Course 2014-2015 a.y.

Go to class group/s: 31

CLEAM (6 credits - I sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/08) - CLEF (6 credits - I sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/08) - CLEACC (6 credits - I sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/08) - BESS-CLES (6 credits - I sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/08) - BIEMF (6 credits - I sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/08)

Course Director:
ZACHARY ESTES

Course Objectives

The main objective of this course is to provide a psychological foundation for understanding consumer behavior and marketing strategy. The course builds from current psychological theory to understand recent marketing applications. Topics include perception, attention, memory, language, categorization, creativity, social cognition, personality, and their application to product design, marketing communications, and brand management. Students on this course should learn (1) how the basic principles of psychology constrain and predict consumer perceptions and preferences, and (2) how psychological models can be used to develop effective marketing strategies and campaigns.

Course Content Summary

Example Topics:

• Perception and sensory marketing.
• Capturing attention in a crowded market.
• Perceiving similarity and differentiation.
• Consumer memory.
• The language of marketing communication.
• Marketing emotions.
• Creative consumption.
• Brand personality.
• Social aspects of consumption.

Detailed Description of Assessment Methods

For attending students
5% class exercises: On 5 unannounced dates throughout the semester we will complete in-class exercises to demonstrate the class topics. Your participation in each of these exercises will be rewarded on a pass/fail basis, and the number of exercises that you participate in will determine your grade on this component of the course (1% for each exercise completed).
10% discussion sheets: There are 10 assigned readings throughout the semester (see References in the course syllabus). For each reading you will submit a brief report of your reflections on the reading and any questions that arose from the reading. Discussion sheets must be submitted, in person, at the beginning of the class for which it is assigned. Your completion of each discussion sheet will be rewarded on a pass/fail basis, and the number of sheets that you complete will determine your grade on this component of the course (1% for each discussion sheet completed).
50% group presentation: Students will form small groups (5 or 6 members per group), and will give a 30-minute in-class group presentation on a selected topic.
10% written evaluation of group presentations: Each group will submit a short (2-page) evaluation of the other groups’ in-class presentations.
25% research report: Students will conduct a small research project, and will submit a report describing the project and its results.

For non attending students
100% final written exam on Chapters 2, 5, 7, 11, 20, 25, 29, and 40 of Handbook of Consumer Psychology (see Course Material above). These eight chapters span approximately 220 pages, and cover many but not all of the topics that will be covered in class. The exam will be a 2-hour written essay exam, with 5 broad questions.

Textbooks

For attending students

• Selected readings (see References in course syllabus).

For non attending students

• C.P. HAUGTVEDT, P.M. HERR, F.R KARDES, Handbook of Consumer Psychology, Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, 2008, Chapters 2, 5, 7, 11, 20, 25, 29 and 40.

Exam textbooks & Online Articles (check availability at the Library)

Prerequisites

None

Last change 08/05/2014 15:34