and introduce productsand services that are meaningful in a different way than traditional segmentation approaches.

Key Terms

Term Page

family 353

enacted role 355

perceived role 356

prescribed role 356

family life cycle 367

latchkey kids 370

boomerang children 370

sandwich generation 371

generational marketing 374

cohort 374

Boomers I cohort 375

Boomers II cohort 375

Generation X cohort 375

Generation Y cohort (Millennials) 376

Generation Z cohort 376


This completes your eleventh assignment. Review any mate-rial you found difficult. Then take Self-Check 11. Check youranswers with those provided in the back of this study guide.Review the material for any of the questions you missed.

Lesson 3 111

Self-Check 11


______ 1. A person’s prescribed role is the set of expectations held by others concerning the

modes of behavior that he or she should display in a specific situation.

______ 2. Regarding family consumption roles, influencers are members of the family who

oversee and regulate the flow of information into the household.

______ 3. Within the realm of the family decision process, syncretic decision making describes

cases where each spouse independently makes half of the decisions.

______ 4. In reference to advertising directed to children, because interactive media incorporate

and build children’s actions, they’re considered to be more influential than traditional

media types, such as television.

______ 5. Monitoring the size of each of the FLC groups that constitute the total market for a

firm’s product or service helps marketers forecast future demand for their products.

(Continued)


Self-Check 11


6. Betty performs the _______ role when she forbids her children from watching certain television programs.

a. decider c. influencerb. maintainer d. gatekeeper

7. Sam agreed with his wife that she would accept responsibility for shopping with the childrenfor clothing, while he would attend to the mechanical aspects of maintaining the family’s auto-mobiles. In terms of the family’s decision pattern, this role assignment reflects a(n) _______tendency.

a. egalitarian c. empathyb. recognized authority d. involvement

8. The term age compression refers to

a. pushing adult products and attitudes on young children.b. using adult ad themes to address children.c. using children as participants in adult focus group interviews.d. treating kids between the ages of 6 and 17 as a single market segment.

9. The term sandwich generation refers to

a. families whose income recently dropped, affecting the types of food consumed.b. people who always eat on the run.c. persons who simultaneously support their boomerang children as well as their

elderly parents.d. a group about which health care professionals are deeply concerned.

10. Joann, who is a member of the Woodstock Generation, and who was brought up with theexperience of the Vietnam War, lives beyond her a means and owns a variety of conspicuousproducts. Joann fits the profile of the _______ cohort.

a. Boomers I c. Generation Xb. Boomers II d. Generation Y


Lesson 3 113

ASSIGNMENT 12Read this introduction. Then read Chapter 12, “PersonalInfluence and Word of Mouth,” pages 383–414, in your text-book, Consumer Behavior.

Personal Influence

The previous two assignments have focused on group influenceson consumer behavior. Chapter 12 examines how interpersonalcommunication can effect changes in an individual’s beliefs,attitudes, and behavior, an element of human behaviorreferred to as personal influence.

Personal Influence

One of the most common types of personal influence is wordof mouth (WOM) communication, which involves the sharing ofan opinion about a product, service, or firm between a sourceregarded as independent by the individual who receives theopinion. WOM frequently occurs spontaneously and directly,although recommendations and other sorts of opinions canalso be transmitted via social networks, blogs, and otheronline vehicles, as well as through email, by phone, or othertraditional forms of interpersonal communication.

Who Are the Opinion Leaders?

Individuals who are regarded as knowledgeable and influentialin shaping public opinion are referred to as opinion leaders.They may be specialists in a certain area, such as sports orcomputer technology, or well-known figures within a global,national, or local context. Some firms have adopted a strategyof delegating brand advocates, consumers who speak on behalfof the firm but aren’t officially employed or financially com-pensated by the firm.


According to social scientists, opinion leadership is regardedas the ability to informally influence beliefs, attitudes, andbehaviors. By contrast, those who more actively seek to affectopinion and influence behavior are referred to as agents ofchange.

