Q&A Hero

Q: Which of the following factors contributed to the study of child development in the twentieth century? A) The beginning of public education led to a demand for knowledge about what and how to teach children of different ages. B) Parents were having more children and researchers became interested in the effects of family size on children's well-being. C) Pediatricians were pressured by insurance companies to improve children's health, which inspired nutritional research. D) High rates of childhood depression inspired new areas of research into children's anxieties and behavior problems.

Q: The common goal of investigators who study child development is to A) understand how physical growth and nutrition contribute to health and well-being throughout the lifespan. B) understand more about personality and social development. C) analyze child-rearing practices and experiences that promote children's well-being. D) describe and identify those factors that influence the consistencies and changes in young people during the first two decades of life.

Q: The field of child development A) is devoted to understanding human constancy and change throughout the lifespan. B) is part of a larger, interdisciplinary field known as developmental science. C) focuses primarily on children's physical and emotional development. D) focuses primarily on infants' and children's social and cognitive development.

Q: When online ads go viral, they may influence adoption of the product being promoted due to the heightened ________. A) complexity B) observability C) compatibility D) trialability

Q: A hair cream remover meant to replace the razor was marketed to men but failed miserably. Which determinant of diffusion was most likely to blame? A) compatibility B) trialability C) relative advantage D) observability

Q: What term refers to the hardware system upon which a social game is played? A) genre B) platform C) mode D) milieu

Q: Which term refers to a multiplayer, competitive, goal-oriented activity with defined rules of engagement and online connectivity among a community of players? A) transactional advertising B) viral marketing C) social game D) milieu

Q: Jane is searching for the latest fashion in jeans at the Levi's Friends Store. She connects online using Facebook, and invites Kelsey to shop with her inside the online store. Jane is participating in a form of e-commerce known as ________. A) groupon B) social shopping C) pure play D) Facebook commerce

Q: 80% of brand mentions online are made by just 6.2% of social media users. Forrester Research calls these influencers ________. A) salespeople B) power users C) mass connectors D) mass networker

Q: Word-of-mouth communication in the form of brand-specific mentions in social media are called ________. A) influence cascades B) influence impressions C) social objects D) generalized opinion leadership

Q: Social networks tend to be more successful if they create a sensation that participants are in a tangible place. This is known as ________. A) presence B) social object C) atmospherics D) framing

Q: On Flickr, shared photos represent the ________ which is the basis for the network. A) tie strength B) social object C) node D) graph

Q: Members of a social network are called ________. A) followers B) friends C) nodes D) modules

Q: Shoppers on Amazon.com can search for products using words like "must read" and "girl power." These categorizations are based on a ________. A) folksonomy B) taxonomy C) genre D) milieu

Q: Which job role best fits the definition of a surrogate consumer? A) physician B) interior decorator C) physical trainer D) psychologist

Q: Tracy loves shopping with her personal shopper, Carrie, at Nordstrom's. Carrie is a ________. A) market maven B) opinion leader C) surrogate consumer D) fashionista

Q: Opinion leaders who are also early purchasers of a product are called ________. A) early adopters B) innovative communicators C) newbies D) generalized opinion leaders

Q: On Big Bang Theory, Sheldon Cooper plays a ________ expert with knowledge in topics ranging from flag history to string theory. A) market mavens B) monomorphic C) polymorphic D) generalized

Q: Experts who are knowledgeable in several fields are called ________. A) market mavens B) monomorphic C) polymorphic D) generalized

Q: Experts that are specialized in a limited number of topics are called ________. A) market mavens B) monomorphic C) polymorphic D) generalized

Q: Opinion leaders are more influential when they are ________. A) much different than the people being influenced B) quite similar to the people being influenced C) older than the average consumer D) wealthier than most consumers

Q: James is known as a techie. He is the go-to source for his friends when it comes to recommendations on the best in the latest electronics. James is most likely a(n) ________. A) fashionista B) market maven C) opinion leader D) referent

