Huang Huai University

MKTG 200 Consumer Behavior 11:00 12:50 Midterm Exam April, 28, 2008 Name ________ Dr. Dean A. Kruger ID# _______

NOTE: This Exam Is Out of 100%. You Need 40% to Pass. Work Wisely! Multiple Choice (30% each question is worth 2%)
1. Perception involves the information processing stages of: A) B) C) D) converting feelings into thoughts exposure, attention, and interpretation relating external and internal influences. converting stimuli into effect.

Ans. B
2. The process of using reinforcement to alter the probability that a given behavior will be repeated is known as: A) B) C) D) operant conditioning. iconic rote learning. classical conditioning. cognitive learning.

Ans. A
3. Learning is: A) B) C) D) the ability to relate to stimulus objects. any change in the content or organization of long-term memory and/or behavior. the ability to recall a stimulus object. the link between stimuli and information processing.

Ans. B
4. A consumer who buys a product because a close friend bought one may be fulfilling _____ motivation. A) B) C) D) ego defense causation modeling independence

Ans. C 5. The human characteristics that consumers associate with a brand represents: A) emotional transference. B) its brand personality.

C) its personae. D) its product position.

Ans. B
6. The self-concept is divided into four basic parts based on: A) B) C) D) social/private; current/past. motives/emotions; present/future. actual/ideal; private/social. internal/external; other/self.

Ans. D

7. The totality of the individual's thoughts and feelings having reference to him- or herself as an object is one's: A) B) C) D) personality profile. self-concept. psychographic profile. motive structure.

Ans. B
8. Situational influence consists of: A) the context preceding the purchase decision. B) the set of factors that includes the attributes of the environment and the marketing stimulus but excludes the attributes of the individual. C) a set of factors outside of and removed from the consumer and the characteristics of the marketing stimulus. D) all those attributes of the consumption environment that do not directly affect the consumption process.

Ans. C
9. Recognizing a problem for which there are several possible solutions involves: A) B) C) D) limited decision making. nominal decision making. extended decision making. affective decision making.

Ans. B
10. Problem recognition involves: A) a discrepancy between a situational variable and a psychological variable. B) determining which of two or more alternative goals to pursue. C) a discrepancy between a desired state and an actual state sufficient to trigger the decision process. D) choosing between two or more potentially satisfactory alternatives.

Ans. C
11. It is a relatively solid conclusion that more information search occurs as:

A) B) C) D)

the the the the

education of the consumer decreases. social visibility of the item decreases. cost of search increases. price of the item increases.

Ans. D

12. The fact that consumers have limited capacity for processing information is referred to as: A) B) C) D) bounded rationality. instrumental capacity. cognitive capacity. cognitive dissonance.

Ans. A
13. Doubt about the wisdom of a purchase shortly after the purchase is referred to as: A) B) C) D) postevaluation doubt. postcognitive doubt. decision revision. postpurchase dissonance.

Ans. D
14. A common way of directly influencing the affective attitude component is: A) B) C) D) through premiums. through classical conditioning. through operant conditioning. by adding new beliefs.

Ans. B
15. An inner force that stimulates and compels a behavioral response and provides direction to that response is: A) B) C) D) a mood. an emotion a motive. one's personality.

Ans. C

Short Answers (30%, 10% Each)

Discuss Classical Conditioning and Operant Conditioning and how each functions.
Learning can also be classified as either conditioned or cognitive. There are two forms of conditioned learning -- classical and operant. Classical conditioning attempts to create an association between a stimulus (e.g., brand name) and some response (e.g., behavior or feeling) and is generally low-involvement in nature. Operant conditioning attempts to create an association between a response (e.g., buying a brand) and some outcome (e.g., satisfaction) that serves to reinforce the response and is generally high-involvement in nature.

Discuss self-concept and why it is important to marketers.

The self-concept is one's beliefs and feelings about oneself. There are four types of selfconcept: actual self-concept, social self-concept, private self-concept and ideal self-concept. The self-concept is important to marketers because consumers purchase and use products to express, maintain, and enhance their self-concepts. Marketers, particularly those in international marketing, have found it useful to characterize individuals and cultures by whether they have a predominantly independent self-concept (the individual is the critical component) or an interdependent self-concept (relationships are of primary importance). An individual's self-concept, the way one defines oneself, typically includes some of the person's possessions. The self-concept including the possessions one uses to define oneself is termed the extended self.

Discuss the consumer decision making process, include the type of purchase involvement and how problem recognition plays a role.
Consumer decision making becomes more extensive and complex as purchase involvement increases. The lowest level of purchase involvement is represented by nominal decisions: a problem is recognized, long-term memory provides a single preferred brand, that brand is purchased, and only limited postpurchase evaluation occurs. As one moves from limited decision making toward extended decision making, information search increases, alternative evaluation becomes more extensive and complex, and postpurchase evaluation becomes more thorough. Problem recognition involves the existence of a discrepancy between the consumer's desired state (what the consumer would like) and the actual state (what the consumer perceives as already existing). Both the desired state and the actual state are influenced by the consumer's lifestyle and current situation. If the discrepancy between these two states is sufficiently large and important, the consumer will begin to search for a solution to the problem.

Essay Question (40%)

Zhou Shan Shan has a company that sells mobile phones in Shanghai. They have developed a new type of mobile phone with Global Positioning System software (GPS) that can be used with a wristband to locate a persons exact location. They want to market the mobile phone and wristband to American and Chinese parents with young children so they can keep track of their children when they are away from home. They have come to you to ask your help in developing a marketing plan to introduce their new product. Your job is to develop a preliminary marketing analysis for her company. You should include in your discussion consumer behavior topics like cross-cultural variations in consumers, global teen culture, cultural values of both countries, demographics, family household decision making, perception, learning, motivation, personality, emotion, attitude influence, lifestyle, situational influences, the consumer decision process, problem recognition, alternative evaluation, customer satisfaction and customer commitment. What are all the factors that she should examine before her company introduces this new product on the market? Write a short report to the company on your analysis.