Students will be able to:
* Predict how factors like relativity, ownership, social influence, arousal, and social market norms may influence consumer behavior
* Understand that consumers do not always act "rational"
* Make suggestions as to how marketers may benefit from consumer "irrationalities"
* Critically interpret research findings on the topic of irrational consumer behavior
* Identify the most appropriate statistical test for analyzing basic experimental data
* Identify the most appropriate experimental design for a specific research question
* Design a high-quality questionnaire
* Understand the different sampling procedures and measurement scales that are used in consumer research
* Work in teams
* Provide constructive feedback
* Organize and facilitate tutorials on the topic of irrational consumer behavior

The Consumer Psychology course is a specialized course in the Strategic Marketing Master program that seeks to explore the fundamental issues of conducting scientific research in the area of consumer behavior. Being able to investigate how consumers behave and understand why they do so is the key contribution of Marketing to business practice. Managers who really understand their consumers develop better products and promote their products more effectively. The course Consumer Psychology focusses on a set of psychological constructs relevant for consumer behavior. Every week we discuss one relevant topic in consumer psychology, such as self-control, financial constraint, or nudges, and explore its impact on consumer behavior. As a bonus you will also learn how much fun consumer science can be, and gain a unique insight into how consumer psychology can affect your personal life, your business life, and the way you look at the world.

The course uses mostly academic papers to gain insights into consumer psychology

This course is in transition for the master Business Research.
See the Master Education and Examination Regulations for more information.

The following rule applies to master Business Research students who started the programme prior to academic year 2024-2025.
TRANSITIONAL REGULATION (EBC4079):
The master Business Research has been discontinued.
Courses of the Business Research master’s programme will continue to be offered until and including academic year 2025-2026 with exam opportunities running until and including 2026-2027.


PREREQUISITES:
All students who are admitted to the Master of Science in International Business can follow this course. Exchange students with a Bachelor degree in Business, or with another Bachelor degree including a minor in Marketing are also admitted. This course assumes basic knowledge of consumer behaviour at an introductory marketing level.

An advanced level of English.