PSY 382: Practice Test #1
1.
Some theorists believe that each consumer has lines, props, and costumes that are necessary to put in a good
performance (as a way of explaining consumer behavior). These ideas are best classified as an explanation of
which of the following?
a. Cultural theory
b. Psychographics
c. Role theory
d. Humanist theory
2.
When two or more organizations or people give and receive something of value, ________________ has
taken place.
a. role replacement
b. semiotics
c. exchange
d. marketing
3.
Business ethics are:
a. standards applied to Fortune 500 companies.
b. diminishing in importance as we move to a "wired world" where personal contact is being reduced.
c. rules of conduct that guide actions in the marketplace.
d. rules of conduct enforced by the Bureau of Ethical and Consumer Affairs.
4.
We are taught to want Coca-Cola to satisfy thirst (no matter when or where it occurs). This would be an
illustration of which of the following criticisms of the marketing system?
a. Advertising and marketing making their functions necessary.
b. Promising miracles.
c. Creating artificial needs.
d. Spending the most creates the most demand.
5.
Most subliminal ads are not truly “subliminal” but use tiny figures or words buried in an ad. They are not
subliminal because subliminal really means:
a. manipulative
b. beyond comprehension
c. below sensation
d. below perception
6.
________________ is the industry term for inventory and cash losses due to shoplifting and employee theft.
a. Gray marketing
b. Black marketing
c. Shrinkage
d. Spiffs
7.
Marketers rely heavily on visual elements. Meanings are communicated on the visual channel through a
product's color. In many Western societies, the color ___________ is associated with power and
aggressiveness.
a. blue
b. purple
c. red
d. black
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8.
The sound emitted by a dog whistle is too high to be detected by human ears, so this stimulus is beyond our
auditory _________________.
a. differential threshold
b. absolute threshold
c. intensity threshold
d. relative threshold
9.
A consumer sees a magazine ad for chocolate chip cookies. The ad shows a child laying out in an open field
staring up at the clouds in the blue sky. If the consumer were to look very closely, there is a message in the
puffy white clouds. The message reads "how about a cookie." If this ad actually occurred, the advertiser
would be using which of the following techniques to try and influence consumers?
a. Gestalt psychology.
b. Freudian psychology.
c. Pseudo docu-drama.
d. Subliminal perceptual persuasion.
10.
Although we live in an "information society," we are many times exposed to far more information than we
are capable of processing. This phenomenon is called:
a. sensory overload.
b. advertising bombardment.
c. sensory shifting.
d. circuit overcapacity.
11.
A consumer can become "habituated" and require increasingly stronger "doses" of a stimulus for it to be
noticed. This would be an example of which of the following processes at work?
a. Adaptation
b. Perceptual vigilance
c. Perceptual defense
d. Perceptual selection
12.
When American Express Traveler's Checks uses an ad campaign that says "Ask for them by name......," they
are encouraging:
a. stimulus generalization.
b. stimulus discrimination.
c. stimulus conditioning.
d. differential generalization.
13.
A perfume company runs an ad showing a woman sitting home alone on a Saturday night because she did not
use its fragrance. This would be an example of which of the following instrumental conditioning options?
a. Negative reinforcement
b. Positive reinforcement
c. Punishment
d. Coercion
14.
A woman no longer receives compliments on the perfume that she wears. In learning terms, the stimulusresponse connection has been weakened. Which of the following explains what has occurred to the woman in
the example?
a. Negative reinforcement
b. Extinction
c. Punishment
d. Coercion
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15.
Supporters of __________________ stress the role of creativity and insight during the learning process.
a. classical learning theory
b. instrumental learning theory
c. operant learning theory
d. cognitive learning theory
16.
Martha's mother asks her for a quick list of her favorite perfumes (it's time for the Christmas shopping list).
As a consumer, Martha gives her mother six names that are all "her favorite." This group constitutes Martha's
________________ for perfume.
a. position group
b. desire patterns
c. rational set
d. evoked set
17.
