- A.Festinger's theory: psychological discomfort when a person holds two conflicting beliefs — in marketing, the post-purchase doubt that "did I make the right choice?"
- B.Fishbein-Ajzen models linking beliefs to attitudes to intentions to behavior — used to predict and influence consumer action. ✓
- C.The fifth stage — the consumer experiences satisfaction or dissonance after purchase, which shapes loyalty, advocacy, and complaints.
- D.Fishbein-Ajzen models linking beliefs to attitudes to intentions to behavior — used to predict and influence consumer action.
Theory of Reasoned Action / Planned Behavior is fishbein-Ajzen models linking beliefs to attitudes to intentions to behavior — used to predict and influence consumer action. The other options describe related but distinct concepts in Consumer Behavior — see the deep-dive guide for the full distinction.
How to think about questions like this
Behavior intentions are the strongest single predictor of behavior. Questions like this test whether you can distinguish Theory of Reasoned Action / Planned Behavior from neighboring concepts. The most common trap is choosing a closely-related concept that sounds similar but applies in a different context.
When you see a definition question on an exam, do two things: (1) translate the question into your own words, then (2) generate the answer in your own words before reading the options. This avoids the cognitive bias of recognizing a familiar phrase as correct just because it is familiar.