Consumer Psychology, Insights and Behavior
Spring 2026
Classroom: | F789
Instructor: Hana Tran (Tran Thi Thanh Huyen)
Email: hanatran@saturn.yzu.edu.tw
----------------------
COURSE GOAL:
The course is designed to provide students a thorough knowledge of integrated theories from
psychology, sociology, anthropology, and economics to better understand and predict consumer
behavior. The emphasis will be on how internal and external forces determine behavior. The
significance of consumer behavior and research are discussed, as well as internal influences such
as motivation and involvement, personality, self-image, lifestyle, perception, learning, attitude
formation, and change, and communication; external influences such as culture, subculture, social
class, reference groups, and family, and the diffusion of innovations; and consumer decision
making. Students obtain knowledge of fundamental concepts and visions, as well as theories and
methods that enable the development and assessment of consumer behavior, by drawing from
various disciplines, including psychology, sociology, management, marketing, and economics.
Students synthesize and apply their knowledge by investigating real-world instances.
Textbook: Consumer Behavior: Global Edition, 12th Edition Leon G. Schiffman Joseph L.
Wisenblit. Mothersbaugh, D. L., Hawkins, D. I., Kleiser, S. B., Mothersbaugh, L. L., & Watson,
C. F. (2020). Consumer behavior: Building marketing strategy. McGraw-Hill Education.
Casestudy: 10 Harvard/IVEY cases in total. https://hbsp.harvard.edu/coursepacks/1356453
COURSE FORMAT:
The lectures and readings will play the foundation role for knowledge acquisition and will be
enhanced by class discussions, presentations, assignments, games, and other activities. These
exercises are intended to offer students with the chance to understand consumer behavior theories
and concepts and to apply this knowledge in management scenarios. Students are required to attend
all classes and to stay in class for the duration of the lesson. Class time will be spent implementing,
expanding, and analyzing the content from the given readings. As a result, it is crucial that students
be prepared to discuss the content under review, which implies that they must study and critically
think about the prescribed materials before coming to class. As a courtesy, outline copies of lecture
notes will be made accessible to students, and it is expected that students will download and use
them to keep the pace of lectures moving. (Lecture notes will not be available for guest speaker
sections.)
LEARNING OUTCOME:
By the end of this course, students should be able to:

Identify the key terms, concepts, and theories of consumer behavior

Evaluate the principal theories of consumer behavior; critically assess strengths, limitations,
and applications

Apply consumer behavior concepts to real-world marketing problems and develop better
marketing programs and strategies to influence those behaviors

