Chapter 8 Perception
Multiple Choice Questions
1. If it is literally false that Gardenburger's competitor is not “mushroom in origin” then
what category of misleading advertising does this fall into?
A) direct false claim
B) claim-belief discrepancy
C) inferential discrepancy
D) interpretation discrepancy
E) none of the above
Answer: A Page: 281 and 306 Difficulty: moderate
2. Perception is a process that begins with consumer exposure and attention to marketing
stimuli and ends with consumer _____.
A) interpretation
B) attitudes
C) action
D) acceptance
E) behavior
Answer: A Page: 282 Difficulty: moderate
3. _____ is a series of activities by which stimuli are perceived, transformed into
information, and stored.
A) Perception
B) Interpretation
C) Information processing
D) Perceptual exposure
E) Selective exposure
Answer: C Page: 282 Difficulty: easy
4. Which of the following is NOT a step in the information-processing model?
A) exposure
B) comparison
C) attention
D) interpretation
E) memory
Answer: B Page: 282 Difficulty: moderate
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5. Which of the following stages of the information-processing model constitute
perception?
A) exposure
B) exposure and attention
C) exposure, attention, and interpretation
D) exposure, attention, interpretation, and memory
E) exposure, attention, interpretation, memory, and action
Answer: C Page: 282 Difficulty: moderate
6. The fact that all aspects of the perception process are extremely selective is referred to
as _____.
A) perceptual selectivity
B) sensory screening
C) ego defenses
D) perceptual defenses
E) none of the above
Answer: D Page: 283 Difficulty: moderate
7. _____ occurs when a stimulus is placed within a person's relevant environment and
comes within range of their sensory receptor nerves.
A) Perception
B) Attention
C) Interpretation
D) Perceptual offense
E) Exposure
Answer: E Page: 283 Difficulty: easy
8. Carl is doing his homework and has the television on in the background. While it is
on, several commercials aired. What stage of the information-processing model does
this represent?
A) exposure
B) attention
C) interpretation
D) memory
E) action
Answer: A Page: 283 Difficulty: moderate
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9. _____ occurs when one fast-forwards through a commercial on a prerecorded
program, and _____ involves switching channels when a commercial appears.
A) Zapping; muting
B) Zapping; zipping
C) Zipping; muting
D) Zipping; zapping
E) Muting; avoiding
Answer: D Page: 284 Difficulty: moderate
10. John is watching a football game on TV when a commercial comes on. He doesn't
want to see it, so he grabs the remote control and changes the channel. What is John
doing to avoid the advertising message?
A) zipping
B) zapping
C) muting
D) avoiding
E) grazing
Answer: B Page: 284 Difficulty: moderate
11. Carla watches television shows whenever she has time because she uses a digital video
recorder to record the shows. When she watches them, she fast-forwards through the
commercials, which is known as _____.
A) zipping
B) zapping
C) muting
D) exposure
E) voluntary exposure
Answer: A Page: 284 Difficulty: moderate
12. _____ is turning the sound off during commercial breaks.
A) Zipping
B) Zapping
C) Muting
D) Silencing
E) Voluntary exposure
Answer: C Page: 284 Difficulty: easy
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13. Zipping, zapping, and muting are simply mechanical ways for consumers to
selectively avoid exposure to advertising messages, often referred to as _____.
A) exposure avoidance
B) selective perception
C) selective interpretation
D) exposure avoidance
E) ad avoidance
Answer: E Page: 284 Difficulty: moderate
14. Which of the following is FALSE regarding ad avoidance?
A) Females are more likely to avoid ads than males.
B) High levels of advertising clutter increase ad avoidance.
C) Higher social classes avoid ads more than lower social classes.
D) Hectic lifestyles increase ad avoidance.
E) Younger consumers avoid ads more than older consumers.
Answer: A Page: 284 Difficulty: hard
15. _____ involves incorporating brands into movies, television programs, and other
entertainment venues in exchange for payment or promotional or other consideration,
with the goal being to add realism to the scene, give subtle exposure to the brand, and
influence consumers in an unobtrusive manner.
