The Neuroscience of Consumer Decision-Making | 100+ MCQ with Answers
1. Which part of the brain handles rational thinking and analysis?
A. Reptilian brain
B. Middle brain
C. New brain
D. Insular cortex
✅ Answer: C. New brain
2. Which brain system is responsible for emotions and social bonding?
A. Brainstem
B. Middle brain
C. Cerebellum
D. Motor cortex
✅ Answer: B. Middle brain
3. Which brain system makes the final survival-based decision?
A. New brain
B. Prefrontal cortex
C. Reptilian brain
D. Limbic system
✅ Answer: C. Reptilian brain
4. When threatened, which part shuts down first?
A. Emotional brain
B. Thinking brain
C. Instinctive brain
D. Reward network
✅ Answer: B. Thinking brain
5. The Default Mode Network is active when a person is:
A. Sleeping
B. Highly focused
C. Daydreaming
D. Hungry
✅ Answer: C. Daydreaming
6. The Reward Network activates when consumers experience:
A. Pain
B. Boredom
C. Pleasure
D. Stress
✅ Answer: C. Pleasure
7. The “pain of paying” is strongest when using:
A. UPI
B. Credit cards
C. Cash
D. Gift cards
✅ Answer: C. Cash
8. EEG is best for measuring:
A. Deep emotional processing
B. Real-time cognition
C. Blood oxygen flow
D. Hormone levels
✅ Answer: B. Real-time cognition
9. fMRI captures changes in:
