Department of Business Administration
Course Title: Consumer Behavior
Course Code: MKT 321
Pre-requisite Courses: Principles of Marketing/ Psychology
Credit Hours: Three (3)
Degree: BBA Program
Facilitator: Mehwish Zafar
Email:
[email protected]Course Description:
This course aims at answering the following questions that arise in the minds of students going
for higher learning in the field of Marketing:
What are the significant differences between different consumers?
What different roles consumers play in the process of purchase.
How can consumers be stimulated?
How does culture affect consumer behavior?
How different social sciences combine in the study of consumer behavior?
How different behavioral and cognitive theories are applied in the study of consumer
behavior?
Course Objectives:
This course has been designed keeping the following objectives in mind:
1. To develop an understanding of the consumer and the internal and external factors that
makes each consumption situation unique.
2. To develop an understanding of consumer behavior research in modern marketing.
3. To develop an understanding of the dynamic and evolving nature of consumer behavior.
4. Appreciate the importance of consumer-oriented strategies to the organizations and to
enable the development of appropriate marketing strategies.
Code of Conduct:
Students have to follow the rules stated below to avoid a failing grade in the course:
Understand and follow the University policy regarding attendance.
Arrive in and leave the classroom strictly on time. Late arrival will be marked as absence.
If you leave the classroom in the middle of a session even for a short while, you will be
marked absent.
Keep your cell phone silent during the class.
Do the assigned readings for a class before coming to the class.
Maintain a disciplined, cordial, and respectful attitude towards the teacher and your fellow
students.
Submit your homework on the due date before the class begins.
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Do not plagiarize from books, journals, or the internet.
Do not cheat (make someone else do your work or present work for some other course
as work for this course).
The teacher’s decisions about marks and grade will be final.
Course Contents
Week Topics to be covered Methods of
Assessment
1. An Introduction to consumer behavior
Definition of CB
Environmental analysis
Research perspectives on consumer behavior
Exchange processes
Segmentation
Organizing model of consumer behavior
2. Information processing-I
Factors influencing information processing
Consumer Information Processing Model
Factors Influencing Consumer Involvement
Types of Consumer Involvement
3. Information processing- I & II Announcement
Impact of Vision, Color, Taste & Touch
of
Subliminal Perception
Marketing Implications of JND & Weber’s Law Project
The Butterfly Curve
4. Information processing- II
Types of Attention
Quiz 1
Capturing Consumer Attention
Perceptual Organization
Stimulus Organization&Semeiotics
5. Memory & Cognitive Learning Project Topics
• Multiple store model of memory
Finalization
• Involvement & short-term capacity
• Recognition & Recall
• Picture vs Word Memory
• Memory Control Process
6. Memory & Cognitive Learning
• Encoding Process
• Retrieval & Response Generation
• Types of knowledge
• Gestalt Theory of Cognitive Knowledge
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7. Behavioral Learning Quiz 2
Behavioral Learning: Classical & Operant
Conditioning
Positive vs Negative Reinforcement
Strategic Applications of Conditioning Theories
Observational & Social Learning
Midterm Exam
8. Motivation
Concept of Motivation
Structure of emotions
Maslow’s Need Hierarchy theory
Murray’s List of Human Needs
Opponent-process theory
Optimum-stimulation level theory
Perceived risk
9. Personality & Psychographics
Personality
Psychographics
Trait theory
Self-concept
Product images and self-images
Consumer lifestyle
10. Beliefs & Attitude
Types of Attitude
Quiz 3
Relationship between attitude, behavior,
cognition, affect and object
Consumer beliefs & marketing implications
Tri-component attitude model
Multi-attribute attitude model
Behavior-Intention model
11. Consumer Decision Making Process
Model of Consumer Decision Making
Generic Decision Making Model
Three Perspective on Decision Making
Marketing strategies based on information
search
12. Consumer Decision Making Process
Framing and Prospect Theory
The Consumer Choice Process
Non-compensatory Models
Experiential Choice Process
13. Family Decision Making
Family Decision Making
The Family Life Cycle
Family Decision Making Conflicts
Gender Roles & Decision Making
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Consumer Socialization
14. Presentations
project
Presentation
15. Presentations
project
Presentation
Marks Distribution of 100%:
Class Participation _______10___
Quizzes/ Project/Project presentations: 25___
Mid-term ______20____
Final Exam ______30____
Total _______100__
Reference Books:
1. Michael R. Solomon, Consumer Behavior – Buying, Having, and Being, Latest
edition
2. Hawkins, Mothersbaugh and Best, Consumer Behavior, 10th Edition
3. Shiffman and Kanuk, Consumer Behavior, 10th Edition
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