Q: Which term refers to a piece of information triggering a sequence of interactions? A) information cascade B) media multiplexity C) information networking D) influence impression

Q: Word-of-mouth communication about products is thought to be influential because it is perceived as ________. A) being more reliable B) coming from a trustworthy source C) having more social pressure to conform associated with it D) all of the above

Q: Jenny just posted a tweet on Twitter about how much she loves a new movie. Jenny has potentially influenced others with ________. A) word-of-mouth B) C2C marketing C) trickle-across promotion D) viral marketing

Q: When product information is transmitted from individual to individual it is best known as ________. A) word-of-mouth B) C2C C) trickle-across D) viral marketing

Q: Fallon was the son of a very wealthy banker from Connecticut. The first time Fallon saw an artist on MTV wearing a polished bicycle chain around his neck, he knew he had to get an item like that for himself. Fallon's behavior is best explained by the ________ theory of fashion. A) trickle-down B) trickle-up C) trickle-across D) prestige-exclusivity

Q: A ________ is a very short-lived fashion. A) trend B) fad C) classic D) style

Q: Fashionrefers to ________. A) the process of social diffusion by which a new style is adopted by some consumer groups B) a particular combination of attributes within a style, trend, or fad C) being positively evaluated by some reference group D) rejecting the norm and pushing for newness

Q: A ________ innovation is a new product that creates major changes in the way we live. A) globally continuous B) continuous C) discontinuous D) dynamically continuous

Q: In the diffusion of innovation process, which group is very slow to adopt new products and constitutes one-sixth of the population? A) innovators B) early adopters C) late adopters D) laggards

Q: People who supply online product reviews are called ________. A) media recipients B) media broadcasters C) brand advocates D) folksonomists

Q: Meagan is planning her wedding and wants everything to be just right, from the invitations and table settings to the ceremony and music selections. Because she feels overwhelmed by all of the information to sort through and the choices to make, she hires a wedding planner to make many of the decisions and purchases for her. Meagan's wedding planner is best described as a(n) ________. A) innovative communicator B) surrogate consumer C) opinion seeker D) key informant

Q: According to the ________ perspective, under the right circumstances a group of people is smarter than the smartest people within the group. A) mere exposure phenomenon B) wisdom of crowds C) deindividuation D) normative influence

Q: Social networking is an integral part of what many call ________, which is characterized by interactive platforms that foster the creation of communities. A) the virtual world B) the mega Web C) the inner Web D) Web 2.0

Q: In general, advertising is more effective when it ________ than when it ________. A) tries to create new product preferences; reinforces our existing product preferences B) reinforces our existing product preferences; tries to create new product preferences C) relies upon word-of-mouth tactics; relies upon viral marketing tactics D) relies upon viral marketing tactics; relies upon word-of-mouth tactics

Q: Product information that is transmitted by individuals to individuals is called ________. A) independent analysis B) product shuffle C) reactance formation D) word-of-mouth

Q: In advertising terms, a(n) ________ refers to a view or exposure to an advertising message. A) node B) impression C) connection D) reference

Q: The importance of weak ties in a social system is demonstrated by their ________. A) bridging function B) social contagion C) momentum effect D) diffusion of responsibility

Q: A sociometric network analysis is likely to study all of the following EXCEPT which one? A) referral behavior B) the use of surrogate consumers C) the tie strength between members of a network D) communication in social systems

Q: Several research methods are used to study reference groups and opinion leadership. ________ methods trace communication patterns among members of a group. These techniques allow researchers to systematically map out the interactions that take place among group members. A) Momentum B) Behavioral C) Sociometric D) Geodemographic

Q: A(n) ________ is a marketing intermediary retained by a consumer to guide what that consumer buys. A) market maven B) opinion leader C) power user D) surrogate consumer

Q: The opinion leader referred to as a(n) ________ is actively involved in transmitting marketplace information of all types. A) surrogate consumer B) innovator C) monomorphic leader D) market maven

Q: Recent research on opinion leadership has called into question the traditional view that there are ________ opinion leaders. A) heterophilous B) generalized C) polymorphic D) monomorphic

Q: Which of the following statements most accurately defines homophily? A) Homophily is the degree to which a pair of individuals is similar in terms of education, social status, and beliefs. B) Homophily is the degree to which a pair of individuals is similar in terms of monetary wealth and lifestyle. C) Homophily is the degree to which a pair of individuals is similar in terms of ethnicity. D) Homophily is the degree to which a pair of individuals is similar in terms of sexual orientation.

