Module BUSI2211: Consumer Psychology and Behavioural Science

Department: Management and Marketing

BUSI2211: Consumer Psychology and Behavioural Science

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To explore consumer interactions with the products and services of everyday life, and with the marketing of those products and services.
• To understand consumers' responses - psychological and physiological - to a range of marketing stimuli and ways in which those responses vary in different situational contexts.
• To engage at a critical level with the latest behavioural science research into consumer behaviour and marketing practice

Content

• Introduction to the human brain - evolution, structure, form and functioning
• Evolutionary bases of consumption - survival, reproduction, kinship and reciprocation circuits
• Neuromarketing research - invasive and non-invasive techniques
• Sensations, perception and attention
• Learning and memory
• Conscious and non-conscious information-processing
• Wants, needs and desires
• Emotions and feelings
• Thinking and deciding
• Product and packaging design
• Building brain-friendly brands
• Advertising optimisation
• Shopper marketing and retail experience design
• Aberrant consumer behaviour - compulsive buying, theft, fraud, drug use, pornography, etc
• Emergent issues in consumer psychology - standards, policy implications and (neuro-)ethics

Learning Outcomes

• An understanding of the psychological, biological, situational, environmental and socio-cultural influences on behaviour;
• A critical awareness of the decision-making processes that individuals undertake and the models which seek to interpret this behaviour;
• An appreciation of why and how this understanding of psychology is important for marketing.

• Ability to observe, interpret and demonstrate marketing psychology in action.
• Ability to critically evaluate their own behaviour as consumers.
• Ability to develop and evaluate marketing strategies in the light of consumer psychology theory and behavioural science research.

• Creativity and problem-solving (e.g. by thinking laterally and innovatively).
• Critical thinking.
• Active and reflective learning.
• Presenting in both the written and oral/visual form.
• Group work/teamwork and leadership skills.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• This module adopts a blended-learning approach to delivery, appropriate to both the pedagogical requirements of the subject area and to the omni-channel FMCG environment that provides the commercial context for the module. This delivery format is comprised of three main elements. Traditional lectures provide the theoretical building blocks of the module, along with opportunities for interaction and Q&A input from the Module Leader. Between each lecture, students work through a series of asynchronous online learning materials consisting of podcasts/videos, self-directed quizzes to check learning progress, peer discussion topics and a series of online behavioural science experiments that would not be possible to undertake within a traditional classroom setting. Finally, in order to consolidate learning and to refine the skills required for the summative project, students participate in two substantive practical classes during the course of the term in which they design and conduct live experiments under the supervision of the Module Leader .
• The module is assessed by means of a Practical Project, work on which is ongoing throughout the term and supported by the practical classes. Students identify a specific marketing problem and design, conduct and report on an approved topic, making marketing recommendations for the target brand. The project must be grounded in appropriate academic literature critically engaged with during the course of the module too.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Students conduct two pieces of research in groups during the Practical Classes for this module, each linking into the final individual summative project in terms of skills development, with in-session feedback from the Module Leader and a peer review.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University