A) Ad integration
B) Product integration
C) Brand integration
D) Product placement
E) Product synergy
Answer: D Page: 285 Difficulty: moderate
16. Barry decided he needs a new car, so he started looking at commercials on television
and ads in magazines as well as visiting several Web sites. What type of exposure
does this represent?
A) involuntary
B) non-voluntary
C) voluntary
D) selective
E) considered
Answer: C Page: 285 Difficulty: moderate
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17. A study by WPP Group suggests which group of consumers are the most likely to
consider buying products they see in movies?
A) males
B) females
C) younger consumers
D) older consumers
E) gay consumers
Answer: C Page: 286 Difficulty: moderate
18. Program-length commercials with an 800 number and/or Web address through which
to order or request additional information are known as _____.
A) infomercials
B) direct-to-consumer advertisements
C) advertorials
D) infotorials
E) product placement
Answer: A Page: 286 Difficulty: easy
19. The manufacturer of the Little Giant Ladder runs a commercial that is 60 minutes
long. The inventor of the ladder shows the versatility and uniqueness of this ladder,
and several “regular” people demonstrate how easy it is to use. In fact, this ladder is
over 20 ladders in one because of the many different ways it can be configured.
Viewers can call the 800 number or visit the Web site to purchase this product. This is
an example of a(n) _____.
A) product placement
B) advertorial
C) advertising program
D) infomercial
E) infotorial
Answer: D Page: 286 Difficulty: easy
20. The voluntary and self-selected nature of online offerings where consumers “opt in” to
receive email-based promotions is often referred to as _____ .
A) voluntary marketing
B) optional marketing
C) allowable marketing
D) acceptable marketing
E) permission-based marketing
Answer: E Page: 287 Difficulty: moderate
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21. _____ occurs when the stimulus activates one or more sensory receptor nerves, and
the resulting sensations go to the brain for processing.
A) Attention
B) Perception
C) Exposure
D) Interpretation
E) Selection
Answer: A Page: 287 Difficulty: moderate
22. Attention is determined by which factor?
A) the stimulus
B) the individual
C) the situation
D) a and b
E) a, b, and c
Answer: E Page: 287 Difficulty: moderate
23. Which of the following is considered a stimulus factor affecting attention?
A) clutter
B) position
C) motivation
D) ability
E) all of the above
Answer: B Page: 288-294 Difficulty: moderate
24. Which of the following is NOT considered a stimulus factor affecting attention?
A) size
B) intensity
C) clutter
D) position
E) isolation
Answer: C Page: 288-294 Difficulty: moderate
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25. Which of the following statements is FALSE regarding stimulus factors and attention?
A) Larger stimuli are more likely to be noticed than smaller ones.
B) Stimuli with greater intensity (e.g., loudness, brightness, length) are more likely to
be noticed than less intense stimuli.
C) Attention generally increases across repeated exposures, particularly when those
exposures occur in a short period of time.
D) Individuals tend to be attracted to pleasant stimuli and repelled by unpleasant
stimuli.
E) Consumers pay more attention to stimuli that contrast with their background than
to stimuli that blend with it.
Answer: C Page: 288-294 Difficulty: hard
26. Attention generally _____ across repeated exposures, and repetition often _____
recall.
A) increases; decreases
B) decreases; increases
C) remains constant; decreases
D) remains constant; increases
E) increases; increases
Answer: B Page: 289 Difficulty: hard
27. Ron owns a small retail establishment and is seeking your advice regarding getting
shoppers' attention in the store. What should you recommend to Ron to help him get
shoppers' attention?
A) Ron should use cool colors, such as blues and grays, for displays.
B) Ron should not use large displays because that can overwhelm shoppers.
C) Ron should use warm colors, such as reds and yellows, because they are more
arousing than cool colors.
D) Ron should use displays with as much information as possible because shoppers
will be able to attend to all of it.
E) Ron should not use displays with moving parts because they will distract
shoppers.
Answer: C Page: 288-294 Difficulty: moderate
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28. Which of the following statements is true regarding stimulus position and attention
with respect to advertising?
A) Position effects in advertising are the same regardless of the medium used.
