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: 01.03.2023 - 05.04.2023
Teacher in charge (valid for whole curriculum period):
Teacher in charge (applies in this implementation): Kristina Wittkowski
Contact information for the course (applies in this implementation):
Regarding general questions on the course content and the course specifics, I kindly ask you to post your question in the MyCourses Forum. I will try to respond within 48hours max..
Please also use
the MyCourses forum to discuss the course content and your
ideas and perspectives with your fellow students and me.
If you would like
to discuss any personal matters with me, it is best to send me an
email (kristina.wittkowski@aalto.fi). if you wish, we can then arrange for a
one-on-one
meeting, if need be.
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 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.
Assessment Methods and Criteria
valid for whole curriculum period:
Compulsory individual and course assignments.
applies in this implementation
Individual Assignments (total
max. number of points: 60; max. 20 points per comments on article)Participation
in MyCourses Forum Discussions (total max. number of points: 10)For groups who will deliver the group assignment in the form of a presentation, participation in lectures on March 29 or April 5 is compulsory! All group members must be present for the presentation.
Group Assignment (total
max. number of points: 30) Note: free-riding will
be penalized; as a group, you can decide to submit the assignment in the form of an agency report or deliver it as presentation on March 29 or April 5Individual assignments: we will be using the social reading software Perusall. Your grade will depend on the quality (and partly the quantity) of the comments that you make per academic article.
Participation in online discussions: you are warmly invited and encouraged to raise and participate in any RELEVANT online discussions. Your participation during the presentation sessions on March 29 or April 5 is compulsory.
Group Assignments: you will be pre-selected into groups of 5-6 students (depending on the number of students in the course). As deliverable, you can choose to submit an agency report or give a presentation on March 29 or April 5. Please decide this as a group!
Workload
valid for whole curriculum period:
6 credits, 160 hours:
- online lectures
- compulsory assignments and independent learning
applies in this implementation
6 ECTS represent approximately
160 hours of student workload. For this course, I propose that you should spend your time on the course activities as
follows:5 course Modules - Acquainting with Readings & Teaching Videos: 124 hours
Individual Assignments commenting: 6 hours
Group Assignment: 30 hours
DETAILS
Study Material
applies in this implementation
The course is structured into five different modules, each containing separate sub-sections.
To obtain knowledge on each of the topics, you should go through all relevant materials (i.e. readings, videos). You can only do excellent in the assignments, if you worked through and understood all relevant course materials. While the individual assignments cover only some of the topics, the group assignments touches upon the remaining issues.
Always bear in mind that if something is unclear, you are warmly invited to ask :-)
Substitutes for Courses
valid for whole curriculum period:
Prerequisites
valid for whole curriculum period:
FURTHER INFORMATION
Further Information
valid for whole curriculum period:
Teaching Language : English
Teaching Period : 2022-2023 Spring IV
2023-2024 Spring IVEnrollment :
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.
applies in this implementation
It is highly recommended that you follow the suggested schedule to ensure that you can complete all assignments on time.
Please note that this course is a self-study course. Nonetheless, I think it would be nice to meet from time to time to address any questions/open issues as a group and/or to talk about the course content, your views on it, your own experiences, etc., etc.
Therefore, I invite you to come to the office hours in Zoom. Note: these meetings are NOT compulsory.
If you wish to participate, please register beforehand via email. Let's have our discussions on March 8, 15, 22.
Should there be any other problems, questions, issues, you are always warmly invited to contact me via email and we can arrange for a one-on-one meeting.
If your group chooses to deliver the group assignment in the form of a presentation, you must attend the session on March 29 or April 5. All group members must be present for the presentation!
Details on the schedule
applies in this implementation
The course is divided into five sections and related sub-sections:
01. - 05.03. Introduction to Consumer Psychology
06.-13.03. Consumer Information Processing
SECTION 1: Stages of Consumer Socialization
SECTION 2: Consumer learning and Memory
SECTION 3: Consumer Inference
14.–21.03. Motivation, Affect and Consumer Decisions
SECTION 4: Motivation
SECTION 5: Perception
SECTION 6: Consumer Decision-Making
22.-29.03. Persuasion, Attitudes, Social Influence
SECTION 7: Attitudes
SECTION 8: Persuasion
SECTION 9: Social Influence
30.03.-05.04. Consumer Well-Being
SECTION 10: Transformative Service Research
SECTION 11: Marketing Ethics
Compulsory presentation sessions: March 29, April 5
Voluntary discussion sessions: March 8, 15, 22
- Teacher: Wittkowski Kristina