Deck 5: Consumer perception

Question 1

'How we see the world around us' defines:

A) sensory receptors.
B) adaptation.
C) sensation.
D) perception.

Answer 1

perception.

Question 2

The fact that two people can be subjected to the same stimuli but perceive it differently is the result of different:

A) organisation of the stimuli, needs values and expectations.
B) wants and needs.
C) cultural backgrounds.
D) consumer learning processes.

Answer 2

organisation of the stimuli, needs values and expectations.

Question 3

A chilled beverage producer brings out a new bottled iced coffee beverage. Consumers trying the first version said that the drink was 'too sweet'. If producers of the iced coffee reduced sweetener to improve the taste, they would have to make sure they correctly identified the consumers':

A) differential threshold.
B) elasticity of demand.
C) adaptation level.
D) absolute threshold.

Answer 3

differential threshold.

Question 4

Sensory adaptation is of concern to national advertisers, who often regularly change their advertising campaigns. This is because they are concerned that consumers will:

A) be unhappy with their ads.
B) get used to their ads.
C) not understand their ads as intended.
D) develop negative reactions to their ads.

Question 5

Another name for differential threshold is:

A) absolute threshold.
B) selective perception.
C) just noticeable difference.
D) sensory adaptation.

Question 6

'The minimal difference that can be detected between two similar stimuli' defines:

A) differential threshold.
B) perception.
C) adaptation.
D) absolute threshold.

Question 7

The lowest level at which an individual can experience a sensation is called the:

A) absolute threshold.
B) differential threshold.
C) just noticeable difference.
D) adaptation level.

Question 8

'Becoming accommodated to a certain level of stimulation' defines:

A) perception.
B) sensory functions.
C) sensory receptors.
D) adaptation.

Question 9

'Becoming accommodated to a certain level of stimulation' or 'getting used to certain sensations' defines:

A) perception.
B) sensory functions.
C) sensory receptors.
D) adaptation.

Question 10

An individual who is deaf has a restricted set of:

A) sensations.
B) thresholds.
C) sensory receptors.
D) perceptions.

Question 11

J.N.D. stands for:

A) justifying notable dimensions.
B) just noticeable difference.
C) just notable dimension.
D) justifying no difference.

Question 12

Which of the following statements about perception is false?

A) The study of perception is largely the study of what we add to, or subtract from, raw sensory inputs to produce our own private picture of the world.
B) Perception can be described as 'how we see the world around us'.
C) Every consumer will perceive stimulus similarly.
D) Perception is defined as the process by which an individual receives, selects and interprets stimuli to form a meaningful and coherent picture of the world.

Question 13

A café owner is wondering how much she can raise the price of a coffee before a majority of patrons will become aware of the increase. She is interested in their:

A) differentiation.
B) elasticity of demand.
C) adaptation.
D) differential threshold.

Question 14

An individual's sensitivity to stimuli varies with the quality of his/her sensory receptors and:

A) how long he/she is exposed to the stimuli.
B) his/her familiarity with the stimuli.
C) the amount or intensity of stimuli.
D) his/her intelligence.

Question 15

Which of the following is not an example of a sensory receptor?

A) the skin.
B) the eyes.
C) the ears.
D) the hands.

Question 16

'Any unit of input to any of the senses' defines:

A) sensory receptors.
B) sensation.
C) stimulus.
D) perception.

Question 17

_____ is defined as the process by which an individual selects, organises and interprets stimuli into a meaningful and coherent picture of the world.

A) Knowledge
B) Perception
C) Motivation
D) Attitude

Question 18

Two people driving together may spot a billboard at different times. This means they have different:

A) absolute thresholds.
B) differential thresholds.
C) just noticeable differences.
D) adaptation levels.

Question 19

______ is/are the immediate and direct response of the sensory organs to stimuli.

A) Sensory receptors
B) Sensation
C) Sensory input
D) Sensory adaptation

Question 20

_______ is a problem experienced by many TV advertisers during special programming events such as the Olympic Games. For example, with many brilliantly executed commercials all competing with one another as well as with the Olympic Games themselves for viewer attention, often no one commercial will stand out from the rest.

A) Just noticeable difference
B) Direct competition
C) Sensory adaption
D) Zoning out

Question 21

With obesity rates rising, companies have attempted to create foods that mimic the taste of the fatty, unhealthy foods by providing healthier substitutes. However, the healthier options are not likely to be adopted by obese consumers unless:

A) the healthier options are advertised to the right consumers.
B) consumers' attitudes towards food and health change.
C) the difference in taste between the healthy and unhealthy option is below the consumers' j.n.d.
D) the healthier option looks the same as the unhealthy option.

Question 22

Which of the following statements about subliminal perception is true?