B) Ads on the left-hand page receive more attention than those on the right based on
how we peruse magazines and newspapers.
C) For U.S. readers, high-impact zones in print ads and other print documents tend to
be more toward the top and left of the ad.
D) In online contexts, horizontal banners attract more attention then vertical banners.
E) In television, the probability of a commercial being viewed and remembered
increases as it moves from being the first to air during a break to the last to air.
Answer: C Page: 290-291 Difficulty: hard
29. _____ is separating a stimulus object from other objects.
A) Positioning
B) Isolation
C) Formatting
D) Contrasting
E) Lateralization
Answer: B Page: 292 Difficulty: easy
30. _____ refers to the manner in which the message is presented.
A) Position
B) Isolation
C) Format
D) Contrast
E) Lateralization
Answer: C Page: 292 Difficulty: moderate
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31. For a period of time, Energizer Batteries used mock commercials for seemingly
boring, mundane products. A few seconds into the mock commercial, viewers heard
the distinctive drumbeat of the Energizer Bunny before it marched across the screen.
Several viewers said that when they heard the drums, they looked at and attended to
the commercial because they liked the bunny. However, over time, viewers stopped
paying attention to the commercial. What theory suggests that if a stimulus doesn't
change, over time we adapt or habituate to it and begin to notice it less?
A) Adaptation level theory
B) Dual-coding theory
C) Expectation theory
D) Wear-out theory
E) Over-exposure theory
Answer: A Page: 293 Difficulty: moderate
32. _____ represents the number of cues in the stimulus field.
A) Interestingness
B) Contrast
C) Expectations
D) Information Quantity
E) Size/Intensity
Answer: D Page: 293 Difficulty: easy
33. Walker was gathering information on plasma and LCD TVs because he wanted to
purchase one for his household. He bought several electronic product magazines,
visited several electronics stores, searched the Internet, and paid attention to the ads in
the newspaper to learn more about this product. However, he was confronted with so
much information that he could not attend to all of it. In fact, he it got to the point that
he would not attend to it and became frustrated. This is an example of _____.
A) information overload
B) information burnout
C) shopping burnout
D) giving up
E) consumer backlash
Answer: A Page: 293-294 Difficulty: easy
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34. Which of the following is considered an individual factor affecting attention?
A) motivation
B) intensity
C) clutter
D) attractiveness
E) isolation
Answer: A Page: 294 Difficulty: easy
35. What are the major individual factors affecting attention?
A) needs and wants
B) hemispheric lateralization and interpretation
C) motivation and needs
D) exposure and interpretation
E) motivation and ability
Answer: E Page: 294 Difficulty: moderate
36. _____ is a drive state created by consumer interests and needs.
A) Ability
B) Emotion
C) Cognition
D) Motivation
E) Focused attention
Answer: D Page: 294 Difficulty: moderate
37. _____ indicates motivation or interest in a specific product category, and it can be
temporary or enduring.
A) Ability
B) Product involvement
C) Cognition
D) Focused attention
E) Interest
Answer: B Page: 294 Difficulty: easy
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38. Cameron was searching the Internet for information on digital cameras. He went to a
search engine (i.e., Goggle) and searched the key words “digital camera.”
Unbeknownst to him, several banner ads for brands and retailers of digital cameras
appeared on the results page that were activated based on the terms he used in his
search. These banner ads are known as _____.
A) product placement
B) zoned banners
C) smart banners
D) smart placements
E) behavioral ads
Answer: C Page: 294 Difficulty: moderate
39. James is interested in just about any type of electronic equipment, such as digital video
recorders, computers, MP3 players, and digital cameras. He subscribes to several
magazines devoted to these types of products, and he visits several different Web sites
to learn more about these products. Which individual factor affecting attention is
influencing James to attend to information about these products?
A) ability
B) information quantity
C) interestingness
D) expectations
E) motivation
Answer: E Page: 294 Difficulty: moderate
40. _____ refers to the capacity of individuals to attend to and process information.