Unleashing the Power of PersonalInfluence and Word of Mouth

In addition to using brand advocates, firms can adopt a vari-ety of other means of using personal influence and/or wordof mouth to shape public opinion, including

■ Engaging celebrities or other well-known figures asspokespersons or soliciting television talk show hosts ormembers of the press to review and talk about products

■ Product placement in television shows and movies

■ Creating buzz in the social arena through events, services, and apps

■ Product personalization opportunities

■ Creating social network pages or feeds

■ Broadcasting memorable advertisements that create buzz

■ Using search engine optimization (SEO) methods

The Occurrence of Personal Influence

The significance of personal influence as a contributing factorto purchasing decisions varies according the purchasing situ-ation and the product under consideration. It’s likely to be animportant factor in high-involvement decisions, for example,or in situations when the prospective consumer lacks infor-mation about a product, or when the product is new. Exhibit12.1 on page 393 offers a list of factors that increase the like-lihood that personal influence will occur.

Lesson 3 115

Models of the Influence Process

Pages 393–399 examine some of the more common models of the personal influence process that have been identified in recent years. These include the

■ Hypodermic needle model, which holds that the mediaexerts an immediate and direct impact on a mass audience

■ Trickle–down model (illustrated in Exhibit 12.2 on page 394),which holds that influence spreads downward from eliteindividuals, including celebrities, athletes, and public figures, to the general public—referred to as emulatingrecipients

■ Trickle-up model, which represents a special case whentypical emulators adopt a style or usage that flowsupward to celebrities and elite influencers

■ Trickle-across model (Exhibit 12.4 on page 396), whichholds that influence travels horizontally among peers

■ Two-step model (Exhibit 12.5 on page 397), which suggeststhat opinion leaders first receive messages from massmedia outlets and then pass them on to others

■ Multistep model (Exhibit 12.6 on page 398), which holdsthat mass-media messages reach opinion leaders and followers, who then share that information with others,either through source-initiated situations (conversationsthat trigger advice giving) or through recipient-initiatedsituations (conversations in which advice is requested)

Influencer Identification

Many firms target influencers—people with above-average WOMreach or impact—as a means of capitalizing on the power ofpersonal influence. Influencers are first identified through vari-ous tools, such as Google BlogSearch, BlogPulse, TouchGraphGoogle Browser, and Facebook Search. Then they’re rankedaccording to variables such as market reach, frequency ofimpact, expertize, and persuasiveness.


Next, firms design and implement programs to engage theinfluencers, initiating relationships with them through invita-tions to special events, providing them with relevant contentand rewards, and soliciting feedback. Finally, firms can utilizevarious tools available through social media platforms, ordesign their own metrics for measuring the effectiveness and reach of the influencers they’ve targeted.

Other Sources of Personal Influence

In addition to the influencers already discussed, your textbook identifies three other types of influencers. Theseinclude shopping pals—other people who accompany con-sumers on shopping trips; market mavens—friends, neighbors,or colleagues who actively talk about products, stores, services,and other marketplace information; and surrogate consumers—usually paid professionals engaged to gather information, narrowdown purchase options, and/or direct actual purchases.

What Forces Motivate Influencers to Give Advice?

The range of factors that inspire influencers to share theiropinions generally fall into four general categories.

■ Product involvement—personal interest in the product or service

■ Self-involvement—the satisfaction and status derivedfrom gaining attention and demonstrating expertise

■ Other-involvement—the desire to share their experiencewith people they know and care for

■ Message involvement—sharing a fascination with a promotional message

Lesson 3 117

Strategic Applications of PersonalInfluence and Word of Mouth

When incorporating personal influence and word of mouth intoan overall promotional strategy, firms typically apply one ormore of three approaches. The first involves creating opinionleaders, using various methods such as creating events thatfoster WOM, reaching out to community experts, implementingaffiliation or rewards programs, or targeting local organizationsor associations. The second approach seeks to stimulate con-sumers to talk about a product, often using teaser campaignsto drop hints about a coming product or service or productplacement to favorably showcase products. The third approachis to simulate opinion leadership through slice-of-life commer-cials that depict someone helping another consumer find asolution to a problem, and testimonials.

