Consumer Behaviour

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2014:

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

Current approaches to business emphasize the importance of adopting a consumer focus. At its essence, marketing—and business more broadly—is an attempt to influence consumer behaviour. This subject seeks to provide insights into consumer psychology as a basis for developing powerful consumer-influence tactics and marketing strategies.

While all of us are consumers, our intuitions about our own behaviour, as well as that of others, are often inaccurate. Understanding our consumers—or ourselves, as consumers—is no easy task. A solid understanding of cognitive and social psychology can offer insight beyond business acumen and help guide a plethora of business decisions.

In this course you will learn about fundamental theories and concepts in consumer psychology and about new research findings to enhance your understanding of how and why people choose, use, and evaluate goods and services the way they do.

Upon completion of this subject, students will be able to:

• Critically analyse how and why consumers behave as they do in terms of:
  • affective and cognitive factors (e.g., attention, product knowledge, attitudes),
  • “behaviour” factors (e.g., rewards, punishments, vicarious learning),
  • environmental factors (e.g., physical situation, culture, subculture);
• Evaluate marketing actions in terms of their psychological and behavioural influences on consumers;
• Use consumer psychology concepts to inform marketing management decisions;
• Conduct consumer research and use the insights derived from this research to create effective marketing tactics and strategies;
• Work effectively in a team and to cogently present team work in a limited period of time;
• Address the ethical issues that arise as a result of adopting a consumer-influence orientation.

• Contribution to class learning (10%)
• Attendance at lectures and workshops, instructor evaluation of contribution to class learning
• Throughout subject
• 5 Syndicate case preparations and discussions (25%)
• Each equivalent to 300 individual words assessment
• Throughout subject
• Syndicate Project
• Hurdle requirement
• Project proposal (equivalent of individual 300 word assessment, week 2) (10%)
• Presentation (equivalent of individual 800 word assessment, week 5) (15%)
• Report (equivalent of individual 1,900 word assessment, end of subject) (40%)

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.