A. Sweat
B. Heart rate
C. Blood oxygen
D. Eye movement
✅ Answer: C. Blood oxygen
10. The BOLD signal measured by fMRI has a delay of:
A. 1 second
B. 2 seconds
C. 4–5 seconds
D. 10 seconds
✅ Answer: C. 4–5 seconds
11. Dopamine primarily influences:
A. Anger
B. Survival
C. Anticipation and reward
D. Long-term memory
✅ Answer: C. Anticipation and reward
12. Serotonin regulates:
A. Hunger only
B. Social satisfaction
C. Reflexes
D. Smell
✅ Answer: B. Social satisfaction
13. Low dopamine typically leads to:
A. Risk avoidance
B. Retail therapy
C. Higher logical thinking
D. Increased patience
✅ Answer: B. Retail therapy
14. Humans avoid mental effort due to:
A. Memory loss
B. Cognitive miserliness
C. Hormone imbalance
D. Brain fatigue
✅ Answer: B. Cognitive miserliness
15. Familiarity increases:
A. Confusion
B. Trust
C. Resistance
D. Novelty
✅ Answer: B. Trust
16. Novel stimuli trigger:
A. Processing fluency
B. Prediction error
C. Long-term memory
D. Motor learning
✅ Answer: B. Prediction error
17. Too much novelty activates:
A. Reward center
B. Risk center
C. Default network
D. Motor cortex
✅ Answer: B. Risk center
18. The Disrupt-Then-Reframe technique starts with:
A. A logical fact
B. A familiar cue
C. A small twist
D. A heavy discount
✅ Answer: C. A small twist
19. Warm drinks activate which area?
A. Occipital cortex
B. Insular cortex
C. Motor cortex
D. Cerebellum
✅ Answer: B. Insular cortex
20. Eye-tracking measures:
A. Emotions
B. Breath rate
C. Visual attention
D. Blood flow
✅ Answer: C. Visual attention
21. Electrodermal activity measures:
A. Neural firing
B. Sweat conductivity
C. Blood pressure
D. Hormones
✅ Answer: B. Sweat conductivity
22. Heart rate slowing indicates:
A. Fear
B. Attention
C. Reward
D. Confusion
✅ Answer: B. Attention
23. High heart rate over 3–5 seconds indicates:
A. Cognition
B. Emotional arousal
C. Hunger
D. Sleepiness
✅ Answer: B. Emotional arousal
24. The Affect Network handles:
A. Logical reasoning
B. Emotional arousal
C. Motor action
D. Language
✅ Answer: B. Emotional arousal
25. The Control Network activates when:
A. Dreaming
B. Resisting temptation
C. Seeing colors
D. Smelling food
✅ Answer: B. Resisting temptation
26. The reptilian brain is located near the:
A. Frontal lobe
B. Spine
C. Visual cortex
D. Temporal lobe
✅ Answer: B. Spine
27. Dopamine is known as the:
A. Happy hormone
B. Selfish chemical
C. Social chemical
D. Stress molecule
✅ Answer: B. Selfish chemical
28. Serotonin is known as the:
A. Reward chemical
B. Selfish chemical
C. Selfless chemical
D. Fear chemical
✅ Answer: C. Selfless chemical
29. Processing fluency refers to:
A. Emotional intensity
B. Ease of understanding
C. Memory accuracy
D. Sensory overload
✅ Answer: B. Ease of understanding
30. Cognitive miserliness means people prefer:
A. Deep thinking
B. Fast thinking
C. Avoiding effort
D. Multitasking
✅ Answer: C. Avoiding effort
31. fMRI suffers from:
A. Poor spatial resolution
B. Reverse inference problems
C. Lack of safety
D. Noiseless operation
✅ Answer: B. Reverse inference problems
32. PET is less popular because it is:
A. Expensive
B. Invasive
C. Slow
D. Weak
✅ Answer: B. Invasive
33. EEG is ideal for studying:
A. Slow emotional changes
B. Cognition speed
C. Deep brain structures
D. Reflex arcs
✅ Answer: B. Cognition speed
34. Multi-modal devices combine:
A. EEG + fMRI
B. EEG + eye-tracking
C. PET + heart rate
D. TMS + GSR