A) Intelligence
B) IQ
C) Ability
D) Aptitude
E) Motivation
Answer: C Page: 294 Difficulty: easy
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41. Which of the following is an ability factor related to attention that may require less
attention to the brand's ads by an individual due to their high existing knowledge?
A) involvement
B) brand familiarity
C) brand equity
D) contrast
E) interestingness
Answer: B Page: 294 Difficulty: moderate
42. Which factor affecting attention includes stimuli in the environment other than the
focal stimulus (i.e., the ad or package) and temporary characteristics of the individual
that are induced by the environment, such as time pressures or a crowded store?
A) individual factors
B) external factors
C) transient factors
D) situational factors
E) nonprogrammatic factors
Answer: D Page: 294 Difficulty: moderate
43. Which of the following is a situational factor affecting attention?
A) program involvement
B) ability
C) motivation
D) repetition
E) isolation
Answer: A Page: 294-295 Difficulty: moderate
44. _____ represents the density of stimuli in the environment.
A) Program involvement
B) Clutter
C) Repetition
D) Intensity
E) Isolation
Answer: B Page: 295 Difficulty: easy
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45. Which of the following statements is FALSE regarding situational factors affecting
attention?
A) Motivation and ability are two major situational factors affecting attention.
B) In advertising, consumers pay less attention to a commercial in a large cluster of
commercials than they do to one in a smaller set.
C) Clutter represents the density of stimuli in the environment.
D) Program involvement refers to how interested viewers are in the program or
editorial content surrounding the ads.
E) Clutter and program involvement are two major situational factors affecting
attention.
Answer: A Page: 294-295 Difficulty: moderate
46. The idea behind _____ is that different parts of our brain are better suited for focused
versus nonfocused attention.
A) right brain/left brain lateralization
B) subliminal lateralization
C) hemispheric lateralization
D) interpretation
E) affective interpretation
Answer: C Page: 296 Difficulty: hard
47. Which side of the brain is primarily responsible for verbal information, symbolic
representation, sequential analysis, and the ability to be conscious and report what is
happening?
A) right
B) left
C) front
D) back
E) top
Answer: B Page: 296 Difficulty: moderate
48. Which side of the brain deals with pictorial, geometric, timeless, and nonverbal
information without the individual being able to verbally report it?
A) right
B) left
C) front
D) back
E) top
Answer: A Page: 296 Difficulty: moderate
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49. A message presented so fast or so softly or so masked by other messages that one is
not aware of seeing or hearing it is called a(n) _____ stimulus.
A) subversive
B) sublingual
C) lateralized
D) subliminal
E) unfocused
Answer: D Page: 296 Difficulty: moderate
50. Which of the following statements is true regarding subliminal stimuli?
A) Research on messages presented too rapidly to elicit awareness indicates that such
messages can actually have a substantial effect.
B) There is evidence that marketers are using subliminal messages.
C) A subliminal ad is different from a “normal” ad in that it “hides” key persuasive
information within the ad by making it so weak that it is difficult or impossible for
an individual to physically detect.
D) Subliminal advertising has not been the focus of intense study and public concern.
E) Masked symbols, deliberate or accidental, do appear to affect standard measures
of advertising effectiveness and can influence consumption behavior.
Answer: C Page: 296 Difficulty: hard
51. _____ is the assignment of meaning to sensations.
A) Attention
B) Perception
C) Interpretation
D) Hemispheric lateralization
E) Information processing
Answer: C Page: 296 Difficulty: moderate
52. Interpretation is generally a relative process rather than absolute, often referred to as
_____.
A) perceptual lateralization
B) adaptation
C) perceptual defenses
D) selective perception
E) perceptual relativity
Answer: E Page: 296 Difficulty: easy
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53. _____ meaning is the conventional meaning assigned to a word such as found in the
dictionary.
A) Semantic
B) Psychological
C) Cognitive
D) Affective
E) Seminal
Answer: A Page: 297 Difficulty: moderate
54. _____ meaning is the specific meaning assigned a word by a given individual or group
of individuals based on their experiences, expectations, and the context in which the
term is used.
