Question 1

Brand laziness can explain many consumer routine choices.

Accepted Answer

Brand laziness is a common phenomenon where consumers stick to familiar brands and don't put in the effort to explore new options. This can be seen in routine choices such as buying the same brand of cereal or toothpaste every time.

Question 2

Christina and Claire are roommates. When Christina shops, she likes to stock up on everything she will need for the next couple of weeks. Claire prefers to only shop for what she needs for the next day or two, making more shopping trips. Christina is more likely to engage in variety seeking than Claire.

Accepted Answer

Christina's habit of stocking up on everything she needs for the next couple of weeks indicates that she is likely to seek variety and try different products during her shopping trips. In contrast, Claire's habit of only buying what she needs for the next day or two suggests that she is less likely to engage in variety seeking.

Question 3

According to your readings, there is widespread agreement between Chinese and Western business people that much of Chinese ethical problems related to defective products are simply due to a lack of production knowledge and expertise.

Accepted Answer

While there may be some agreement between Chinese and Western business people on the need for improved production knowledge and expertise, this is not the widespread view regarding ethical problems related to defective products. Rather, there are concerns about a lack of regulatory enforcement, ethical values, and transparency in Chinese business practices.

Question 4

Consumers tend to engage in more variety seeking when they purchase products for themselves versus when they purchase products for others.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Consumers tend to engage in more variety...

Question 5

Variety seeking is the opposite of brand loyalty in terms of involvement and information processing.

Accepted Answer

Variety seeking entails low involvement and limited information processing, whereas brand loyalty involves high involvement and extensive information processing.

Question 6

In order for problem recognition to occur in the consumer decision process model, the discrepancy between what the consumer wants and what exists must be substantial and must be readily solvable.

Accepted Answer

For problem recognition to occur, the discrepancy between what the consumer wants and what exists must be significant enough to create a need or want for a solution. Additionally, the consumer must believe that the discrepancy can be solved through a purchase or action.

Question 7

As a general rule, the fewer the number of products in a category, the greater the external search.

Accepted Answer

The statement is contradictory to the actual relationship between number of products and external search. Generally, the greater the number of products in a category, the greater the external search.

Question 8

Research shows that close proximity among stores can increase a consumer's external information search.

Accepted Answer

Close proximity of stores can increase a consumer's external information search because they can easily compare products and prices among the different stores.

Question 9

One way to consider and categorize consumer decision making is to consider processing effort and involvement.

Accepted Answer

This statement is true. Consumer decision making can be categorized based on the level of processing effort and involvement, such as high or low involvement with high or low processing effort.

Question 10

One of the main goals of marketing is to create needs and wants.

Accepted Answer

Marketing aims to identify, anticipate, and satisfy customer needs and wants that already exist, rather than creating them.

Question 11

The last step in the traditional model of consumer decision making discussed in your readings is the purchase decision.

Accepted Answer

The last step in the traditional model of consumer decision making is post-purchase behavior, which involves evaluating the purchase and the satisfaction derived from it.

Question 12

While time pressure can cause people to limit external information search, perceptions of crowding in a retail environment can cause people to increase external search due to the social stimulation of crowds.

Accepted Answer

Perceptions of crowding in a retail environment typically cause people to reduce their external search and leave the environment more quickly due to discomfort and stress, rather than increase external search due to social stimulation.

Question 13

While brand laziness is a common occurrence, it is actually an irrational way to make purchase decisions.

Accepted Answer

The answer of While brand laziness is a common occurrence,...

Question 14

John is shopping for a new cell phone. Upon entering the large electronics store, he realized there were just too many choices! He quickly became frustrated and ended up quickly choosing a brand he had often seen advertised on television. John is experiencing a satisfaction paradox.

Accepted Answer

John is experiencing choice overload, not the satisfaction paradox. Choice overload occurs when a consumer is faced with so many options that the decision-making process becomes overwhelming, leading to frustration or a potentially less satisfying choice.

Question 15

Extreme degrees of novelty and complexity in the purchase situation can lessen the desire to engage in variety seeking.

Accepted Answer

When the purchase situation is too unfamiliar, complex, or novel, it can create uncertainty and anxiety, which can decrease the desire for variety seeking. Customers may feel more comfortable sticking with what they know in these situations.

Question 16

In the purchase decision stage of the traditional model of consumer decision making, the process always results in actual purchase followed by some post-purchase evaluation.

Accepted Answer

The purchase decision stage in the traditional model of consumer decision making does not always result in an actual purchase; the consumer may decide to delay or not to buy at all after evaluating alternatives.

Question 17

The difference between brand loyalty and brand laziness can be explained by the amount of information processing a person does.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The difference between brand loyalty and brand...

Question 18

During intermediate problem solving, consumers are not motivated to rigorously evaluate each alternative, hence they often engage in heuristics to help them.

Accepted Answer

During intermediate problem solving, consumers may use heuristics as shortcuts to simplify decision making as they may not be motivated to evaluate each alternative rigorously.

Question 19

Because marketing efforts cannot control a person's thoughts, marketing activities cannot trigger problem recognition.

Accepted Answer

Marketing activities can influence problem recognition by creating awareness of a problem or a need that a consumer may not have been previously aware of. By presenting information or providing solutions to a problem, marketing efforts may trigger a consumer's recognition of a problem or need.

Question 20

Paul recently switched from regular soda to diet sodas because he wants to lose weight. In this case, Paul is engaging in intrinsic variety seeking.

Accepted Answer

Intrinsic variety seeking refers to seeking new products or experiences for the inherent pleasure of trying something new. In this case, Paul's switch to diet soda is not motivated by a desire to try something new, but rather by a specific goal of weight loss. This is an example of goal-directed variety seeking.

Quiz 3: Overview of Consumer Decision Making