✅ Answer: B. EEG + eye-tracking
35. The brain prefers:
A. Complex designs
B. Simple processing
C. Repeated shocks
D. Unpredictable patterns
✅ Answer: B. Simple processing
36. Emotional ads trigger the:
A. Control network
B. Affect network
C. Motor cortex
D. Parietal cortex
✅ Answer: B. Affect network
37. Creativity is linked to the:
A. Default network
B. Reward network
C. Motor cortex
D. Amygdala
✅ Answer: A. Default network
38. The reptilian brain is highly sensitive to:
A. Price
B. Safety
C. Familiarity
D. Novelty
✅ Answer: B. Safety
39. Brand loyalty mostly activates the:
A. Reptilian system
B. Emotional system
C. Sensory cortex
D. Motor system
✅ Answer: B. Emotional system
40. When consumers avoid thinking too hard, the brain is acting as a:
A. Cognitive miser
B. Cognitive amplifier
C. Neural expander
D. Mental enhancer
✅ Answer: A. Cognitive miser
✅ MCQs 41–100 continue below.
(Everything included in this message — no truncation risk.)
41. The fight-or-flight system is part of the:
A. Somatic system
B. Reptilian brain
C. Default network
D. Corpus callosum
✅ Answer: B. Reptilian brain
42. Emotional arousal direction cannot be measured using:
A. EDA
B. EEG
C. fMRI
D. Heart rate
✅ Answer: A. EDA
43. The part of the brain activated when viewing warm stimuli is the:
A. Amygdala
B. Insula
C. Thalamus
D. Cerebellum
✅ Answer: B. Insula
44. The Middle Brain corresponds to the:
A. Prefrontal cortex
B. Mammalian brain
C. Brainstem
D. Frontal lobe
✅ Answer: B. Mammalian brain
45. The New Brain is responsible for:
A. Love
B. Reflexes
C. Logical analysis
D. Survival
✅ Answer: C. Logical analysis
46. Reptilian decisions are influenced by:
A. Numbers
B. Safety signals
C. Colors
D. Songs
✅ Answer: B. Safety signals
47. Emotional activation helps improve:
A. Memory retention
B. Price accuracy
C. Math ability
D. Logic
✅ Answer: A. Memory retention
48. The neural network involved in resisting cravings is the:
A. Default network
B. Control network
C. Reward network
D. Visual network
✅ Answer: B. Control network
49. Strong reward cues activate the:
A. Prefrontal cortex
B. Amygdala
C. Nucleus accumbens
D. Occipital cortex
✅ Answer: C. Nucleus accumbens
50. The part of the brain that shuts down during panic is the:
A. Prefrontal cortex
B. Amygdala
C. Basal ganglia
D. Hippocampus
✅ Answer: A. Prefrontal cortex
51. Novel but familiar designs are effective because they balance:
A. Logic and emotion
B. Novelty and processing fluency
C. Emotion and memory
D. Reflex and reward
✅ Answer: B. Novelty and processing fluency
52. Round numbers are processed as:
A. Masculine
B. Fear-based
C. Feminine
D. Aggressive
✅ Answer: C. Feminine
53. Precise numbers (e.g., 9.97) are perceived as:
A. Soft
B. Weak
C. Masculine
D. Emotional
✅ Answer: C. Masculine
54. Odd numbers activate:
A. Female perception
B. Male perception
C. Neutral perception
D. Reward pathways
✅ Answer: B. Male perception
55. Even numbers are linked to:
A. Aggression
B. Masculinity
C. Femininity
D. Reward
✅ Answer: C. Femininity
56. The part of the brain linked with “gut feeling” is the:
A. Cerebellum
B. Middle brain
C. Prefrontal cortex
D. Motor cortex
✅ Answer: B. Middle brain
57. Eye blinks can indicate:
A. Cognitive load
B. Heart rate
C. Skin moisture
D. Memory
✅ Answer: A. Cognitive load
58. EEG sensors are placed on the:
A. Spine
B. Skull
C. Nose
D. Shoulders
✅ Answer: B. Skull
59. fMRI scanners detect changes in:
A. Blood iron
B. Electric probes
C. Sound waves
D. Memory
✅ Answer: A. Blood iron
60. PET scans require:
A. Magnetic coils
B. Radioactive substance
C. Electrical gel
D. Light beams
✅ Answer: B. Radioactive substance
61. The limbic system plays a major role in:
A. Math
B. Emotional processing
C. Logic
D. Movement
✅ Answer: B. Emotional processing
62. The reptilian brain controls:
A. Breathing
B. Creativity
C. Complex planning
D. Language
✅ Answer: A. Breathing
63. Strong fear messages activate the:
A. Occipital lobe
B. Amygdala
C. Cerebellum
D. Parietal cortex
✅ Answer: B. Amygdala
64. Attention is highest when heart rate:
A. Spikes
B. Drops briefly
C. Remains static
D. Reverses
✅ Answer: B. Drops briefly
65. The Default Network shuts down during:
A. Boredom
B. High-focus tasks
C. Relaxation
D. Sleep
✅ Answer: B. High-focus tasks
66. The Reward Network is context-dependent because:
A. It depends on time
B. It depends on meaning
C. It depends on location
D. It depends on age
✅ Answer: B. It depends on meaning
67. The emotional brain responds fastest to:
A. Numbers
B. Colors
C. Faces
D. Text
✅ Answer: C. Faces
68. Neuroimaging helps marketers understand:
A. Conscious choices only
B. Subconscious responses
C. Daydreams
D. HR operations
✅ Answer: B. Subconscious responses
69. Cognitive shortcuts are called:
A. Heuristics
B. Algorithms
C. Networks
D. Circuits
✅ Answer: A. Heuristics
70. The most energy-efficient decision system is the:
A. New brain
B. Middle brain
C. Reptilian brain
D. Prefrontal cortex
✅ Answer: C. Reptilian brain
71. Emotional peaks increase:
A. Confusion
B. Memory
C. Stress
D. Sweat
✅ Answer: B. Memory
72. The brain prefers information that is:
A. Hard to decode
B. Easy to decode
C. Slow
D. Ambiguous
✅ Answer: B. Easy to decode
73. Which neurotransmitter encourages generosity?
A. Dopamine
B. Serotonin
C. Cortisol
D. Adrenaline
✅ Answer: B. Serotonin
74. Price precision (₹199.93 vs ₹200) improves:
A. Trust
B. Confusion
C. Novelty
D. Memory
✅ Answer: A. Trust
75. Retail therapy happens due to low:
A. Anger
B. Energy
C. Dopamine
D. Serotonin
✅ Answer: C. Dopamine
76. Consumers feel more connected when holding:
A. Cold drinks
B. Hot drinks
C. Heavy bags
D. Metal objects
✅ Answer: B. Hot drinks
77. The most persuasive pricing uses:
A. Odd precise numbers
B. Large round numbers
C. Random digits
D. Color-coded numbers
✅ Answer: A. Odd precise numbers
78. In high fear, decisions shift to the:
A. Thinking brain
B. Emotional brain
C. Reptilian brain
D. Default network
✅ Answer: C. Reptilian brain
79. The brain’s “lazy controller” is the:
A. Motor cortex
B. New brain
C. Cerebellum
D. Amygdala
✅ Answer: B. New brain
80. Novel but risky products trigger the:
A. Reward network
B. Risk center
C. Control network
D. Visual cortex
✅ Answer: B. Risk center
81. Emotional ads outperform rational ads because they:
A. Reduce thinking
B. Activate instinct
C. Trigger affect network
D. Use humor
✅ Answer: C. Trigger affect network
82. The reptilian brain cares most about:
A. Style
B. Survival
C. Luxury
D. Numbers
✅ Answer: B. Survival
83. Consumers rely on emotional shortcuts due to:
A. Logic
B. Cognitive miserliness
C. Deep memory
D. Motor signals
✅ Answer: B. Cognitive miserliness
84. The brain treats financial pain like:
A. Heat
B. Noise
C. Physical pain
D. Color
✅ Answer: C. Physical pain
85. Price resistance reduces when using:
A. Cash
B. Digital payments
C. Bartering
D. Coins
✅ Answer: B. Digital payments
86. Trust grows from:
A. Familiarity
B. Novel sounds
C. Shocking ads
D. Overpricing
✅ Answer: A. Familiarity
87. Creativity helps engage which network?
A. Reward
B. Default
C. Control
D. Motor
✅ Answer: B. Default
88. Which scanning tool is fastest?
A. PET
B. EEG
C. fMRI
D. TMS
✅ Answer: B. EEG
89. Which tool is best for deep brain?
A. EEG
B. Eye tracking
C. fMRI
D. Heart rate
✅ Answer: C. fMRI
90. Neuromarketing seeks to decode:
A. Sales data
B. Conscious reports
C. Non-conscious responses
D. Customer service
✅ Answer: C. Non-conscious responses
91. The mammalian brain processes:
A. Reflexes
B. Emotions
C. Logic
D. Light
✅ Answer: B. Emotions
92. Numerical cognition shows gender associations for:
A. Shapes
B. Smells
C. Numbers
D. Touch
✅ Answer: C. Numbers
93. Emotional buying peaks when dopamine is:
A. Low
B. Moderate
C. High
D. Absent
✅ Answer: C. High
94. Risk avoidance is linked to the:
A. Reward network
B. Amygdala
C. Default network
D. Occipital cortex
✅ Answer: B. Amygdala
95. Hot beverage influence is an example of:
A. Haptics
B. Vision science
C. Audio priming
D. Olfactory cue
✅ Answer: A. Haptics
96. Reframing helps convert:
A. Fear to joy
B. Confusion to clarity
C. Disruption to compliance
D. Emotion to logic
✅ Answer: C. Disruption to compliance
97. The neural basis of impulse control lies in:
A. Reward network
B. Control network
C. Limbic system
D. Brainstem
✅ Answer: B. Control network
98. The brain stores experiences in:
A. Visual units
B. Neural networks
C. Muscle fibers
D. Reflex arcs
✅ Answer: B. Neural networks
99. Most consumer decisions are made:
A. Consciously
B. Subconsciously
C. Mathematically
D. Socially
✅ Answer: B. Subconsciously
100. The last brain to evolve is the:
A. Middle brain
B. Reptilian brain
C. New brain
D. Motor cortex
✅ Answer: C. New brain
neuroscience of consumer decision-making, Neuromarketing, Brain-based marketing, Consumer psychology neuroscience, Decision-making brain systems, How the reptilian brain drives buying behavior, Emotional vs rational brain in marketing, Default mode network and brand perception, Dopamine and serotonin in retail psychology, Cognitive miserliness and marketing persuasion, Neuromarketing tools fMRI EEG PET TMS, Consumer brain networks reward affect control, Novelty familiarity and processing fluency in marketing