Combatting Negative Word of Mouth

Because WOM exerts tremendous influence on consumerbehavior, firms must proactively deploy strategies to combatnegative opinion. In many cases, negative WOM results fromcustomer dissatisfaction, so it’s vital for firms to respond quicklyto any complaints. Nowadays many firms are taking a moreproactive approach through soliciting postpurchase feedback,monitoring what’s being said online, building relationshipswithin the WOM community they serve, and truthfully dis-closing information ahead of any negative public reaction.


This completes your twelfth assignment. Review any materialyou found difficult. Then take Self-Check 12. Check youranswers with those provided in the back of this study guide.Review the material for any of the questions you missed.

Key Terms

Term Page

personal influence 385

word of mouth (WOM) 385

opinion leaders 387

brand advocates 388

opinion leadership 388

agents of change 388

availability-valence hypothesis 392

hypodermic needle model 393

trickle-down model 394

trickle-up model 395

trickle-across model 396

two-step model 396

multistep model 397

influencer 399

shopping pals 404

market maven 404

surrogate consumer 406

teaser campaigns 409

product placement 410

testimonials 411

Lesson 3 119

Self-Check 12


______ 1. Word of mouth refers to any change, whether deliberate or inadvertent, in an

individual’s beliefs, attitudes, or behavior that occurs as the consequence of

interpersonal communication.

______ 2. Best Buy’s Fan Page allows consumers to shop and read reviews from other customers

about products right on Facebook. This service from Best Buy reaps the power of

personal influence.

______ 3. Word of mouth is limitless in the sense that it would take only a few influencers to

ignite a chain reaction of WOM.

______ 4. A main presumption behind the hypodermic needle model is the need for a large pro-

motional budget to reach a mass audience through ads and commercials placed in the

traditional mass media.

______ 5. Using seeding agencies to help plant viral WOM is one approach in the sphere of

simulating opinion leadership.

(Continued)


Self-Check 12


6. Parties—whether political, religious, or commercial—whose individual or collective agendasentail personal or online attempts to modify other people’s beliefs, attitudes, and behavior are termed

a. opinion leaders. c. advocators.b. innovators. d. agents of change.

7. The success of advice sites, such as Craigslist and Angie’s List, is an example of which of thefollowing models of the personal influence process?

a. Hypodermic needle model c. Trickle-across modelb. Trickle-down model d. The two-step model

8. According to the multistep model of the influence process,

a. consumers do not rely on ads run in the mass media.b. information transmitted through the mass and electronic media reaches opinion

leaders/influencers as well as opinion followers.c. information flows one way from the elite and celebrities to emulating recipients.d. products that originate in the lower socioeconomic strata eventually gain acceptance

among the elite.

9. Some companies allow influencers private access to company facilities, executives, and important people in the organization. This is a form of _______ them.

a. engaging c. identifyingb. ranking d. advocating

10. Product-related conversations among consumers triggered by ad campaigns such as AFLAC’stalking duck and Geico Insurance Company’s gecko lizard were likely initiated as a result ofconsumers’

a. product involvement. c. other-involvement.b. self-involvement. d. message-involvement.


Lesson 3 121

ASSIGNMENT 13Read this introduction. Then read Chapter 13, “Social Class,”pages 417–442, in your textbook, Consumer Behavior.

Introduction to Social Class

Income level is related to social class, but the two aren’t identical. Broadly speaking, the term social class refers to the overall ranking of large groups of people within a givensociety, depending on the values emphasized by that society.While the availability of economic resources definitely influ-ences purchasing behavior, social class is more accuratelyreflected in the choices consumers of a particular class makein spending their income. These choices, in turn, reflect thevalues and behaviors of the class in which they’re socialized.

As your textbook notes, almost all societies have developedsome system of stratification, organizing their members intosocial classes based on economic and social characteristics.According to many social scientists, social class determinesthe opportunities available to members of each class.

Unites States Consumer View of Social Class

The class system in the United States is a more nuancedproposition than is seen in other countries and cultures.However, distinctions can be observed in a variety of busi-ness and product development models—for example, airlines’three-tiered classification of travelers and manufacturers’gradations of good, better, and best products.