A) Semantic
B) Psychological
C) Cognitive
D) Affective
E) Seminal
Answer: B Page: 297 Difficulty: moderate
55. When a teenager says, “It's cool,” his friends understand that he's not talking about the
temperature. In this case, the meaning of the word, “cool,” is based on its _____
meaning.
A) semantic
B) psychological
C) cognitive
D) affective
E) seminal
Answer: B Page: 297 Difficulty: moderate
56. _____ is a process whereby stimuli are placed into existing categories of meaning.
A) Affective interpretation
B) Consumer inference
C) Cognitive interpretation
D) Perceptual interpretation
E) Perceptual relativity
Answer: C Page: 297 Difficulty: moderate
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57. _____ is the emotional or feeling response triggered by a stimulus such as an ad.
A) Affective interpretation
B) Consumer inference
C) Cognitive interpretation
D) Perceptual interpretation
E) Perceptual relativity
Answer: A Page: 297 Difficulty: moderate
58. When Joan sees an ad with a kitten or puppy, she always pays attention because seeing
them makes her feel so happy. This emotional or feeling response triggered by the ads
is known as _____.
A) affective interpretation
B) consumer inference
C) cognitive interpretation
D) perceptual interpretation
E) perceptual relativity
Answer: A Page: 297 Difficulty: moderate
59. Which of the following is NOT an individual characteristic that influences
interpretation?
A) traits
B) learning and knowledge
C) expectations
D) organization
E) all of the above are individual characteristics that influence interpretation
Answer: D Page: 297-299 Difficulty: hard
60. Some people experience emotions more strongly than do others, which is a trait
known as _____.
A) physiological differentiation
B) psychological differentiation
C) affect intensity
D) cognitive intensity
E) psychological intensity
Answer: C Page: 298 Difficulty: moderate
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61. Some people are known as “super tasters” because they have a higher concentration of
taste buds compared to normal people. As a result, they tend to dislike the taste of
broccoli because they claim it is too bitter. What type of trait is this?
A) affective
B) cognitive
C) psychological
D) physiological
E) mental
Answer: D Page: 298 Difficulty: moderate
62. Denise tends to experience emotions more strongly than most people, so much so that
there are some ads that she cannot even watch because they make her cry. This trait is
known as _____.
A) physiological differentiation
B) psychological differentiation
C) affect intensity
D) cognitive intensity
E) psychological intensity
Answer: C Page: 298 Difficulty: moderate
63. Which of the following is an individual characteristic that influences interpretation?
A) expectations
B) organization
C) changes
D) proximity
E) clutter
Answer: A Page: 298 Difficulty: moderate
64. Individuals' interpretation of stimuli tend to be consistent with their expectations, an
effect referred to as the _____.
A) expectation response
B) affect intensity
C) individual bias
D) expectation trait
E) expectation bias
Answer: E Page: 298 Difficulty: moderate
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65. Which of the following characteristics influencing interpretation represents factors
beyond the stimulus itself?
A) individual
B) personal
C) situational
D) stimulus
E) inferential
Answer: C Page: 299 Difficulty: moderate
66. Which of the following is NOT a situational characteristic influencing interpretation?
A) time pressure
B) mood
C) number of other individuals present
D) nature of the material surrounding the message in question
E) all of the above are situational characteristics influencing interpretation
Answer: E Page: 299 Difficulty: hard
67. Color and the nature of the programming surrounding the brand's advertisement are
examples of _____ present in the situation that can play a role in consumer
interpretation independent of the actual stimulus.
A) stimulus characteristics
B) contextual cues
C) situational organization
D) stimulus cues
E) stimulus traits
Answer: B Page: 299-300 Difficulty: moderate
68. An advertiser who formats its factual information so that it is easier to process _____.
A) is tapping into the isolation effect
B) is basing their strategy on figure-ground theory
C) is utilizing adaptation level theory
D) will increase the chances that their information is perceived to be true
E) none of the above
Answer: D Page: 300 Difficulty: hard
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69. The size, shape, and color are specific _____ of the stimulus that can affect
interpretation.
