Syllabus

LEARNING OUTCOMES

In completing this course, the student will learn about the key concepts, theories, and models in the field of psychological and behavioral consumer research.

Credits: 6

Schedule: 02.03.2022 - 06.04.2022

Teacher in charge (valid for whole curriculum period):

Teacher in charge (applies in this implementation): Tatsiana Padhaiskaya

Contact information for the course (applies in this implementation):

Tatsiana Padhaiskaya

tatsiana.padhaiskaya@aalto.fi

CEFR level (valid for whole curriculum period):

Language of instruction and studies (applies in this implementation):

Teaching language: English. Languages of study attainment: English

CONTENT, ASSESSMENT AND WORKLOAD

Content

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  The course content comprises of knowledge from three key domains: (a) consumer affect and cognition (b) consumer behavior, and (c) consumer environment. Accordingly, this course describes the thoughts and feelings people experience and the actions they perform in consumption processes. It also explains the various things in the environment that influence these thoughts, feelings and actions.

• applies in this implementation

  Highly competitive marketing environments make it imperative for firms to adopt a consumer focus. As such, in order to survive and grow, firms are required to know consumers; they should understand consumers’ needs, how to make consumers aware of those needs, how to best meet the needs, and how to keep consumers satisfied after they have purchased a product or service. In a nutshell, every aspect of the business should be matched to the satisfaction of consumer needs.

   

  In this course, you will learn about the central theories, concepts, and models in consumer psychology and behavior. You will learn why consumers act as they do, how they obtain and use the information to meet their needs, how they make decisions, and which factors influence their decisions and behavior. This knowledge will come from online lectures and readings, and through employing your learning experience hands-on in various individual and group assignments. Throughout the course, you will be asked to take on two perspectives: that of a marketing manager, as well as that of the customer. From the perspective of a marketing manager, you are encouraged to understand what impacts and drives consumer behavior, to develop, implement, and evaluate effective marketing strategies. From a customer’s perspective, you will understand how and why you make purchase decisions, as well as the impact of marketing on your behavior.

  At the end of the course, students will be able to:

  1.     identify central theories, concepts, and models in consumer psychology and behavior

  2.     explain why consumers act as they do​

  3.     describe how consumers obtain and use the information to meet their needs

  4.     tell how consumers make decisions, which factors influence their decisions and behavior

  5.     evaluate which tools are effective, ethical marketing instruments to influence consumers’ (buying) behavior​

  
  

Assessment Methods and Criteria

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  Compulsory individual and course assignments.

• applies in this implementation

  Your overall course grade will be comprised of six individual assignments (60%), group assignment (30%), and individual participation (10%). You must submit all assignments on time to receive credit for the course. An extension on an assignment will be granted only under truly extraordinary circumstances, and only if the extension is negotiated in advance.

   

  Individual participation (max. 10 points, individual grading)

  Students may earn participation points by actively engaging in the discussions via MyCourses Discussion forum. To score the maximum number of points, students should leave at least five comments in the Discussion forum throughout the course. Note that only high-quality comments will be considered for grading. ​

   

  Individual assignments (max. 60 points, individual grading)

  For the individual assignments, you are required to annotate 6 articles on the social reading platform Perusall. ​To get started, you need to sign up at https://perusall.com/and enter the course code upon registration. ​You can then access the assignments. Note that each group member has to make at least 6 annotations per article. If you leave less than 6 annotations, your contribution will not be considered. ​Grading depends also on the quality of your annotations.

  Croup assignment (30%, group grading)

  Students will organize in groups of 4-5 people. The group assignment will deal with all course materials NOT covered in the Individual Assignments. The details on the group task will be provided by April 1 at the latest. ​

  
  

  Course grading is based on a 0-5 scale. 

  91-100 % 5         

  81-90 % 4         

  71-80 % 3         

  61-70 % 2         

  51-60 % 1         

  0-50% Fail

  
  

Workload

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  6 credits, 160 hours:

  • online lectures
  • compulsory assignments and independent learning

• applies in this implementation

  6 credits, 160 hours: 

  Individual Assignments (6 scientific articles)​ – 36h

  Group Assignment​ – 40h

  Readings, preparations, participation – 84h ​

  
  

DETAILS

Substitutes for Courses

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  Substitutes for Courses

Prerequisites

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  Prerequisites

FURTHER INFORMATION

Further Information

• valid for whole curriculum period:

  Teaching Language : English

  Teaching Period : 2022-2023 Spring IV
  2023-2024 Spring IV

  Enrollment :

  The number of students admitted to the course is restricted to 60.

  Priority is given to (1) Aalto students studying in MSc Program of Marketing, (2) Aalto students studying a MSc minor study package in Fashion Management, (3) BIZ exchange students, (4) Aalto BIZ B.Sc. students with 150 credits, (5) other BIZ students.

Details on the schedule

• applies in this implementation

  6.   DETAILED TIMETABLE AND COURSE TOPICS

   

  Topic	Dates	Deadlines
  Introduction and Course Practicalities	02.03.2022 Zoom session at 12.15.
  History of Consumer Psychology	02.03 - 05.03	Please remember to introduce yourself on MyCourses by the 4th of March
  Consumer Information Processing	05.03 – 16.03	Deadline for Assignment 1 & 2 on 16th of March
  Motivation, Perception and Consumer Decisions	17.03 – 24.03	Deadline for Assignment 3 on 24th of March
  Attitudes, Persuasion, Social Influence	25.03 – 1.04	Deadline for Assignment 4 & 5 on 1st of April
  Consumer Wellbeing	2.04 - 08.04	Deadline for Assignment 6 on 8th of April

   

  Please remember that this is a SELF-STUDY course. Thus, only the Intro lecture will be held online via Zoom. It will be also recorded.

  
  

Description