Your textbook examines several factors that make class distinctions in the United States more difficult to recognize.The first is the basic premise of egalitarianism upon whichthe United States was founded. Also, the relatively large sizeof the middle class tends to obscure the extreme ends ofstratification, as does social mobility—the opportunity tomove between classes as a result of personal achievement.


Nevertheless, awareness of social class distinctions in theUnited States can serve marketers in terms of precisely tar-geting consumers, especially in developing and implementingdirect marketing strategies. Identifying the niches within thesocial class structure can help to minimize nonproductivereach—the effort expended in connecting with consumerswho are unlikely prospects.

Class Structure in the United States

Social scientists have identified four tiers of social class inthe United States:

1. The upper class, which includes the now famous 1 percentof top earners and heirs to family fortunes

2. The middle class, which is further divided into uppermiddle class—typically highly educated, salaried profes-sionals—and the lower middle class, which is made up of semi-professionals and craftspeople who enjoy somedegree of occupational independence

3. The working class, which is also divided into two categories:the working class—understood to include blue- and pink-collar workers and people in higher end clerical jobs—andthe working poor, which comprises people in low-endclerical, retail, and service jobs

4. The underclass, about 15 percent of the population whohold very poorly paid jobs, work infrequently, or rely onsome form of government or charitable support

Marketing Implications of Evolving Social Trends

The evolution of social networks has had a huge impact onconsumer behavior. It’s estimated that some 71 percent ofpeople who earn less than $30,000 a year are active partici-pants on social media sites, and a large percentage ofHispanics use social media as a communication tool.

Meanwhile, the recent financial downturn has affected thepurchasing power of all but the most affluent of U.S. citizens.Beneficiaries of this trend have been dollar stores and

Lesson 3 123

midlevel retail establishments. Additionally, some firms areadopting a two-tier strategy, producing products and servicesthat appeal to people on the lower end of the social scale andproducts and services targeted to those on the higher end.

Measuring Social Class

Social scientists use three approaches to better understandthe perception of social class. Subjective measures includetechniques by which subjects self-identify their social classstanding, which is often a reflection of self-concept. Reputationalmeasures ask subjects to rank the social class of other peoplewith whom they’re familiar. Objective measures, meanwhile, usepertinent demographic and socioeconomic data to identifysocial class membership.

Among these measures are single-variable indexes that focus on a single socioeconomic factor, typically occupation.Composite-variable indexes create a weighted, multi-point scalethat considers a wider range of factors, including income source,occupational status, level of education, and residence. Asample of such a scale is illustrated in Exhibit 14.1 on page 432.

Relevant Issues

Pages 434–439 examine several issues that influence thestructure and perception of social class in the United States.These include

■ The changing class stature of women

■ The confusion surrounding the identification of wealthwith social class

■ Status crystallization, the convergence of different indi-cators such as income, occupation, education, residence,and ethnicity as determinants of class

■ The distinction between overprivileged and underprivilegedindividuals and families

■ Social mobility


The Impact of Social Class on Consumer Behavior

Certain class generalizations can be assumed in designingsuccessful targeting strategies. Most obviously, perhaps, isthe influence of disposable income on consumption behavior,which determines the type and quality of products and serv-ices people of a particular class can afford. Education leveland occupation also play a role in evaluating and purchasingproducts within a category. Social class also influences con-sumer choices in terms of retail store choices, credit cardusage, recreational activities, and media habits.

This completes your thirteenth assignment. Review any mate-rial you found difficult. Then take Self-Check 13. Check youranswers with those provided in the back of this study guide.Review the material for any of the questions you missed.

Key Terms

Term Page

social class 419

stratification 420

egalitarianism 421

social mobility 421

nonproductive reach 422

subjective measures 430

reputational measures 430

objective measures 431

single-variable indexes 431

composite-variable indexes 431

status crystallization 436

overprivileged 437

underprivileged 438

Lesson 3 125

Self-Check 13


______ 1. The term social stratification reflects a formal system of classifying the members of a

population based on economic and social inequalities within that society.

