Essay Questions
1. Tiffany Abdul is 16 years old. She won't be seen in public without her cell phone. She hangs around with a group of people who have formed a Coldplay (a popular power- ballad rock band) fan club. She has gone to the country club every weekend since she can remember. She likes to take tennis lessons. She is a member of her high school's varsity dancing team. Her parents would like her to join the Student Union (her grades are good enough), but she thinks its members are losers. Her boyfriend is a player on the basketball team. In a short essay, identify the different types of reference groups that might influence Tiffany and discuss three ways they might influence her consumer behavior.

2. Deng Wei is a 41-year-old welder, a divorcee, and a single father of an unemployed 19-year-old son Jimmy who lives at home and attends a few community college classes. Deng's income last year was ¥7,500. Deng's favorite time of the week is when he gets together with friends on Friday night to play Mah-Jong. In a short essay, discuss the roles and statuses, and the personal factors that are likely to influence the consumer buying patterns of Deng's household.

3. Aubrey, Will, and Miguel were watching the Loess Plateau in Northern China on television when a Dodge truck commercial came on followed shortly by one for Toyota trucks. Will is in the market for a new truck, so he paid close attention to both commercials. Aubrey saw the same commercial and wondered why anyone would want to run a shiny new truck through all that mud. If you had to drive it in the mud, then a truck was not for her. Miguel used to have a Toyota truck and decided that if his experience were any indicator, the Toyota truck truly is "the mayor of Truckville."(which was actually used in Dodge ads). In a short essay, discuss how their responses to the TV commercials illustrate perception?

4. The information search in the buying decision process involves gathering information from a number of sources. In a short essay, name the four different sources and give examples of each source an individual could use when buying new carpeting.

5. Explain how the high-involvement consumer task of buying a vehicle might look, using the Five-Stage Model of the Consumer Buying Process.

Mini-Cases Mini-Case 5-1

Yao Fei is shopping for a new car. He is very concerned about receiving value for his money. He believes cars are transportation and should be driven until they fall apart. He does not understand how people can trade in their car for a new one every few years. This view of cars is very much a part of his Chinese heritage. Yao's lifestyle can be best described as comfortable, frugal, reflective, mature, and stable. He favors durability, functionality, and value in the products he buys. He must have a vehicle that is large enough to hold him, his wife, and his two teenagers comfortably. After talking to his wife, his brother, and a few co-workers, Yao test drives a minivan but decides he likes SUVs with V-8 engines.

6. Refer to Mini-Case 5-1. Yao's views about cars are an expression of the factors that affect consumer buying behavior.
a. cultural 
b. social
c. organizational
d. personal
e. psychological

7. Refer to Mini-Case 5-1. Yao is discussing his car purchase with his reference group.
a. aspirational
b. primary 
c. associative
d. dissociative
e. secondary

8. Refer to Mini-Case 5-1. When looking for information, Yao used sources.
a. primary and secondary
b. public and personal
c. commercial, public, and personal
d. experiential and public
e. personal and experiential 

9. Refer to Mini-Case 5-1. Which of the following describes Yao's consideration set?
a. An SUV with an eight-cylinder engine that will seat at least four adults. (difficult)
b. All SUVs with 8-cylinder engines.
c. All SUVs-no matter what size engine they have.
d. Any SUV that will seat four or more.
e. Any SUV made by Chevrolet.

10. Which of the following vehicle attributes do NOT seem to play a role in Yao's alternative evaluation?
a. Price.
b. Passenger capacity.
c. Reliability.
d. Style.
e. Engine size.

Mini-Case 5-2

Nate Hartman has been saving up his money for a new car, and has seen the Honda Element on the road and in ads in his favorite magazine, Vibe. The car's funky shape and weird mix of form and function are attractive to Nate. Nate's father, a university provost with a Ph.D. in economic history has definite opinions about the Element, "Just look at all that cheapo plastic molding, you can see this is a car aimed at low-class people who think lots of bumps are somehow classy - yuck!! You should consider something that is cool in a stealthier sort of way, what about a Scion tC, or an old, restored BMW 2002?" Nate has always trusted his dad's advice about cars. Dr. Hartman drives a 3-year-old Volvo. Nate decides to wait a little longer, and think over the Element, and consider cars that his father is suggesting. He really doesn't want his father to make fun of him if he chooses unwisely.

11. Refer to Mini-Case 5-2. Nate's father sees "low-class people as a group he would NOT like his son to be a part of. This is an example of a(n) reference group.
a. aspirational
b. primary
c. secondary
d. dissociative 
e. membership

12. Refer to Mini-Case 5-2. Because Nate's father has more experience and plenty of opinions and advice for his son regarding cars, he might be considered a(n) to Nate in this area.
a. opinion leader 
b. charismatic leader
c. psychographic leader
d. spiritual leader
e. automobile guru

13. Refer to Mini-Case 5-2. At what stage in the consumer decision-making process is Nate at the time of the case?
a. Problem recognition.
b. Information search. 
c. Purchase moment.
d. Post-purchase behavior.
e. Pre-recognition stage.

14. Refer to Mini-Case 5-2. The Honda Element is no longer a part of Nate's set.
a. total set
b. awareness set
c. consideration set
d. choice set
e. More than one of the answers above could be correct. (moderate)

15. Refer to Mini-Case 5-2. When Nate finally makes his choice and buys another car, he will need to do something with his current transportation, a 1979 Mustang II with 181,000 miles on it. It seems like the car needs about $150 a month just to keep it on the road. Which of the following is NOT a way that consumers like Nate dispose of a product they no longer want?
a. Lend it.
b. Convert it to a new purpose.
c. Create new space for it. 
d. Sell it.
e. Throw it away.