A) cues
B) traits
C) elements
D) contextual cues
E) signals
Answer: B Page: 300 Difficulty: hard
70. _____ involve(s) the use of an unexpected twist or artful deviation in how a message
is communicated either visually in the ad's picture or verbally in the ad's text or
headline.
A) Rhetorical figures
B) Proximity
C) Ambush marketing
D) Contextual figures
E) Affective interpretation
Answer: A Page: 301 Difficulty: moderate
71. _____ is(are) a stimulus characteristic that refers to the physical arrangement of the
stimulus objects and can affect consumer interpretation and categorization.
A) Proximity
B) Rhetorical figures
C) Contextual cues
D) Organization
E) Closure
Answer: D Page: 300 Difficulty: easy
72. _____ refers to the fact that stimuli positioned close together are perceived as
belonging to the same category.
A) Organization
B) Proximity
C) Closeness
D) Closure
E) Affect
Answer: B Page: 301 Difficulty: easy
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73. Any communication or activity that implies, or from which one could reasonably
infer, that an organization is associated with an event, when in fact it is not is known
as _____.
A) gorilla marketing
B) tangential marketing
C) stealth marketing
D) ambush marketing
E) product placement
Answer: D Page: 301 Difficulty: moderate
74. Swiss Miss instant hot chocolate uses images of winter Olympic athletic events with
athletes and fans warming up to a mug of their instant cocoa. While Swiss Miss is not
an official sponsor of the winter Olympics, consumers viewing the ads might
reasonably infer that they were. What type of marketing is this?
A) gorilla marketing
B) stealth marketing
C) product placement
D) unethical marketing
E) ambush marketing
Answer: E Page: 301 Difficulty: moderate
75. _____ involves presenting an incomplete stimulus with the goal of getting consumers
to complete it and thus become more engaged and involved.
A) Proximity
B) Ambush marketing
C) Closure
D) Inference
E) Figure-ground
Answer: C Page: 301 Difficulty: moderate
76. _____ involves presenting the stimulus in such a way that it is perceived as the focal
object to be attended to and all other stimuli are perceived as the background.
A) Proximity
B) Closure
C) Inference
D) Figure-ground
E) Fore-ground
Answer: D Page: 303 Difficulty: moderate
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77. The physiological ability of an individual to distinguish between similar stimuli is
called _____.
A) just noticeable difference
B) sensory discrimination
C) consumer inference
D) closure
E) expectations
Answer: B Page: 304 Difficulty: moderate
78. The minimum amount that one stimulus can differ from another with the difference
still being noticed is referred to as the _____ .
A) just noticeable difference
B) perceptual difference
C) discriminatory difference
D) inferential difference
E) minimal difference
Answer: A Page: 304 Difficulty: easy
79. Sam doesn't know much about digital video recorders, so when he went shopping for
one, he decided on the model that had the highest price and the best warranty as well
as one he had seen a lot of advertising for. Sam used these factors as _____.
A) inferential variables
B) quality signals
C) just noticeable difference cues
D) sensory cues
E) choice determinants
Answer: B Page: 304 Difficulty: easy
80. When a communication leads consumers to believe something about the product that
is not true even though it doesn't present a direct false claim, this is known as _____.
A) a direct claim
B) deceptive advertising
C) interpretation discrepancy
D) claim-belief discrepancy
E) inferential discrepancy
Answer: D Page: 306 Difficulty: hard
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81. Beverly went to the store to purchase instant hot chocolate mix for her family. A sign
near the hot chocolate directed her to a specific aisle where she could purchase
marshmallows. This is an example of a(n) _____.
A) cross-promotion
B) brand extension
C) co-brand
D) overlay
E) simultaneous promotion
Answer: A Page: 307 Difficulty: moderate
82. Skippy is a well-known brand of peanut butter that recently introduced a line of snack
bars bearing the Skippy name. This is an example of _____.
A) co-branding
B) a brand extension
C) a brand inference
D) repetition
E) quality signals
Answer: B Page: 308 Difficulty: moderate
83. Which characteristic of a logo has been found to lead to higher levels of logo liking?
A) extremely elaborate
B) depicting unusual objects
C) symmetrically balanced
D) asymmetrically balanced
E) extremely simple
Answer: C Page: 309 Difficulty: moderate
True/False Questions
84. The information processing model has four major steps or stages: exposure, attention,
interpretation, and memory.