______ 2. The practice of determining the social class structure of a nation’s economy can help

marketers reduce the phenomenon of nonproductive reach.

______ 3. The term working poor is a division of the under-class category of the U.S.

social class structure.

______ 4. Research has revealed that Whites are at the top of the social media use groups,

compared with Hispanics and Blacks.

______ 5. To deal with present economic conditions, some of the biggest marketers have adopted

a two-tier strategy by tailoring their products and pitches to distinct market segments:

the rich and the poor.

(Continued)


Self-Check 13


6. Gordon is a highly educated and salaried professional, with an above-average income in thesix-figure range. According to this profile, Gordon is likely a member of the _______ socialclass.

a. lower-upper c. upper-middleb. lower-middle d. working

7. In recent years, the percentage of households that visited and purchased products from dollarstores, discount supercenters, warehouse stores, and thrift shops has

a. markedly and consistently declined.b. remained about the same as in the not-so-distant past.c. exhibited a slight increase.d. risen significantly.

8. The _______ approach of measuring social class requires that individuals rate their own social standing.

a. subjective c. objectiveb. reputational d. sociometric

9. Purchasing Power Parity analysis

a. identifies credit card usage patterns for different social classes.b. is based on the cost of a standard market basket of products bought in each country

expressed in U.S. dollars.c. is an objective approach for measuring social class.d. is a reputational approach for measuring social class.

10. Research indicates that among the factors that tend to influence the purchasing patterns ofindividuals and households, which of the following variables generally appears to have theleast effect on consumers’ buying decisions?

a. Social class c. Incomeb. Reference groups d. Cultural influences


Lesson 3 127

ASSIGNMENT 14Read this introduction. Then read Chapter 14, “Culture andSubculture,” pages 445–472, in your textbook, ConsumerBehavior.

The Meaning of Culture

The term culture has been variously defined by researchers indifferent areas of social science. For marketers, however, it’smore useful to understand culture in terms of those elementsthat affect the consumer decision process and purchasingbehavior. Broadly speaking, then, culture can be understood asa distinctive and learned manner of living with and interactingwith environmental stimuli that are shared and transmittedby participating members.

How Is Culture Learned?

It’s important to understand that culture is a learned experi-ence, which typically involves the transmission of norms andvalues through the process of socialization. This indoctrinationusually begins in early childhood through a process referredto as enculturation. By contrast, people who move to a differ-ent country or otherwise depart from their own society andenter another must go through a process of acculturation,learning the norms, values, and behaviors of the new culture.

Note that culture embraces both abstract elements—such norms,values, traditions, ideals, and language—as well as materialones, such as currency, architectural styles, furnishings, tools,and technologies. Firms and marketers need to be aware thatthe material capacities within a given culture don’t always keeppace with the tools and technological advances made available,resulting in what’s known as a cultural lag in adoption of newproducts and services.

Another area of consideration for marketers is the tendency tomake judgments and assumptions about a different culturebased on the norms of one’s own. Known as ethnocentrism,this tendency can lead to misunderstandings of what is (orisn’t) appropriate in certain cultures.


Assessing Culture

To better understand the elements of different cultures,researchers use a number of different tools. Ethnography, forexample, involves simply and discreetly observing behaviorpatterns. Direct questioning, as the name implies, involvesusing questionnaires to determine the potential for productpurchase and usage. Marketers may also come to an under-standing of cultural norms and values through reviewing asociety’s media and literature, a process known as contentanalysis. Finally, they may solicit the expertise of peopleknown as key informants, who have lived in other cultures for extended periods.