A) A person would not be conscious of the stimuli that might have affected them.
B) Subliminal stimuli are above a person's absolute threshold.
C) Supraliminal perception must be accompanied by subliminal perception.
D) Subliminal perception deals primarily with motivation.

Question 23

Which of the following best described Weber's Law?

A) People usually see what they expect to see, and what they expect to see is usually based on familiarity, previous experience or a preconditioned set.
B) People are also stimulated below their level of conscious awareness; that is, they can perceive stimuli without being consciously aware of the stimuli in question.
C) When consumers are exposed to over a thousand marketing messages in a week, however they selectively focus on those that are relevant to them.
D) The just noticeable difference between two stimuli was not an absolute amount, but an amount relative to the intensity of the first stimulus.

Question 24

Disguised stimuli not readily recognised by readers that are placed in advertisements to persuade consumers to buy the products are called:

A) collusion.
B) embeds.
C) deception.
D) sublimation.

Question 25

Stimuli that are too weak or too brief to be consciously heard or seen may be strong enough to be perceived by one or more receptor cells. This process is called:

A) sequential transition.
B) subliminal perception.
C) sensation.
D) sensory adaptation.

Question 26

The subconscious method that consumers use to limit the stimuli they perceive is known as:

A) perception.
B) motivation.
C) selectivity.
D) activity.

Question 27

'Individuals see what they want to see' sums up the whole notion of:

A) motivation.
B) perception.
C) subliminal messaging.
D) attitude.

Question 28

Advertising does not have to be unique to achieve a high degree of differentiation; it simply has to:

A) have bold colours that attract attention.
B) be humorous.
C) contrast with the environment in which it is run.
D) fit in with the environment in which it is run.

Question 29

A 25-cent increase in fuel prices would be much noticed, but a 25-cent increase in the price of a DVD would not. This is in accordance with:

A) Horney's CAD theory.
B) Weber's law.
C) Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.
D) perceptual selection.

Question 30

Subliminal perception deals primarily with:

A) motivation.
B) action.
C) stimulation.
D) needs.

Question 31

Many companies are reluctant to increase prices on routinely purchased consumer goods. Instead they:

A) accept the lower margins and sometimes absorb the loss.
B) decrease the quantity of the product just below the consumers' j.n.d.
C) decrease the quality of the product.
D) all of the above.

Question 32

A butcher decreases the size of their steaks from 250g to 240g. Most customers are unaware of the change because it is below their:

A) adaptation level.
B) differential threshold.
C) perception.
D) differentiation.

Question 33

A reason that two people perceive an event or advertisement differently is due to different:

A) predispositions.
B) learning.
C) motives.
D) all of the above.

Question 34

In the late 1950s, a cinema used ______ to try to persuade patrons to buy more popcorn and drink more Coke by flashing short messages on the screen during the movie.

A) subliminal advertising
B) superluminal perception
C) deceptive promotion
D) perceptual distortion

Question 35

The process of making sense of stimuli is known as:

A) perceptual selection.
B) perceptual organisation.
C) perceptual predisposition.
D) perceptual interpretation.

Question 36

Perception is the result of:

A) physical stimuli.
B) an individual's predisposition.
C) an individual's culture.
D) both physical stimuli and predispositions.

Question 37

Which of the following statements about perceptual interpretation is false?

A) The interpretation of stimuli is uniquely individual, since it is based on what people expect to see in the light of their previous experience.
B) Perceptual interpretation is also based on the number of plausible explanations they can envisage, and on their motives and interests at the time of perception.
C) Perceptual interpretation is something consumers learn over time as they grow up and grow older.
D) When stimuli are highly ambiguous, they are usually interpreted in such a way that they serve to fulfil personal needs, wishes and interests.

Question 38

Which of the following are reasons why it is imperative that marketers determine the just noticeable difference?

A) So that negative changes are not readily discernible to the public and so product improvements are very apparent to consumers without being wastefully extravagant.
B) Product improvements, or negative changes, are not very apparent to customers - just below the j.n.d.
C) Price increases are very apparent to customers - just above the differential threshold.
D) Both (a) and (c).

Question 39

From the consumer's perspective, what are the two major factors that determine which stimuli the consumer will select to include?

A) The contrast used in the ad and the consumer's motivation.
B) The size of the physical product and the consumer's expectations.
C) The consumer's previous experience as it affects their expectations and their motivations.
D) The consumer's previous experience and the contrast used in the ad.

Question 40

A company emphasising an improvement in their product must ensure that the improvement exceeds the consumers':

A) differential threshold.
B) elasticity of demand.
C) adaptation level.
D) differentiation.

