Overview
Consumption is a universal phenomenon of human society, and understanding consumer behaviour is fundamentally critical to marketers and policymakers. This unit explores the science of consumer behaviour, an interdisciplinary field that integrates knowledge and discovery from marketing, psychology, anthropology, sociology, demography, and economics. In this unit you will examine models and frameworks of consumer decision making, as well as the impacts of internal and external factors on thoughts, feelings, and actions of consumers. Furthermore, you will learn to implement consumer behaviour principles to facilitate the development of successful marketing campaigns.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Prerequisite: MRKT20052.
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 1 - 2020
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Postgraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback – Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from Student feedback.
Positive comments about the the effective delivery of unit contents by multiple members of the teaching team.
The teaching staff in the future offerings of this unit should be encouraged to keep delivering the unit contents in an effective, supportive, and engaging manner.
Feedback from Staff self-reflection.
Even though this unit had an excellent success rate among its students, certain contents of this unit can still be improved and updated for further refinement.
The teaching staff should keep reviewing and improving various elements of this unit, and strive to incorporate to this unit up-to-date theories and cases.
- Assess critical situational influences that shape consumer behaviour
- Examine decision-process influences associated with consumer behaviour
- Analyse the influences of internal and external factors on consumer behaviour
- Use consumer behaviour principles to solve marketing problems
- Identify new trends in consumer behaviour theories and applications.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 20% | |||||
| 2 - Presentation - 30% | |||||
| 3 - Written Assessment - 50% | |||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Knowledge | |||||
| 2 - Communication | |||||
| 3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills | |||||
| 4 - Research | |||||
| 5 - Self-management | |||||
| 6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility | |||||
| 7 - Leadership | |||||
| 8 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | |||||
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 20% | ||||||||
| 2 - Presentation - 30% | ||||||||
| 3 - Written Assessment - 50% | ||||||||
Textbooks
Consumer Behaviour: Buying, Having, Being
Edition: 4th edn (2019)
Authors: Solomon, M, Russell-Bennett, R & Previte, J
Pearson Australia
Melbourne Melbourne , VIC , Australia
ISBN: 9781488616952
Binding: Paperback
Additional Textbook Information
Paper copies can be purchased at the CQUni Bookshop here: http://bookshop.cqu.edu.au (search on the Unit code)
eBook copies can be purchased at the publisher's website here: http://www.pearson.com.au/9781488615757
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
- Microsoft Office
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: American Psychological Association 6th Edition (APA 6th edition)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
e.li@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Buying, having and being;
Consumer and social well-being
Chapter
1;
2
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Perception
Chapter
3
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Learning and memory
Chapter
4
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Personality
Chapter
5
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Motivation and values
Chapter
6
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
The self: mind, gender and body
Chapter
7
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Attitudes and attitude change
Chapter
8
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Individual decision making
Chapter
9
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Buying, using and disposing
Chapter
10
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Groups and social influence
Chapter
11
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Ethnicity, religion and age
Chapter
12
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Lifestyle, income and social class
Chapter
13
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Written Assessment
Please answer the following questions:
- Question 1: Please identify one consumption activity you have undertaken in the past year, where your consumption decision was affected by sound. Please explain how sound influenced your decision in that activity.
- Question 2: Please identify one website that does not use suitable colours in its design. Please discuss why the currently used colours are not suitable.
Important advice:
- This is an individual written assessment. Please ensure that this assignment is your own work and both answers are based on your own words.
- This assessment has a maximum word limit of 1000.
- Your argument and analysis in this assessment requires theoretical support from a minimum of 2 journal article references.
Week 4 Friday (3 Apr 2020) 5:00 pm AEST
Vacation Week Friday (17 Apr 2020)
- Presentation, writing style, and referencing - 4 marks
- Argument and analysis in answering Question 1 - 8 marks
- Argument and analysis in answering Question 2 - 8 marks
- Total - 20 marks
- Assess critical situational influences that shape consumer behaviour
- Knowledge
- Cognitive, technical and creative skills
- Research
2 Presentation
- Biswas, D., Szocs, C., & Abell, A. (2019). Extending the boundaries of sensory marketing and examining the sixth sensory system: Effects of vestibular sensations for sitting versus standing postures on food taste perception. Journal of Consumer Research, 46(4), 708-724.
- Sinha, J., & Lu, F. (2019). Ignored or rejected: Retail exclusion effects on construal levels and consumer responses to compensation. Journal of Consumer Research, 46(4), 791-807.
- Su, L., Wan, E. W., & Jiang, Y. (2019). Filling an empty self: The impact of social exclusion on consumer preference for visual density. Journal of Consumer Research, 46(4), 808-824.
- Student information and presentation title;
- The research article: empirical studies;
- The research article: findings;
- The organisation: issues;
- The organisation: recommendations;
- Reference list.
- On-campus students will deliver their presentation in class, and submit their PowerPoint file and script on Moodle.
- Distance education students will record their presentation through PowerPoint's “Record Slide Show” function, and submit their PowerPoint file (with recording) and script on Moodle.
- For all students, the Moodle submission of PowerPoint file and script will be due at 5pm AEST Friday Week 7. However, on-campus students may present in class prior to, during, or after Week 7, depending on their local lecturer/tutor's scheduling.
Week 7 Friday (1 May 2020) 5:00 pm AEST
Week 9 Friday (15 May 2020)
- PowerPoint design and referencing - 5 marks
- Presentation clarity - 5 marks
- The research article: empirical studies and findings - 10 marks
- The organisation: issues and recommendations - 10 marks
- Total - 30 marks
- Examine decision-process influences associated with consumer behaviour
- Use consumer behaviour principles to solve marketing problems
- Knowledge
- Communication
- Cognitive, technical and creative skills
- Research
3 Written Assessment
- Personality
- Demographics (age, gender, family situation, income, ethnicity etc)
Week 12 Friday (5 June 2020) 5:00 pm AEST
As this unit has no exam, the formal results for this last piece of assessment can only be released to students on the Certification of Grades date (10-Jul-2020).
- Report structure, writing style, and referencing - 10 marks
- Analyse the behaviour of chosen respondents using the theories of personality - 15 marks
- Analyse the behaviour of chosen respondents using the theories of demographics - 15 marks
- Recommendations - 10 marks
- Total - 50 marks
- Examine decision-process influences associated with consumer behaviour
- Analyse the influences of internal and external factors on consumer behaviour
- Use consumer behaviour principles to solve marketing problems
- Identify new trends in consumer behaviour theories and applications.
- Knowledge
- Communication
- Cognitive, technical and creative skills
- Research
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
