Syllabus: Contextualizing Consumer Behavior
Sociology 390S.01, Fall 2013
Tuesday/Thursday, 4:40-5:55
Room: Biological Sciences 113
Duke University
Instructor: Dr. Kimberly B. Rogers
Office Hours: By appointment
Office: 144 Sociology/Psychology
E-mail: krogers@duke.edu
COURSE OVERVIEW
Contemporary approaches to business emphasize the importance of adopting a
consumer focus. Marketing, in particular, begins and ends with the consumer – from
determining his or her needs to ensuring post-purchase satisfaction. Consumer behavior is
influenced by forces both internal (attitudes, beliefs, emotions) and external (family, social
networks, culture) to the individual. The primary goal of this course is to enhance your
understanding of consumer behavior as contextualized by micro- and macro-social forces.
Distinct from other courses, this class will apply a multi-level, interdisciplinary
perspective to the study of consumer behavior. Current research from marketing and the
psychology and sociology of consumers will be used to analyze and discuss real-world issues
affecting businesses and their customers. You will learn about current theories of consumer
behavior in several disciplines, critically discussing the reading materials and considering
interactions between levels of analysis. You will apply these theories through class exercises
and a semester-long team research project, where you will observe a local business and make
research-grounded recommendations to improve its marketing strategy.
By the end of the course, you will come to better understand yourself and others as
targets of marketing influence. You will also learn how an understanding of consumer
psychology can be used to develop powerful marketing techniques and tactics. The course aims
to provide an important competitive advantage to students: the ability to develop marketing
strategies that are effective in shaping consumer behavior. No textbook is required for this class.
However, you may find the recommended text below a useful reference, as many of my lectures
will be based on content from this book.
Recommended Text:
Hoyer, Wayne D., Deborah J. MacInnis, and Rik Pieters. 2013. Consumer Behavior (6th edition).
Mason, OH: South-Western, Cengage Learning. ISBN: 9781133435211.
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COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Attendance and Classroom Participation
This is a reading intensive, discussion-oriented course. You are expected to keep up
with the reading and come to class prepared. Attendance and participation will account for 10%
of your final grade. In addition, any more than three unexcused absences will result in a deduction of 2
points from your final grade for each class missed. If you have an illness that will interfere with your
ability to attend class or submit a graded assignment, you must complete a short-term illness
notification form in advance of the class you will miss to have the absence excused. According
to university policy, this form may only be used “if your illness is truly incapacitating but not
for minor inconveniences such as colds and normal headaches,” and you must contact me
within 48 hours of submitting the form to discuss how you can be accommodated under the
circumstances in accordance with the course policy. No late work will be accepted if you don’t
follow this procedure.
If you are faced with a personal or family emergency or a long-term health condition
that interferes with your ability to attend class, you should contact your academic dean's
office. Varsity athletes will also need to notify me before each absence from class due to athletic
participation. Requesting an excused absence under any of these circumstances is subject to
the Duke Community Standard, which states that you may not “provide false or misleading
information in order to be excused from classes or assignments.” For more information on
university policies about missed classes and work, see: http://trinity.duke.edu/undergraduate/
academic-policies/missing-work-classes.
Response Papers
On eight occasions, you will submit a 500-word response to the assigned readings for
the week by 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday evening. Your response should, at a minimum, show me
that you have completed the assigned reading. To receive full credit, your response should offer
more than a summary – you should describe your reaction to the reading, critique its argument
or findings, consider its relevance to material covered in the lectures or other works we have
read, and raise some questions to be discussed in class. Submit your paper by clicking on the
“Forums” tab on Sakai, and posting your response in the appropriate forum. Please do not
submit your response as an attachment or paste it directly from Word, since the formatting will
be difficult for me to view. Response papers will account for 20% of your final grade.
Toward the end of the semester, you will peer review drafts of two other students’
field research papers, and provide each of them with a 500-word written critique of their work.
Prior to the deadline, we will spend time in class learning about peer review. Your responses
will be anonymous to the paper author, so please include the name of the student whose paper
you reviewed (but not your own name) on the document. You will submit your peer reviews
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through the Sakai Drop Box and I will return them to the appropriate students. Peer review
papers are due by the start of class on 11/26, and will account for 5% of your final grade.