Many marketers use "the good old days" as a common theme in messages. This strategy of focusing on
nostalgia is often enhanced with ___________________. This explains how consumers can reestablish
connections that were thought to be long gone.
a. retro-interference
b. "return to the womb" syndrome
c. spontaneous recovery
d. memory spikes
18.
Research done in real-life settings outside the laboratory is called
a. experimental research
b. correlational research
c. survey research
d. naturalistic research
19.
In an experimental study of the effects of music on the amount of attention paid to a store display, music
would be the _________
a. independent variable
b. dependent variable
c. control variable
d. confound
20.
In conducting your research, you make sure that every person in the population has an equal chance
of participating in your survey. This procedure is known as
a. stratified sampling
b. random assignment
c. random sampling
d. none of the above
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Short Answers:
1.
Consumption has meaning. There are four distinct types of “meaning” (or relationships) a person can have
with a product. Explain any three of these relationships with examples.
2.
A local grocery store has hired you to help them increase sales of Flaxeos, a new flax bran cereal. You
initially tell them that the first step is to make sure that customers are exposed to the product. Using the
“factors affecting exposure” that we discussed in class, what would your advice be? (i.e. how can they
increase exposure?). Be specific to the example.
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#1:
A. Self concept
 Some products help us identity with self or others. They can make us feel a positive sense of self
concept or self esteem (e.g. getting a new “outfit” that makes us feel confident when going on a
date or makes us feel attractive). These can also then help us identify with those around us,
especially groups we really want to be part of (e.g. wearing a Bills shirt after they go 3-0 by beating
down the New England Patriots). This gives us a sense of belonging and increases our sense of self
confidence.
B. Nostalgia
 We consume sometimes because the products provide some important link with a past self. This is
a huge genre of consumption where the good feelings of the “old days” are sought out through
specific consumption patterns. The idea is that the current consumption will make us feel like we
did in a previous time when we had some great experiences or were at a younger period in our lives
that were desirable. For example, there is a nostaligic toy market where people buy toys that they
played with as a kid – and even though they don’t play with them now it reminds them of when
they were young, had no responsibilities and had fun with those toys – perhaps even a specific
memory of getting that toy for a birthday.
C. Interdependence
 There are times when products are sought out because they help us function in our everyday lives.
For some of those products there isn’t really a strong conscious awareness of it (e.g. you need gas
to run your car to get to work – you don’t necessarily love it but you need to get places so gas takes
on an important role in your life as you come to rely on what it does for you). In contrast there are
times when you are acutely aware that the product you use that product and it helps you do
something (e.g. I’m aware that the computer technology I use is essential to complete my work –
without it, it’s hard to show commercials and powerpoint).
D. Emotion (text says “love”)
 The relationship we have with the product is based on the emotional experience we gain from it.
Typically this is an emotional bond (that’s why the text says “love”). Products make us feel strong
positive feelings in us and encourages these in relationships with others. We like pleasant feelings
so we consume certain products because we want to replicate that feeling. For example there is an
entire industry of “chick flicks” and romance novels based on these positive feelings as a
consequence of consumption. However, there is also sometimes an attachment to consumption that
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creates negative feelings. Again, there are genres of entertainment that make us feel sad, angry, or
afraid which we pursue in order to replicate those feelings.
#2:
The more exposure the better. The more people see the ads, the more will attend to and contemplate purchasing
Flaxios. Some suggestions are:
Focus on distribution by sending to larger stores and in multiple markets.
Position of advertisements in selective locations:
Place ads for Flaxios in magazines on the back cover, or in the middle of pages in newspaper ads –
especially in popular magazines/papers. Also, place television commercials as the first commercial in a set
when the shows break for commercials, or at the end of a set right before going back to a show. More people
will see the ads in these positions.
Shelf placement in stores in also important.
By placing them in easy eye sight is best – waist height and up – and in higher traffic areas such ath ends of
aisles and near the cash registers. You might also place them near complementary products such as milk
and candy.
You may also grab some extra attention by advertising in non-conventional ways, such as in elevators and on city
busses. Lots of people ride busses and elevators. And the more you expose people to these ads, the more likely
they’ll eventually attend to them and, if mere exposure is correct, they’ll be more likely to actually think positively
about them.
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