Question 41

Consumers subconsciously screen out stimuli that they find psychologically threatening, even though exposure has already taken place. This is an example of:

A) selective attention.
B) selective exposure.
C) perceptual defence.
D) perceptual blocking.

Question 42

_____ is when consumers have a heightened awareness of stimuli that meet their needs or interests, and minimal awareness of stimuli irrelevant to their needs.

A) Selective attention
B) Selective exposure
C) Perceptual defence
D) Perceptual blocking

Question 43

The way people memorise telephone numbers as chunks of three to four numbers at a time is an example of:

A) grouping.
B) figure and ground.
C) a series of events.
D) stereotypes.

Question 44

Consumers need to protect themselves from being bombarded with stimuli by simply tuning out such stimuli from their conscious awareness. This is known as:

A) selective attention.
B) selective exposure.
C) perceptual defence.
D) perceptual blocking.

Question 45

The relationship between an object and the background on which it is portrayed is referred to as the:

A) figure and ground.
B) subject and contrast.
C) figure and contrast.
D) subject and background.

Question 46

The nature of the product, its advertisements and commercials, the sex of a model, the position of a print ad, and brand name are examples of:

A) receptors.
B) motivations.
C) contrasts.
D) marketing stimuli.

Question 47

_____ is where consumers seek out messages that they find pleasant and actively avoid painful or threatening ones.

A) Selective attention
B) Selective exposure
C) Perceptual defence
D) Perceptual blocking

Question 48

A local retailer, concerned that his ad had been getting lost in all the other ads in the newspaper, requests that his be printed upside down. He is hoping to gain attention through confounding readers':

A) receptors.
B) motivation.
C) adaptations.
D) expectations.

Question 49

Product placement is a marketing technique used by marketers for many years where a product is integrated into the TV show or film. This technique stems from which concept?

A) Figure and ground.
B) Product and contrast.
C) Figure and contrast.
D) Figure and subject.

Question 50

Advertorials and infomercials are attempts from marketers to:

A) make the reader/viewer think it is part of the editorial/programming.
B) deceive consumers by offering products of low-quality nature.
C) appeal to the lower class.
D) all of the above.

Question 51

The perception of stimuli in chunks of information rather than as discrete bits is termed as:

A) closure.
B) selective exposure.
C) selective attention.
D) grouping.

Question 52

Human beings do not experience the numerous stimuli they select from the environment as separate and discrete sensations; rather, they tend to organise them into groups and perceive them as unified wholes. In a perception context, this is known as:

A) perceptual defence.
B) perceptual blocking.
C) perceptual mapping.
D) perceptual organisation.

Question 53

Australia requires tobacco companies to feature graphic health warnings on cigarette packets. In a perception context, this is to try to combat _____ where people no longer pay attention to the warning labels on packets.

A) selective attention
B) selective exposure
C) perceptual defence
D) perceptual blocking

Question 54

People have a need for _____. If the stimuli they are exposed to is incomplete, they perceive it as complete by filling in the missing pieces.

A) stereotyping
B) grouping
C) closure
D) exaggeration

Question 55

Consumers have a heightened awareness of the stimuli that meet their needs or interests and a lower awareness of stimuli irrelevant to their needs. Thus, they are likely to note ads for products that would satisfy their needs or for stores with which they are familiar, and disregard those in which they have no interest. This describes:

A) perceptual defence.
B) mental blocking.
C) selective attention.
D) selective exposure.

Question 56

A person has decided to hire a new gardener. After an evening of watching TV, the only commercials she can recall are the ones for gardening and landscaping. Her recollection was shaped by:

A) receptors.
B) adaptations.
C) expectations.
D) motivation.

Question 57

Stimuli that conflict sharply with expectations often receive more attention than those that conform to expectations. Marketers have been accused of using sexuality in advertising. Which of the following statements is most correct?

A) In ads where sexual content was relevant to the brand, the brands were remembered the least.
B) In ads where sexual content was irrelevant to the brand, the brands were remembered the most.
C) In ads where sexual content was irrelevant to the brand, the ad was remembered but the brand wasn't.
D) Wherever sexuality was used, the brands were remembered.

Question 58

Advertisements in which the consumer has great difficulty in discerning the stimulus is most likely poorly designed in terms of:

A) subject and contrast.
B) figure and ground.
C) figure and contrast.
D) subject and background.

Question 59

After looking at the television advertisement, Nick noted, 'I didn't understand what it was trying to say.' For Nick, the ad apparently had problems with:

A) subject and contrast.
B) product and contrast.
C) figure and contrast.
D) figure and ground.

Question 60

In terms of consumer perception and advertising, in general, _____ is one of the most attention-compelling attributes of a stimulus.