Additionally, they may want to study the work of social scientists.Your textbook examines the insights of the Dutch researcher,Geert Hofstede, who identified five dimensions through whichculture may be understood:

■ Power distance—the extent to which members of a societyaccept unequal distribution of authority

■ Uncertainty avoidance—the degree to which cultures feelthreatened by ambiguity and, uncertainty

■ Individualism

■ Masculinity

■ Term orientation—the degree to which cultures valuepatience, perseverance, respect for elder generations, and duty toward the larger society as a whole

Consumer Behavior in a Cultural Setting

Other researchers have identified 10 categories that are con-sidered relevant to introducing and marketing products andservices in different cultures. Summarized in Exhibit 14.1 on page 457, these categories are examined in detail in pages 456–462. They include

■ Communication and language

■ Beliefs and attitudes

■ Values and norms

Lesson 3 129

■ Sense of self

■ Relationships

■ Time consciousness

■ Mental processes and learning

■ Rewards and recognition

■ Dress and appearance

■ Food and eating habits

Subcultures

Cultures aren’t monolithic, homogenous entities, but areoften subdivided into smaller groups, known as subcultures,who share values, beliefs, and behavior patterns that areunique and distinctive, setting them apart somewhat fromthe larger culture. The influence of subcultures is especiallyprominent in large, pluralistic countries like the United Statesand Canada.

Chapter 10 looked at some subcultures that can be identifiedby consumption behavior, such as consumption subcultures,brand communities, and brand tribes. Pages 463–470 exam-ine three prominent ethnic subcultures of U.S. consumers.

■ Blacks (African-Americans) constitute approximately13.6 percent of the American population according to thelatest U.S. Census Bureau report, with projections indicat-ing that this percentage will reach 15 percent by 2050.Meanwhile, in 2012 the percentage of African-Americanhouseholds earning over $75,000 a year increased by 36.9percent and those earning over $100,000 a year hasincreased by 88.7 percent. Consequently, African-Americans represent a significant amount of financialpower, and many firms are seeking new ways to appealto this subculture. However, there’s substantial diversitywithin this group, and products and services need to bepositioned accordingly.


■ Hispanic-Americans comprise approximately 16.3 per-cent of the population, according to a 2012 study, andthe population is expected to increase to over 30 percentby 2050. There’s substantial diversity within this subcul-ture, however, in terms of age and income, and countryof origin/affiliation. Additionally, marketers need to takeinto consideration the degree of acculturation when seg-menting the Hispanic-American population. Broadly,three different segments can be currently identified: theunaccultured segment, which currently accounts forabout 40 percent of the market; the bicultural segment,which accounts for approximately 32 percent; and theaccultured segment, which accounts for about 28 percent.

■ Asian-Americans, according to the 2010 Census Bureaureport, constitute about 5.6 percent of the population,yet represent the fastest-growing ethnic group in thecountry—growing more than 40 percent over the lastdecade. There’s substantial diversity within this group,however, reflecting the fact that the Census Bureau cate-gory of “Asian and Pacific Islander” encompasses morethan 17 countries. Nevertheless, some generalities canbe observed in relation to lifestyle and consumption pat-terns. For example, as a subculture, Asian-Americansappear to put a high value on education and achievement,contributing to a higher median income than other ethnicgroups and a stronger attraction to premium brands.There’s also a very high degree of computer literacy andInternet usage, making this group especially responsiveto social media marketing.

Lesson 3 131

This completes your fourteenth assignment. Review anymaterial you found difficult. Then take Self-Check 14. Checkyour answers with those provided in the back of this studyguide. Review the material for any of the questions youmissed.

You’ve also completed your third lesson. After you completeSelf-Check 14, review any material from Assignments 9through 14 that you found difficult. When you’re sure youunderstand the information covered in Lesson 3, take theexamination.

When you complete the examination, you’ll be ready to beginyour Research Assignment.

Key Terms

Term Page

culture 447

socialization 448

enculturation 448

acculturation 449

cultural lag 449

ethnocentrism 449

ethnography 450

direct questioning 450

content analysis 450

key informants 450

power distance 451

uncertainty avoidance 451

individualism 452

masculinity 455

values 457

means-end chains 458

norms 459

subcultures 462

rituals 471


Self-Check 14


______ 1. The process of indoctrinating youth with the norms and values of a society is often

referred to as enculturation.

______ 2. Cultural lag refers to the delay between the time that technological innovations are

made available and the time the public accepts and makes use of them, or rejects

them and limits their use.

