Emic-Etic Dec 6 2024

BUS318 Consumer Psychology

Individual Project, Term A (Autumn) 2024

Individual Project (Essay) (100%)

This individual project, which will require you to pick one of the consumer good categories (listed on the next page) and describe the consumer decision-making process related to this

category, should be answered in no more than 2000 words (excluding references, headings

and appendixes, although there is a plus or minus 10% word leeway given without penalty). The due date is December 16th, 2024, 4:00 pm. Your answer will be graded based on the following criteria:

• Relevance and correctness of information used

• How well is this information integrated

• Extent of in-depth analysis

• Evidence of learning from lectures, seminars, and required readings

• How well structured and balanced is the answer

• Appropriateness of examples given

You are expected to use the literature that we discussed during the semester, what was

presented in lectures and seminars (goes beyond course textbook!) and additional articles

that were specified in the module handbook as “Required Readings”. You are required to use

at least 7 scientific sources (e.g. articles, books, chapters). Non-scientific websites, blogs,

and related social media content do not count towards this limit. References should be

correctly cited in the text and also listed in the Reference/Bibliography section at the end of

each answer.

Additional instructions:

Note that each citation should refer to the original source of the information. That is, if a book

cites another source for the information, then you should refer to the original source rather

than the book. However, if the information is the author’s unique viewpoint, then it is perfectly

fine to cite the book as the source of the information. Also, please ensure that each of your citations is correct. It is strongly suggested that you read the original source of the information, rather than relying on a secondhand source (such as a citation from the course slides). Obviously incorrect citations would be a strong negative signal that the information in the assignment may not be accurate, or that the assignment has not been done carefully. Please also try to ensure that your assignment is well-written; i.e., with good sentence structure and free of spelling errors. For people whose native language is not English, you may want to try to take extra care with this, the best you can. Obvious spelling and/or grammar errors would be a strong signal that the assignment has not been done (or checked) carefully. Use of a spell checker is highly recommended :-) Please include images and/or links to ads or other marketing communications that you’re referring to. It’s perfectly fine to include these within the text (that may be easiest), and this does not count toward the word count. Or, you could put these in an appendix if you like (again, doesn’t count toward total word count). Finally, if relevant, it may be helpful to have headings and subheadings in your assignment to refer to different theories that you use. This may make the assignment easier to read. You can bold and/or underline these if you like. For example, if you refer to 3 different

theories, you could highlight (bold/underline) each of these so that it’s easier for me to see the precise structure of your paper without having to take multiple looks through it. Project assignment: Consumer Decision Making

Overview The purpose of this assessment is to give you an opportunity to apply the consumer psychology principles/theories/concepts (these three terms all mean the same thing) discussed in class and your readings to describe the consumer decision-making process in one of the respective consumer good categories below. You will pick one such category of your choice, find a typical consumer good of that category, and analyse how the different consumer psychology principles (e.g., Motivation, ability, & opportunity; Exposure, attention, & perception; Categorizing & comprehending information; Forming & changing attitudes; Forming & retrieving memories; Psychographics; Marketing, ethics, and social responsibility) influence the decision-making process in that category: Consumer good categories:

• Digital goods (e.g., Software, Media, Information, Games)

• Fast-moving consumer goods (e.g., soaps, detergents, cosmetics, food)

• Green products (e.g., recycled clothes, sustainable goods, renewable energy)

• Intangible goods (e.g., knowledge, education, travel, entertainment)

• Luxury goods (e.g., designer labels, superior products, accessories)

• Social goods (e.g., alleviation of hunger, child welfare, animal rights) Please note that you do not have to include all consumer psychology principles discussed in this module!! You need to choose two of these principles and describe & apply them in more detail rather than listing all psychologic core principles and only covering them superficially. In your paper, you could describe and discuss how the consumer decision making process (for your chosen consumer good category) is influenced by any two of these:

• Motivation, ability, and opportunity

• Exposure to the product/service/brand

• Attention and perception of the product/service/brand?

• Attitudes towards the product/service/brand?

• Emotions towards the product/service/brand?

• Consumer Decision making, Information processing

• Consumer Social Influence – information processing

• Psychographics (e.g., values, personality, cultural background)

• Ethics and Social Resposibility More guidance The most important aspect of the assignment is to correctly apply the course theories. Answers that do not use these theories, or that demonstrate a lack of understanding of the theories (as discussed in class and in the course readings), will be deemed unsatisfactory. Answers that use definitions or conceptualizations of the theories that are inconsistent with the way they were discussed in the course will also

be deemed unsatisfactory. You are welcome to refer to the lectures (and associated PowerPoint slides) and information posted on QMplus. The second most important aspect of the assignment is to apply the theories insightfully. This includes understanding the theories well enough to recognise how they influence consumer decisions in specific domains. For example, pointing out that consumers have to be motivated to purchase green products is not very insightful because most consumer decisions are motivated in some way. A good answer would demonstrate a deep understanding of the course theories, and apply them insightfully as they relate to the unique aspects of your product category. More specifics Please note that the content of the module is arranged such that individual lectures build on one another. Some of the discussed theories overlap to a certain degree (which is intentional) and all the discussed content is related to consumer decision- making in some way. After covering the psychological core principles, we will be discussing information processing & decision making, and afterwards focus on psychographics, cultural aspects, and social responsibility/ethical aspects. In your answer, please incorporate 2 theories/concepts, one from the psychological core principles and one from the second half of the module (psychographics, cultural aspects, and social responsibility/ethical aspects).

Note about what information is relevant for your answer Please note that this is a module on consumer psychology, where the focus is on individual consumer choices. Please do not include non-consumer-relevant aspects of the product categories, such as specific company marketing policies, operations and distributions strategies, financial strategies, sales data, financial performance, etc. Your answer should focus solely on consumer-relevant principles and theories, as discussed in class.

How to structure your answer

Ideal answers will include four sections:

1. Short description of the product category that you chose. Give at least one example

of a good that fits into this category and briefly point out the target audience for this

type of product. This will help you focus on the most important aspects of the

consumer decision making process in this category. Note that this section is just

background and should therefore be relatively brief.

2. Description of the two consumer psychology theories/principles that are relevant for

your analysis. This means you should not just list them but explain in detail how

these principles work in the realm of consumer psychology in general. Note that this

section is an opportunity for you to showcase that you have understood the

theories/principles that you will use in your analysis.

3. Use the theories/principles from Section 2 to analyse the consumer decision-making

process underlying purchases in the product category that you chose. How can these

theories/principles explain why someone from the target group would purchase a

product from that category? You may use the examples of products that you used in

Section 1 to illustrate how consumers would make a decision among different

brands/products. Note that this section is an opportunity to showcase that you

can apply the knowledge you have gained in this module to a consumption

situation.

you should not use examples from your chosen product to explain the theory, but vice

versa, use the theory to explain how a consumer decision for this product could look

like. Apply the theory to this decision.

4. References/Bibliography. Use formal citation rules (either APA or Harvard).

Zinabu Shaibu will answer questions about the Individual Final Project during the

lectures towards the end of this module.