Adapted from AdPrin.com

Short quiz on problem solving: “The Bat and the Ball study”

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High and low involvement

Adapted from AdPrin.com

Write your answers to each question.

A bat and a ball cost $1.10 in total. The bat costs a dollar more than the ball. How much does the ball cost? ____

If it takes 5 machines 5 minutes to make 5 widgets, how long would it take 100 machines to make 100 widgets?

____In a lake, there is a patch of lily pads. Every day, the patch doubles in size. If it takes 48 days for the patch to cover the entire lake, how long will it take for the patch to cover half of the lake? ____

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Click for the answers.

* The ball costs 5 cents, the machines will produce the widgets in 5 minutes, and the lake will be half covered in 47 days.

Adapted from AdPrin.com

Results from “Bat & Ball” studyPresented to 3,235 students at universities (e.g., MIT,

Princeton, Harvard, Carnegie Mellon), with no time limit. 17% correctly answered all three. Range from 50% at MIT to 5% at Michigan State32% missed all three.

Implications for advertising?

People can be led astray when their involvement is low (Frederick 2005). Beware this when you purchase low-involvement goods.

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Adapted from AdPrin.com

Based on this exercise, write a small application step for yourself, and set a deadline, preferably within one week. If you are working with someone else, share your application plan and the results of your application.

• For example, think about what activities you do that are low involvement and consider writing your analysis.

• Also, check your answers with those by others. • Explain how you solved a low-involvement problem.