______ 3. Ethnography is the attempt to assess cultural practices and values by reviewing the

media and/or literature coming out of a society and searching for recurrent themes.

______ 4. Values are a society’s shared guidelines to accepted and expected behavior; they pro-

vide standards against which people evaluate the appropriateness of their behavior.

______ 5. Researchers’ criteria for identifying subcultures in a society include ethnicity, as well as

observed consumption choices of products and services among specific groups.

(Continued)

Lesson 3 133

Self-Check 14


6. When Jane relocated from the United States to the southern part of Africa, she had to learnthe norms, values, and customs of the Zulu culture. The learning process Jane went throughis known as

a. role ambiguity. c. enculturation.b. role playing. d. acculturation.

7. According to Hofstede, societies where people obey authority without question are labeled _______ cultures.

a. high power distance c. low power distanceb. authoritarian d. underdeveloped

8. According to the text, long-term orientation is a cultural characteristic of

a. Asian cultures. c. North American countries.b. European cultures. d. South American counties.

9. A means-end chain is an analytical technique that depicts linkages between

a. product value and product price.b. product attributes, consequences, and cultural values.c. product attributes, benefits, and limitations.d. consumer beliefs, attitudes, and behavior.

10. The Hispanic population

a. still lags behind African Americans as the largest U.S. ethnic minority.b. is older than the general population.c. is growing at a pace faster than the African-American, Asian, and White populations.d. tends to spend less than White households on groceries and children’s clothing.



NOTES

BACKGROUND

Understanding the influence of culture on the consumer decisionprocess is an important part of a marketer’s job. Culturalnorms and values, along with consumer perceptions, family,and group influences, are all factors that can significantlyimpact the diffusion of new products or services. Many firmsrealize that they must adapt existing product or service modelswhen introducing them into a foreign market

Procedure

Read the Global Opportunity box on page 276 of the text-book. Your assignment is to examine the two differentstrategic approaches adopted by the fast-food chains KFC andMcDonald’s when they expanded into China. Which, in youropinion, would be the more effective strategy for expandinginto India, and why? Your report should include evidence(such as Indian demographic statistics, comparison withsimilar brand/product expansions into India, ethnographicstudies, the results of direct questioning and content analysis,and so on) to support why the strategy you selected has thebest chance of success.

Goal

Your goal for this assignment is to apply what you’ve learnedabout consumer behavior in this course. Use this researchassignment to practice identifying and evaluating marketingconcept strategies commonly found in today’s marketplace.

To accomplish the requirements for this assignment, you’llneed to submit at least three pages of typed material.

135

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Research Assignment136

Writing Guidelines

1. Type your submission, double-spaced, in a standardprint font, size 12. Use a standard document format with1-inch margins. (Do not use any fancy or cursive fonts.)

2. Include the following information at the top of your paper:

a. Name and address

b. Student number

c. Course title and number (Consumer Behavior: MKT 320)

d. Research project number (08063200)

3. Read the assignment carefully and address the issue suggested.

4. Be specific. Limit your submission to the topic or issues mentioned.

5. Include a reference page that lists websites, journals, andany other references used in preparing the submission.

6. Proofread your work carefully. Check for correct spelling,grammar, punctuation, and capitalization.

Grading Criteria

Your project will be based on the following criteria:

■ Content 80%

■ Written communication 15%

■ Format 5%

Here’s a brief explanation of each of these points.

Research Assignment 137

Content

The student

■ Provides a clear discussion of the assigned topic or issue

■ Addresses the subject in complete sentences, not justsimple yes or no statements

■ Supports his or her opinion by citing specific informationfrom the references used

■ Stays focused on the assigned issues

■ Writes in his or her own words, and uses quotationmarks to indicate direct quotations

Written Communication

The student

■ Includes an introductory paragraph, a body, and a concluding paragraph

■ Uses correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, and sentence structure

■ Provides clear organization by using words like first,however, on the other hand, and so on, consequently,since, next, and when

■ Makes sure the paper contains no typographical errors

Format

The student’s paper is double-spaced and typed in font size 12. It includes the student’s