Analyze the current trends in consumer behavior, and apply them to the marketing of an
actual product or service.
GRADING: (need at least 60 points to pass this class)
Group chapter report
30 points
Group presentations (mid + final)
40 points
In-class quizzes
10 points
Attendance
10 points
Participant
10 points
TOTAL
100 points
TENTATIVE CALENDAR:
TENTATIVE CALENDAR
Week
Date
Topics
Extra Readings
MODULE 1: CONSUMER BEHAVIOR AND MARKETING STRATEGY
1
Feb27
-
2
No Class
Holiday
Mar6
Syllabus review
Introduction to Consumer
Behavior and Consumer WellBeing
MODULE 2: BUY PROCESSES
3
Mar13
-
Decision Making
-
Case discussion
-
-
4
Mar20
-
Buying, Using, and Disposing
-
Case discussion
-
Group presentation
(Group9 + 5 points)
Case 1: Coca-Cola Goes
Green: The Launch of
Coke Life
Group presentation (Group
7)
Case 2: Marketing
Reading: Consumer
Behavior and the Buying
Process
5
Mar27
-
Perception
-
In-class Quiz 1
-
Group presentation (group
1)
MODULE 3: INTERNAL INFLUENCES
6
April3
Holiday
No Class
7
8
-
Learning and Memory
-
Case discussion
Apr10
Apr17
-
Mid-term
-
Group presentation (Group
2)
-
Case 3: Rocket Fuel
-
Mid-term
- Group presentation
(Group 3)
- The Self: Mind, Gender, and
9
Apr24
- Case 4: "No More
Body
Uncle": Asian Men's
- Case discussion
Beauty Care in the
Forefront of GenderNeutral Marketing
10
May1
Holiday
No Class
-
-
11
May8
-
5)
Personality, Lifestyle, and
Values
Group presentation (Group
-
Case 5: Predicting
Consumer Tastes with Big
Case discussion
Data at Gap
MODULE 4: EXTERNAL INFLUENCES
-
12
13
May15
May22
Group Influences and Social
-
Media
-
In-class Quiz 2
-
Income and Social Class
-
Case discussion
4)
-
14
May29
-
Subcultures and Culture
-
Case discussion
Group presentation (Group
Group presentation (Group
8)
Case 6: Amazon
Group presentation (Group
6)
-
Case 7: Starbucks' Loyalty
Reigns
15
June5
-
Final Presentation (1)
-
Final-term
16
Jun12
-
Final Presentation (2)
-
Final-term
17
Jun19
18
Jun26
-
Self-learning
-
Paper due date
-
Self-learning
No Class
No Class
Group: https://www.classtools.net/random-group-generator/
CLASS RULES
1. Attitude over Aptitude
o A positive, respectful, and proactive attitude is valued more than just knowledge
or skills.
2. Respect
o Respect instructors and classmates.
o Do not disturb others during class.
o If warned more than 3 times, you will fail the course.
3. Attendance Policy
o Automatic fail if absent more than 3 times.
4. Attendance Penalties
o Final score reduced by 2 points/1 absence.
QUESTIONS FOR CASE STUDIES:
Week 3: Case 1 - Coca-Cola Goes Green: The Launch of Coke Life
1. Why did TCCC make the decision to develop and launch Coke Life? What external and
internal factors led to that decision?
2. How did TCCC position Coke Life? Which customer segment did Coke Life target?
3. What is Coke Life’s value proposition? How does Coke Life create value for its target
customers?
4. How was the launch executed?
5. What financial effects should TCCC expect from the launch? How do you evaluate the
launch of Coke Life from a financial and an ethical perspective?
Week 4: Case 2 - Marketing Reading: Consumer Behavior and the Buying Process
1. Develop a spectrum of categories of products that you typically purchase. Base the
spectrum on a scale from rational to emotional. Explain the rationale for your decisions,
including the criteria you utilize to make those decisions.
2. How is communicating with customers via social media similar to and different from
conducting marketing research studies? What are the implications for marketers?
3. What are the opportunities and risks of co-designing and co-creating products with
consumers?
Week 7: Case 3 - Rocket Fuel
1. Was the advertising campaign effective? Did additional consumers convert as a result of
the ad campaign?
2. Was the campaign profitable?
a. How much more money did TaskaBella make by running the campaign (excluding
advertising costs)?
b. What was the cost of the campaign?
c. Calculate the ROI of the campaign. Was the campaign profitable?
d. What was the opportunity cost of including a control group; how much more could
have TaskaBella made with a smaller control group or not having a control group
at all?
3. How did the number of impressions seen by each user influence the effectiveness of
advertising?
a. Create a chart of conversion rates as a function of the number of ads displayed to
users. Plot conversion rates for those who were in the control group and for those
who were exposed to the ad. Group together number of impressions as necessary
to obtain a meaningful plot. (Conversion rate means the percentage of unique users
who made a purchase.)
b. What can you infer from the charts? In what region is advertising most effective?
c. What do the above figures imply for the design of the next campaign assuming that
consumer response would be similar?
4. How does consumer response to advertising vary on different days of the week and at
different times of the day?
a. Create a chart with the conversion rates for the control group and the exposed group
as a function of the day of week when they were shown the most impressions.
b. Create the same chart for hours within a day (excluding the period between
midnight and 8 a.m.).
c. What days/hours is advertising most/least effective?
Week 9: Case 4 - "No More Uncle": Asian Men's Beauty Care in the Forefront of GenderNeutral Marketing
1. Why were men hesitant to use beauty products in the past and what are the environmental
conditions that now allow them to do so? Why is Asia a driver of this market and why
might this be considered ironic?
2. What is a “lead” market and why is South Korea acting in that capacity in the men’s beauty
industry?
3. Using South Korea as a benchmark, what are the segments within the men’s beauty market
and how would you differentiate the marketing strategy between them?
4. Why are the reinvented barbershops important as retailing venues for men’s beauty?
5. How can success in men’s beauty be achieved and sustained by using technology, crosscountry and/or cross-industry opportunities?
6. What are the pros and cons of using gender-neutral marketing in cosmetics (e.g., from a
marketing mix 4P standpoint)? What are some updated customer orientations or corporate
missions that companies can adopt to minimise the trade-offs between gendered and
gender-free marketing in cosmetics?
7. Assume you are the CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) at AmorePacific. You are developing
a new line of natural lip gloss for men. Which segment will you target (e.g., among those
presented in the case, excluding ZOOM BOOMER)? Will you use a new brand name or
extend it from a women’s line (e.g., Laneige, Innisfree, etc.)?
Week 11: Case 5 - Predicting Consumer Tastes with Big Data at Gap
1. Why is Gap doing poorly in 2017?
2. Was Peck correct in firing his creative directors and replacing them with a big data-driven
creative process? Why or why not?
3. What do you predict will happen to Gap Inc.’s sales going forward as a result of this
decision? How will it affect each of its brands’ equity?
4. Does the big data approach work for all three of Gap Inc.’s primary brands: Old Navy, Gap,
and Banana Republic? Why or why not? Which brands are better/worse served by this
strategy? Why?
5. Should Peck allow Gap Inc.’s brands to be sold on Amazon? Why or why not? What
opportunities and challenges does this plan present? If Gap sells through Amazon, should
the company be a wholesaler or a third party seller? Why?
6. What is your assessment of Product 3.0? How would you improve it?
7. Would you change other el