A Level Psychology (Specialist options) chapter 2: Consumer Psychology MCQs with answers

By Team Megalecture · Updated 4 Nov 2026

246 exam-style questions on Consumer Psychology, each with the answer and a short explanation. Ten of them are below to try. The chapter test draws ten fresh questions each time and is marked the moment you finish, with your score by topic.

246 questions · 15 topics · 10 per test

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What chapter 2 covers

Ten Consumer Psychology questions with answers

Try each one, then open the answer. These ten stay the same; the test draws new ones every time.

1. Which prediction would Robson et al. (2011) most likely have made from personal space theory?

  1. A
    diners at closely spaced tables would react more negatively
  2. B
    diners at closely spaced tables would be more satisfied than those with more space
  3. C
    table spacing would have no effect on diners
  4. D
    diners would prefer to sit as close as possible to strangers
Show answer

Answer: A. Personal space theory predicts that invasion of space causes discomfort, so closer tables should produce more negative responses.

2. Which is a weakness of a taste study that collects ratings from students in a laboratory?

  1. A
    ratings are objective, so they cannot be biased by participants’ expectations
  2. B
    a lab setting and student sample limit ecological validity and generalisation
  3. C
    a laboratory setting removes all problems of validity, since everything is controlled
  4. D
    a student sample represents all consumers exactly
Show answer

Answer: B. Lab-based ratings from a narrow sample may not reflect real shopping behaviour, and taste ratings are subjective.

3. A café owner wants to increase sales of a new, high-margin salad. According to research on position and choice, where should it be listed?

  1. A
    in the middle of a long list
  2. B
    after all the desserts
  3. C
    in very small print at the bottom of the page
  4. D
    first in its section of the menu
Show answer

Answer: D. Because items at the start of a list are chosen more (primacy), a first-place listing increases the chance of selection.

4. In Fischer et al. (1991), children were asked to match logos with pictures of products. What kind of method is this?

  1. A
    a naturalistic observation of children in a shop with their parents
  2. B
    a case study of one child
  3. C
    a content analysis of films
  4. D
    a structured interview and matching task
Show answer

Answer: D. Children were tested individually with a set of cards, so the method involved a matching task.

5. Which situation is likely to increase a person’s need for cognitive closure?

  1. A
    having little time, in a noisy place
  2. B
    having plenty of time and a quiet environment in which to think
  3. C
    being asked to be accurate above all
  4. D
    feeling rested and unhurried
Show answer

Answer: A. Time pressure, noise and fatigue all make lengthy thinking costly, so people want a quick, firm answer.

6. What is choice blindness?

  1. A
    failing to notice that the result of a choice is not the one you made
  2. B
    being unable to see the options available
  3. C
    refusing to make any choice
  4. D
    always choosing the first option
Show answer

Answer: A. People may not detect a mismatch between what they chose and what they are given, and may then even justify the item they did not choose.

7. Shoppers leaving a store are given a questionnaire asking how attractive they found its exterior. Which is a limitation of this method?

  1. A
    the data cannot be turned into numbers
  2. B
    it records shoppers’ actual behaviour rather than their opinions, so it misses their views
  3. C
    the ratings are subjective and open to social desirability or poor recall
  4. D
    it cannot be used with shoppers in a real store
Show answer

Answer: C. Self-reports give subjective data. Rating scales do produce quantitative data, and questionnaires can be used in real shops, but they show opinions, not actual behaviour.

8. In Mehrabian and Russell’s PAD model, what do the letters P, A and D stand for?

  1. A
    pleasure, arousal and dominance
  2. B
    perception, attention and decision
  3. C
    pleasure, attention and desire
  4. D
    purchase, approach and delay
Show answer

Answer: A. PAD stands for pleasure, arousal and dominance, the three emotional responses to an environment that then lead to approach or avoidance.

9. After participants had tasted the jams, the experimenter asked them, in their own words, to say why they preferred the jam they had received. Which method of data collection is this?

  1. A
    a questionnaire with fixed choices
  2. B
    an interview
  3. C
    an observation
  4. D
    a case study
Show answer

Answer: B. Asking participants to explain their preferences in words is a form of interview, which gives qualitative data.

10. What does eye-tracking research on menus measure?

  1. A
    which dishes diners will remember when they return a month later
  2. B
    where and for how long diners look at parts of a menu
  3. C
    how much diners will spend at the next meal
  4. D
    how hungry diners are
Show answer

Answer: B. Eye-tracking records where diners look (fixations) and for how long, giving objective data about attention to menu parts.

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Ways to practise this chapter

Consumer Psychology: questions students ask

How many Consumer Psychology MCQs are there?

246, each with the answer and a short explanation, across 15 topics: The physical environment: retail store design, The physical environment: sound and consumer behaviour, The physical environment: retail atmospherics, The psychological environment: environmental influences on consumers, The psychological environment: menu design psychology, The psychological environment: consumer behaviour and personal space, Consumer decision-making: models and strategies, Consumer decision-making: choice heuristics, Consumer decision-making: mistakes in decision-making, The product: packaging and positioning, The product: selling the product, The product: buying the product, Advertising: types of advertising and advertising techniques, Advertising: advertising-consumer interaction, Advertising: brand awareness and recognition. Every chapter test draws ten of them, so you can take it many times.

Is the A Level Psychology (Specialist options) chapter 2 test free?

Yes. The test, the answers and the explanations are free and need no sign-up. Sign in only if you want your scores kept across devices.

How is the chapter test marked?

The moment you press Finish: your score, the right answer and an explanation for every question, and the ones you got wrong saved in My mistakes to retry.

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