Answer: True Page: 282 Difficulty: easy
85. Zipping, zapping, and muting are mechanical ways for consumers to selectively avoid
exposure to advertising messages, often referred to as ad avoidance.
Answer: True Page: 284 Difficulty: moderate
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86. According to a recent study, roughly 50 percent of consumers with DVRs zipped
through commercials while viewing pre-recorded material.
Answer: False Page: 284 Difficulty: hard
87. Product placement is subliminal.
Answer: False Page: 285 Difficulty: moderate
88. Attention is determined by three factors: the stimulus, the individual, and the situation.
Answer: True Page: 287 Difficulty: moderate
89. High-impact zones in print ads and other print documents tend to be more toward the
bottom and right of the ad.
Answer: False Page: 290 Difficulty: moderate
90. Format refers to the placement of an object in physical space or time.
Answer: False Page: 292 Difficulty: moderate
91. Reasoned-action theory suggests that if a stimulus doesn't change, over time we adapt
or habituate to it and begin to notice it less.
Answer: False Page: 293 Difficulty: moderate
92. Consumer motivation and ability are the major individual factors affecting attention.
Answer: True Page: 294 Difficulty: moderate
93. The right side of the brain is primarily responsible for verbal information, symbolic
representation, sequential analysis, and the ability to be conscious and report what is
happening.
Answer: False Page: 296 Difficulty: moderate
94. Affective interpretation is a process whereby stimuli are placed into existing
categories of meaning.
Answer: False Page: 297 Difficulty: moderate
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95. Individual characteristics affecting interpretation include traits, learning and
knowledge, and expectations.
Answer: True Page: 297-299 Difficulty: moderate
96. Stimulus characteristics affecting interpretation include traits, organization, and
changes.
Answer: True Page: 300-304 Difficulty: moderate
97. Sounds of letters and words can symbolize product attributes.
Answer: True Page: 307 Difficulty: easy
98. A brand name like Charmin with its soft and rounded sounds (compared to the
harshness of Scott) is taking advantage of brand morphemes.
Answer: False Page: 307 Difficulty: moderate
99. Dual-branding is an alliance where two brands are put together on a single product.
Answer: False Page: 308 Difficulty: moderate
Essay Questions
100. Briefly describe the concepts of information processing and perception.
Page: 282-283 Difficulty: moderate
Answer:
Information processing is a series of activities by which stimuli are perceived,
transformed into information, and stored. The information-processing model has four
major steps or stages: exposure, attention, interpretation, and memory. The first three
of these constitute perception. Perception is a process that begins with consumer
exposure and attention to marketing stimuli and ends with consumer interpretation.
Exposure occurs when a stimulus comes within range of a person's sensory receptor
nerves. Attention occurs when the stimulus is “seen.” Interpretation is the assignment
of meaning to the received sensations. Memory is the short-term use of the meaning
for immediate decision making or the longer-term retention of the meaning.
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101. Your family owns an upscale jewelry store. Because you are a marketing major, your
father asked you to develop an advertisement for the store. You know that it is
important for consumers to pay attention to your ad or else the money you've spent on
media exposure is wasted. Define attention, discuss how five of the several stimulus
factors influence attention to a stimulus, and explain how you can use each in your
advertisement.
Page: 288-294 Difficulty: moderate
Answer:
Attention occurs when the stimulus activates one or more sensory receptor nerves,
and the resulting sensations go to the brain for processing. Attention requires
consumers to allocate limited mental resources toward the processing of incoming
stimuli. Several stimulus factors influence attention (students only have to discuss
five of them):
Size--larger stimuli are more likely to be noticed. For example, taking out a large ad
in a local newspaper is more likely to be noticed than a smaller ad.
Intensity (e.g., loudness, brightness, length) --can increase attention. For this type of
retail store, sparkling jewelry might attract viewers' attention.
