Management

INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT: MR1115 CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

The purpose of the assignment is to get you to think about the psychology of consumer
behavior by applying it to your own life. The theories or concepts that you apply are
basically up to your own perception of your own behavior. However, these must be
theories grounded in the text and classroom discussion (i.e. I don’t want off the wall
theories like aliens made you buy Tide rather than Cheer). The journal will have three
goals: understanding the influences behind your purchases, understanding the
consequences of your purchases, and giving you a chance to reassess and change your
purchase patterns.
The method is as follows:

1. At the end of each week, look for 3 products you seem to “consume” most
regularly or consistently, then think back on that week and analyze:
a. why you bought that product over another
b. what advantages or disadvantages resulted from purchasing that product
over others
c. your satisfaction/dissatisfaction with the purchase
d. your intent to continue that purchase (or note if you decided to change
your purchase pattern & why)

2. At the end of the four weeks, choose 3 key products and consider the one major
psychological factor or process for each separate product (e.g. peer pressure,
learning, subliminal messages etc.) that contributed most to your consumption
pattern (i.e. one different process for each of the 3 products).
I want you to be very specific to both the psychological processes and its application to
your specific purchase pattern. I want to see specific reasons for why you think it was
that process that was most influential on that product.

The maximum length the report should be six (6) pages double spaced, with
1 inch margins and 12 point Times New Roman font.
Your grade will be based on three main criteria:
1) your ability to briefly summarize the psychological process
 you must show that you understood what the process involves, how it works,
how it influences consumer behavior in general

2) your ability to effectively communicate its application to your life
 you have to then take the theory one step further to show specifically how it
applies to your particular consumer behavior and why it is the major reason
behind your purchase pattern

3) the clarity and effectiveness of your communication compared to others in the class
 in this respect, writing style does matter because it is part of effective
communication
 the key is to convey your point simply and clearly (BIG WORDS do not
impress, but clarity does)