■ Name and address

■ Student number

■ Course title and number (Consumer Behavior: MKT 320)

■ Research assignment number (08063200)

Research Assignment138

Submitting Your Work

Follow this procedure to submit your assignment online:

1. On your computer, save a revised and corrected versionof your project.

2. Go to http://www.pennfoster.edu and log in.

3. Go to My Courses.

4. Click on Take Exam next to the lesson you’re working on.

5. Enter your email address in the box provided. (Thisinformation is required for online submission.)

6. Attach your file as follows:

a. Click on the Browse box.

b. Locate the file you wish to attach.

c. Double-click on the file.

d. Click on Upload File.

7. Click on Submit Files.

NAME ________________________________________________________________

ADDRESS ________________________________________________________________

CITY ________________________________________________________________

❐ Check if this is a new address

PHONE

PLEASE PRINT

—

FOR YOUR INSTRUCTOR’S USEGRADE GRADED BY

ANSWER SHEET

STUDENT NUMBER:

STATE/PROVINCE ZIP/POSTAL CODE

EXAMINATION NUMBER 08063200

MKT 320 Research Assignment

Consumer Behavior

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This answer sheet will be used by your instructor to evaluate your program. Your project will begraded on the following items:

Content (80%)

The paper provides a clear discussion of the assigned topic or issue. (16 points) _______

The paper addresses the subject in complete sentences. (16 points) _______

The paper supports an opinion by citing specific information from references. (16 points) _______

The paper stays focused on the assigned issues. (16 points) _______

The paper is written in the student's own words, and it uses quotation marks to indicate direct quotations. (16 points) _______

Written Communication (15%)

The paper includes an introduction, a body, and a concluding paragraph. (4 points) _______

The paper uses correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, and sentence structure. (4 points) _______

The paper provides clear organization by using words like first, however, on the other hand, and so on, consequently, since, next, and when. (4 points) _______

The paper contains no typographical errors. (3 points) _______

Format (5%)

The paper is double-spaced and typed in font size 12. (1 point) _______

The paper includes the student’s name and address. (1 point) _______

The paper includes the student number. (1 point) _______

The paper includes the course title and number (Consumer Behavior: MKT 320). (1 point) _______

The paper includes the student’s research assignment number (08063200). (1 point) _______

Total points earned _______

Comments

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

Self-Check 11. True

2. False

3. False

4. True

5. False

6. b

7. a

8. d

9. c

10. d

Self-Check 21. False

2. True

3. False

4. True

5. False

6. b

7. d

8. a

9. d

10. a


2. True

3. True

4. False

141

An

sw

er

sA

ns

we

rs

Self-Check Answers142

5. True

6. d

7. d

8. a

9. c

10. a

Self-Check 41. True

2. False

3. True

4. True

5. False

6. a

7. d

8. d

9. c

10. b

Self-Check 51. True

2. False

3. False

4. True

5. True

6. d

7. a

8. b

9. a

10. c


2. True

3. False

4. False

5. True

6. b

7. d

8. a

9. a

10. b


2. False

3. True

4. True

5. False

6. d

7. a

8. c

9. c

10. b

Self-Check 81. True

2. False

3. False

4. False

Self-Check Answers 143


5. True

6. a

7. b

8. c

9. a

10. d

Self-Check 91. True

2. True

3. False

4. False

5. True

6. a

7. d

8. a

9. c

10. b

Self-Check 101. True

2. True

3. False

4. False

5. True

6. b

7. a

8. c

9. b

10. d

Self-Check Answers 145


2. False

3. False

4. True

5. True

6. d

7. b

8. a

9. c

10. a


2. True

3. True

4. True

5. False

6. d

7. c

8. b

9. a

10. d


2. True

3. False

4. False

5. True

6. c

7. d

8. a

9. b

10. c


2. True

3. False

4. False

5. True

6. d

7. a

8. a

9. b

10. c


study guide consumer behavior - f01.justanswer.com · 25/07/2014 · 7 lesson 1 groundwork of the...

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