MKT201 – Buyer Behavior
Chapter 5
Review Questions
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1. Which of the following best defines what is
implied by the symbolic self-completion
theory?
a. Customers tend to buy products that violate their
self-concept if their self-esteem is low.
b. Customers who have an incomplete self-concept
tend to buy products that complete that concept.
c. Customers delay purchases that conform to their
actual self-image until their self-concept is
consistent with their social self.
d. Customers select products that conform to their
self-image through a process that is largely
subconscious.
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2. The body is adorned or altered in some way
in every culture. Decorating the self serves
a number of purposes. Which of the
following is not one of those purposes?
a. To separate group members from non–group
members
b. To place the individual in the social organization
c. To place the individual in a gender category
d. To enhance age-status identification
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3. Attributes of self-concept can be described
along several dimensions. If Rudi Gonzalez
sees himself as being one who is handsome
(has a highly attractive face) rather than a
person who is intellectual, which of the
following self-concept dimensions best
applies to Rudi's view of himself?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Content
Positivity
Intensity
Stability over time
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4. Mary Jane is a very conservative
businesswoman by day. However, when
she decides to "go out on the town," she
likes to party and "kick up her heels." This
would be an example of a reaction due to
the fact that many consumers _________.
a.
b.
c.
d.
are psychotic
have multiple selves
are not confident with their real selves
prefer their ideal self
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5. Grace Norris is a 50-year-old housewife who
recently selected Chrysler's PT Cruiser as her
new car. To some extent, she selected the car
because it is practical and has ample storage
space for groceries and other items she gets on
her many shopping trips. On the other hand, she
also confesses that she selected the car because
of its "bad boy" image. "It looks like a gangster car
from the 1930s," says Grace. "It says 'don't mess
with me,' " she tells her friends. Grace is exhibiting
_________ in her selection of a car.
a.
b.
c.
d.
Gestaltism
symbolic consumerism
symbolic interactionism
Draconian fantasies
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6. Arthur was asked to speak in front of a group of
downtown business persons during the noon hour.
He noticed that as he spoke, one person appeared to
be napping and another frowned during the entire
presentation. "I'm not going to do that again," Arthur
promised himself. "I am not a good public speaker."
Which of the following terms best reflects Arthur's
perception of himself and his ability as a speaker?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Multiple selves
Ideal self
Actual self
Looking-glass self
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7. Jane Jones loves liver and onions. She often sees this
dish available in cafeterias. However, she has also
overheard fellow cafeteria patrons commenting that
"only old people eat liver—how disgusting!"
Because of the social criticism that she has
overheard, she almost never buys liver and onions
when she is out in public. Jane would best be
characterized as being a(n) _______.
a.
b.
c.
d.
high self-monitor
medium self-monitor
low self-monitor
image-resistant consumer
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8. Bart was a mortuary worker who noticed that
there seemed to be a social class difference in
what people placed on the graves of departed
family members. What Bart observed was a class
difference in how people manifest the relationship
between external objects and the _________ self.
a.
b.
c.
d.
extended
actual
social
looking-glass
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9. Fred Johnson lives, eats, and breathes pro football.
His favorite team is the Dallas Cowboys. His home
looks like a Dallas Cowboys' museum. Which of the
following categories or levels of the extended self
would most likely apply to Fred's situation?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Family level
Individual level
Community level
Group level
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10. One study of young male beer drinkers found a
segment that was characterized as "losers." These
were men who worked hard but had little chance of
promotion, and although they enjoyed life, thought
that they were never going to get ahead. Beer ads
made to this segment had a very high fantasy appeal.
What relationship between the concepts of self in
this segment was being assumed by the marketers?
a. This segment had a strong looking-glass self.
b. This segment had a large gap between their real and ideal
selves.
c. This segment had low self-esteem.
d. This segment had a culturally defined inner self that was
much different from their public self.
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Essay Questions:
1. Briefly comment on gender differences in
socialization, female sex roles, and male sex roles
in our society.
– In many societies, males are controlled by agentic
goals, which stress self-assertion and mastery.
Females, on the other hand, are taught to value
communal goals, such as affiliation and the fostering
of harmonious relations.
– Each society creates a set of expectations regarding
the behaviors appropriate for men and women and
finds ways to communicate these priorities. This
training begins very early in a child's life. Today, the
field of marketing tends to be dominated by male
values. This, however, is changing.
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Essay Questions:
2. Ben is a little nervous about how he will be perceived
when he arrives for a job interview. He got his hair cut
and wore his most expensive business suit so he would
appear more like the person the firm would hire at an
executive level. He knows that he "cleans up well" and
hopes that will compensate for a weak resume. Explain in
terms of symbolic interactionism what Ben is doing.
– Symbolic interactionaism stresses the importance of how
relationships with other people form our concepts of self.
Members of the same group have shared meanings, which can
be reflected by behavior, symbols, and products.
– Although this is a new situation for Ben, his self-concept has
been partially formed by how other people reacted to him in
the past. He has defined himself as executive material
because of this past treatment, and trusts that other people
will share the same consensus when he presents the
appropriate presentation with its symbolic meaning.
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