Attractive Visuals--individuals tend to be attracted to pleasant stimuli and repelled by
unpleasant stimuli. Use of attractive people in an ad, especially for this product
category, can attract viewers' attention.
Color and Movement--both serve to attract attention, with brightly colored and
moving items being more noticeable. A color advertisement, especially in a
newspaper ad, is likely to catch attention. Of course, movement is possible with
television advertising.
Position--refers to the placement of an object in physical space or time. In print
contexts, ads on the right-hand page receive more attention, and high-impact zones
tend to be more toward the top and left of a printed ad. Vertical banner ads attract
more attention than do horizontal ones. Finally, in television, first appearing
commercials tend to be attended to more so than ones appearing later in a commercial
pod.
Isolation--separating a stimulus object from other objects tends to enhance attention to
the stimulus. In advertising, the use of “white space” is based on this principle.
Format--refers to the manner in which the message is presented, and simple,
straightforward presentations receive more attention than complex presentations.
Elements in an advertisement that increase the effort required to process the message
tend to decrease attention.
Contrast and Expectations--consumers pay more attention to stimuli that contrast
with their background than to stimuli that blend with it. Expectations drive our
perceptions of contrast.
Interestingness--factors that increase curiosity can increase interest and the attention
paid to the stimulus.
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Information Quantity--represents the number of cues in the stimulus field.
Information overload occurs when consumers are confronted with so much
information that they cannot or will not attend to all of it.
102. Discuss the individual factors that affect attention.
Page: 294 Difficulty: moderate
Answer:
Consumer motivation and ability are the major individual factors affecting attention.
Motivation is the drive state created by consumer interests and needs. Interests are a
reflection of overall lifestyles as well as a result of goals and needs. Product
involvement indicates motivation or interest in a specific product category, and it can
be temporary or enduring. Either way, product involvement motivates attention.
Ability refers to the capacity of individuals to attend to and process information and is
related to knowledge and familiarity with the product, brand, or promotion. Experts
can attend to more information, more quickly and more effectively than novices and
tend to be less plagued by information overload. Brand familiarity is an ability factor
related to attention, and those with high brand familiarity may require less attention to
the brand's messages due to their high existing knowledge.
103. Define interpretation and discuss individual characteristics affecting it.
Page: 296-299 Difficulty: moderate
Answer:
Interpretation is the assignment of meaning to sensations and is related to how we
comprehend and make sense of incoming information. Individual characteristics
affecting interpretation are traits, learning and knowledge, and expectations. Inherent
physiological and psychological traits, which drive our needs and desires, influence
how a stimulus is interpreted. From a physiological standpoint, consumers differ in
their sensitivity to stimuli. From a psychological standpoint, consumers have natural
cognitive, emotional, and behavioral predispositions. Learning and knowledge
affects interpretations. For example, meanings attached to such “natural” things as
time, space, friendship, and colors are learned and vary widely across cultures.
Consumers also learn about marketer-created stimuli like brands and promotions
through their experiences with them. Finally, individuals' interpretations of stimuli
tend to be consistent with their expectations, an effect referred to as the expectation
bias. Consumers' expectations are the result of learning and can be formed very
quickly, wielding enormous influence and can be hard to change.
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104. What is meant by the term inference, and how do consumers use inferences?
Page: 304-306 Difficulty: moderate
Answer:
Interpretation often requires consumers to make inferences. An inference goes
beyond what is directly stated or presented. Consumers use available data and their
own ideas to draw conclusions about information that is not provided. Consumers use
quality signals, images, and missing information to draw inferences regarding message
interpretation. Consumers draw inferences about product quality through a number of
quality signals, such as price, advertising intensity, and warranties. Others include
country of origin as well as brand effects. In general, quality signals operate more
strongly when consumers lack the expertise to make informed judgments on their own,
when consumer motivation or interest in the decision is low, or when other qualityrelated information is lacking. Consumers also infer meaning from images, such as
from pictures placed in an advertisement. Marketers must understand the meanings
their audiences assign various images and words and use them in combination to
construct messages that will covey the desired meaning. When data about an attribute
are missing, consumers may assign it a value based on a presumed relationship
between that attribute and one for which data are available.
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