A) content
B) contrast
C) context
D) drama

Question 61

Potential gaps in the positioning of all brands in a product or service class can be visually identified through the use of a(n):

A) image identification grid.
B) perceptual map.
C) product grid.
D) market grid.

Question 62

The service industry faces a challenge when setting a price for intangible products. Three types of pricing strategies, based on customer perception of the value provided by the purchase, have been postulated. Which of the following is not one of the strategies?

A) Satisfaction-based pricing.
B) Relationship pricing.
C) Reference pricing.
D) Efficiency pricing.

Question 63

When stimuli are highly ambiguous, an individual will usually:

A) ignore them.
B) block them out.
C) interpret them according to one's own needs, wishes and interests.
D) interpret them according to what is socially acceptable.

Question 64

Which of the following is not a reason to reposition a product?

A) To justify higher prices.
B) To change consumer preference.
C) To highlight attributes that have been previously ignored.
D) To reflect a change in management priorities.

Question 65

Foster's introduced three brands of beer and positioned them according to different criteria. Which positioning strategy would that fall under?

A) Umbrella positioning.
B) Filling several positions.
C) Positioning based on a specific benefit.
D) Repositioning.

Question 66

When Kentucky Fried Chicken changed its name to KFC, it was to omit the dreaded word 'fried' from its advertising. KFC had to go through a(an) _____ process to justify the name change.

A) umbrella positioning
B) repositioning
C) reorganisation
D) financial audit

Question 67

If a consumer purchases an expensive luxury car based on features such as electric chairs and retractable headlights rather than mechanical or technical superiority, this consumer based his decisions on:

A) stereotypes.
B) irrelevant cues.
C) first impressions.
D) descriptive terms.

Question 68

Which of the following is not an important environmental variable when designing the service environment for bank customers?

A) Privacy.
B) Aesthetics.
C) Physical appearance of the people in the bank, both customers and staff.
D) All of the above are important to bank customers.

Question 69

It is sometimes more difficult for a company primarily providing services to establish a clear image with its customers because of the:

A) labour intensity of services.
B) ease in maintaining a consistent quality.
C) intangibility of services.
D) ease in establishing a high-quality image.

Question 70

'We've got the best quality product in the market and we must drive home that idea to our target market,' explained Harvey Norman. He was speaking of the need to establish the product's:

A) location.
B) identity.
C) image.
D) positioning.

Question 71

Some factors distort our perceptions. One such factor, _______, creates an expectation of what specific situations, people or events will be like.

A) stereotyping
B) jumping to conclusions
C) the halo effect
D) first impressions

Question 72

Marketers successfully use soundtracks of a frequently viewed TV commercial on radio. Consumers who are familiar with the TV commercial perceive the radio as incomplete, so in their need for completion they mentally play back the visual content as well. This is an example of:

A) stereotyping.
B) grouping.
C) closure.
D) exaggeration.

Question 73

The technique of _____ helps marketers to determine how their products and services appear to consumers in relation to competitive brands on one or more relevant characteristics.

A) umbrella branding
B) repositioning
C) perceptual mapping
D) perceptual organisation

Question 74

Evaluation of a single object or person with a multiple of dimensions being based on the evaluation of just one or a few dimensions is known as:

A) the first impression.
B) the halo effect.
C) jumping to conclusions.
D) irrelevant cues.

Question 75

In an advertising campaign the clothing retailer United Colours of Benetton depicted one white man and one black man handcuffed together. However, many viewers perceived this as a white man arresting a black man which resulted in a public outcry. This example shows why marketers need to be aware of consumer's possible:

A) expectations.
B) interpretations.
C) stereotypes.
D) irrelevant cues.

Question 76

When marketers make use of a well-known, popular celebrity in their advertising campaigns in order to receive instant recognition and status, they are making use of:

A) first impressions.
B) the halo effect.
C) stereotyping.
D) physical appearance.

Question 77

The image a consumer has in his/her mind of a product is called its ______ and is probably more important to its ultimate success than its actual characteristics.

A) quality
B) value
C) positioning
D) features

Question 78

Marketers want to ensure new products are perfected before introducing them because:

A) first impressions are hard to change.
B) stereotypes about the company will be confirmed.
C) it is hard to position a defective product.
D) all of the above.

Question 79

FedEx emphasising its high reliability with the slogan 'When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight' is using which type of positioning strategy?

A) Finding an 'unowned' position.
B) Filling several positions.
C) Umbrella positioning.
D) Positioning based on a specific benefit.

Question 80

The perception of Germans as excellent engineers is used by a car firm that employs an individual with a German accent to explain the cars' superior technology. The sponsoring firm is using the distorting influence of:

A) the first impression.
B) stereotypes.
C) physical appearances.
D) irrelevant cues.