Final answer:
The statement that egmenting the market based on consumers' product or brand usage and the degree of use is an example of behavioristic segmentation. is true. The scenarios described illustrate potential unethical behaviours in research, such as bias, lack of representativeness, and misleading advertising, which could all impact the reliability of the data.
Step-by-step explanation:
Segmenting the market based on consumers' product or brand usage and the degree of use is indeed an example of behavioristic segmentation. Behavioristic segmentation considers the behaviors of consumers, including their product usage rate, brand loyalty, user status, and other similar behavioral patterns when consuming products or services. In terms of the scenarios you provided:
- In example (a), if the survey commissioned by the seller of a popular brand of apple juice did not disclose this connection, it could be considered unethical as it may bias the research outcomes. The reliability of the resulting data could be compromised due to the conflict of interest. A solution would be full disclosure of the survey's sponsorship upfront to mitigate potential biases.
- In example (b), limiting a study to two types of juice, apple juice and cranberry juice, may lead to unethical exclusion of other popular choices among teens, reducing the study's comprehensiveness and the representativeness of the data. Expanding the types of fruit juices studied would correct this problem.
- In example (c), allowing participants to see the brand during a taste test could influence their preference due to brand recognition, which could affect the objectivity of the results. This problem could be corrected by conducting a blind taste test.
- Finally, in example (d), Brand X's statement in the commercial is misleading as the results indicate that a larger percentage have no preference. Ethically, advertisements should not distort study findings. The commercial should accurately reflect the study's findings.
Regarding the second part, for the new laundry detergent consumer preference test, if a study aims to identify the proportion of consumers who prefer a new brand over the leading competitor, it is critical that the research is conducted in a manner that ensures an unbiased comparison. Steps to ensure this include randomization of test subjects, blinding, and using a representative sample of consumers.