Q: A marketing manager who wants to identify opinion leaders for her product category should do which of the following? A) She should find government officials who use the product. B) She should find socially active persons who are very interested in the product category. C) She should find intellectuals who can write academic papers about the product category. D) She should look for people who rely on reward power to develop interest in a product.

Q: When a consumer is deciding whether to adopt an innovation, through what stages does the consumer move? Provide an example.

Q: What is a market maven? How does a market maven differ from an opinion leader?

Q: What is a social game? Is Angry Birds a social game? Why or why not?

Q: How does online social networking magnify word-of-mouth communication?

Q: Explain social object theory and provide an example of a social network that is based on this theory.

Q: What qualities does a person feel when in a flow state? Share a personal flow state experience of your own.

Q: Explain several of the basic characteristics of social networks. Provide an example.

Q: Explain the two-step flow model of influence.

Q: In the video, "United Breaks Guitars," a band explains how its guitars were wrongly broken when United Airlines employees unloaded them. United wouldn't pay for the damage, and the band took its story to the public via YouTube. Explain the three basic elements complaining consumers tend to include when sharing complaints online and link each element to the "United Breaks Guitars" situation.

Q: Suppose that it became fashionable to be overweight. How would the four models of fashion (derived from the behavioral science perspective of fashion) explain how the fashion norm would change from being underweight to being overweight?

Q: Compare and contrast the trickle-down, trickle-up, and trickle-across theories.

Q: Why do you think customers talk much more about negative product and service experiences than positive ones?

Q: With respect to opinion leadership, compare the self-designating model and the key informant method.

Q: Explain why opinion leaders are difficult to identify.

Q: What characteristics of opinion leaders make them valuable sources for product information?

Q: Social shopping is a hybrid of social networking and online retailing.

Q: Billions of dollars in real money are exchanged for virtual goods used in social games.

Q: Innovations diffuse in the same way that new fashions diffuse in the market.

Q: Fashion is the process of social diffusion by which some group adopts a new style.

Q: Dungeons and Dragons is a role-playing game.

Q: Most of the brand mentions made in social media are made by just 6.2% of social media users.

Q: Complaint Web sites tend to incorporate evidence of injustice, identity, and agency in the communications posted.

Q: The idea of the wisdom of crowds explains why groups of people often come up with more creative solutions to problems than individuals do.

Q: Vicente is conducting research to test the hypothesis that the social contagion effect is weak in adults. His finding that adults who have a close friend who abstains from drinking alcohol are more likely to abstain themselves will support his hypothesis.

Q: As people transmit information to one another, they tend to change the message.

Q: Consumers are swayed more by negative word-of-mouth than by positive comments.

Q: Word-of-mouth has a more powerful effect on consumers than paid advertising does.

Q: The most common method of identifying opinion leaders is to use the social registry document kept by most city newspapers.

Q: Most opinion leaders are celebrities rather than everyday consumers.

Q: A surrogate consumer, by definition, makes a purchase on behalf of another consumer.

Q: Opinion leaders are likely to also be opinion seekers.

Q: The original opinion leadership framework of an influence network has been largely displaced by the two-step flow model of influence.

Q: Opinion leaders often absorb much of the risk in buying new products because they generally buy them first.

Q: Shift Corporation could not sell its premium running shoes at $59.99, but when they were priced at $159.99, the shoes sold out of the stores almost overnight. Shift had just experienced the snob effect characteristically explained by the sociological model of fashion.