MKT 325 Midterm Exam Study Guide

Self-Concept

• Beliefs and attitudes we have about ourselves in certain situations.

• Role identities (e.g., daughter, sister, friend, club member).

• Self-evaluation and personal qualities contribute to self-esteem.

Extended Self

• Seeing products as a part of ourselves (e.g., cars, clothing, home, pets).

Absolute Threshold

• The lowest point at which a stimulus can be detected.

• Children and women generally have lower absolute thresholds than men.

Differential Threshold / Just Noticeable Difference

• The minimal change in a stimulus that can be detected.

• Marketers use this subtly to adjust product features without consumers noticing (e.g., reducing weight of a product without lowering price).

Exposure

• Consumers encountering stimuli through their senses.

• Subliminal perception: stimuli below the threshold of awareness (e.g., flashing popcorn images in theaters).

Adaptation

• Consumers become desensitized to repeated stimuli.

• Marketers refresh ads every 6-8 weeks to prevent adaptation.

Perception

• The process of receiving, selecting, and interpreting sensory information.

• Influences consumer decisions.

Classical Conditioning

• Associating stimuli with a response (e.g., music in ads linking to brands).

• Example: Pavlov’s dogs.

Operant Conditioning

• Learning influenced by consequences.

• Example: Reward programs that encourage repeat purchases.

Short-Term Memory

• Temporary storage of information.

• Marketers use chunking to improve retention (e.g., 513-NEW-HOME instead of full number).

Long-Term Memory

• Semantic Memory: General knowledge and associations.

• Episodic Memory: Personal experiences (e.g., prom, graduation).

• Flashbulb Memory: Vivid memories associated with strong emotions.

Working Memory

• Where information is temporarily stored and processed.

• Important for learning and decision-making.

Cue

• A stimulus that triggers memory recall.

Extinction

• The weakening of a learned response when reinforcement is removed.

Retention

• The ability to remember and recall information.

Five-Factor Model of Personality

• Extroversion → Introversion

• Instability → Stability (e.g., moody vs. emotionally stable)

• Agreeableness → Disagreeableness (e.g., polite, sympathetic vs. not)

• Openness to Experience → Not Open

• Conscientiousness → Lack of Conscientiousness

Five Brand Personalities

• Sincerity (e.g., Campbell’s, Smucker’s)

• Exciting (e.g., Red Bull)

• Competence (e.g., Honda - reliability)

• Sophistication

• Ruggedness (e.g., Patagonia)

Consumer Ethnocentrism

• Preference for domestic products (e.g., buying American-made cars).

Need for Cognition

• Some consumers require detailed information to feel confident in decision-making.

Need for Uniqueness

• Consumers wanting to differentiate themselves through product choices.

Low Self-Monitor

• Consistent personality regardless of situation.

High Self-Monitor

• Adapts personality based on situation and social context.

Priming

• Subtle influences affecting consumer perception (e.g., making a home more appealing during a sale).

Nudging

• Encouraging behavior through small suggestions (e.g., “Only 6 items left in stock!”).

Symbolic Value

• The meaning or status associated with a product.

Loss Aversion

• Consumers fearing losses more than valuing gains.

Diffusion

• the process by which a new idea or product is accepted by the market; the speed new ideas spread from one consumer to the next

Norm

• set of informal rules that society imposes to guide individual behavior

Custom

• the norms of behavior that have been passed from generation to generation

Default

• The pre-selected option consumers often stick with (e.g., default settings on apps).

Proximity

• things we see close together are perceived to be more related than things that are seen as further apart

Observation

• Watching consumer behavior to gather insights.

Chunking

• Grouping information to make it easier to remember.

Ethnography

• Researchers studying consumers by observing and engaging with them in real-world environments.