Discussion Leaders
Each student is expected to lead group discussion on one occasion for approximately
20 minutes. Discussion leaders will be responsible for summarizing and presenting the assigned
reading for one class period. You should spend no more than 8-10 minutes summarizing the
reading, and the remainder of the time engaging your classmates in discussion. Leaders should
be thorough in their explanation of the reading, develop discussion questions that stimulate inclass dialogue, and be active in facilitating the participation of all students. If response papers
have been posted on Sakai for this material, you may want to review these to get ideas for
discussion. You should prepare a handout to distribute in class on the day you present. You
should also submit this handout to Sakai Drop Box. Please visit the ‘Sign-Up’ page on Sakai
before Tuesday 9/3 to sign up for the day you’d like to lead discussion. A list of your options
(including the reading you would present) is available in the ‘Resources’ folder under
Assignment Instructions. Discussion leadership will account for 10% of your final grade.
Quizzes
You will have 5 quizzes over the course of the semester, each of which will count for 5%
of your final course grade (for a total of 25%). These quizzes will be completed at the start of
class on the date listed on the syllabus. They will be very simple, checking that you have paid
attention to the lecture content and other material we have covered in class. We will discuss
what you should expect and how to prepare in the class meeting prior to each quiz.
Field Research Project
In lieu of a final exam, you will complete a semester-long, team-based research project,
conducting independent and original field research. Teams of 3 will be created early in the
semester, and each team will choose an independent, locally-owned business (outside of the
Duke campus) to patronize throughout the semester, observing its marketing strategy. You
should select a business that you believe needs help but has potential. (To get ideas, visit
http://www.sustainabull.net/members/). Take detailed notes about what you observe, and
apply the principles you’ve learned in class to analyze the company's marketing strategy.
Describe what is effective and why, and make recommendations about what the business
could change/add to better reach its client base, supporting your arguments with evidence
from the course. Strong papers will use the ideas, theories, and research discussed in class to
frame the analysis and defend the suggestions for improvement.
You are expected to produce (1) a 20 minute team presentation during one of the final
two class meetings of the semester and (2) an independently-written research paper no more than
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15 pages in length, due during the final examination period. The research paper will account for
20% and the presentation 10% of your final course grade. As you develop this project you will
learn how to formulate a research question, how to identify or acquire data to test this question,
and how to present research findings in an academic format, demonstrating support for a line
of argument. You will turn in two drafts of the paper prior to the final deadline, receiving
instructor feedback on your first draft and peer review from two classmates on your second.
We will arrange an additional class meeting (if necessary) during the exam period to hear any
research presentations not given during the final two class meetings of the semester.
Your course grade will be calculated as follows:
Class Attendance and Participation
Response Papers & Peer Review
Discussion Leadership
Quizzes
Field Research Project:
- Team Presentation
- Individual Paper
10%
25%
10%
25%
10%
20%
COURSE POLICIES
The Duke Community Standard
Duke University is a community of scholars and learners committed to the principles of
honesty, trustworthiness, fairness, and respect for others. Students share with faculty and staff
the responsibility for promoting a climate of integrity. As citizens of this community, students
are expected to adhere to these fundamental values at all times, in both their academic and nonacademic endeavors. Students affirm their commitment to uphold the values of the Duke
University community by signing a pledge that states: (1) I will not lie, cheat, or steal in my
academic endeavors, nor will I accept the actions of those who do. (2) I will conduct myself
responsibly and honorably in all my activities as a Duke student.
Sakai and Course Assignments
No textbook is required for this class. However, you may find the following textbook a
useful reference, as many of my lectures will be based on its content: Consumer Behavior (6th
edition) by Wayne Hoyer, Deborah MacInnis, and Nik Pieters. The assigned reading for each
course meeting is listed in the syllabus and available through the course Sakai page, which can
be found at: https://sakai.duke.edu. Please familiarize yourself with the Sakai site to avoid
confusion. If you have any difficulties accessing the site, or are unsure of how to use necessary
features, please let me know as soon as possible. Confusion about the use of Sakai is not a valid
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excuse for the late submission of assignments. Written work should be turned in by the start of
class on the due date, unless otherwise specified. Response Papers should be submitted via the
relevant Forum on the course Sakai page. All other written assignments, including your final
research paper, should be submitted using the Drop Box feature on Sakai. Points will be
deducted from your grade for the late submission of assignments.
Re-Grading of Assignments
If you believe there has been an error in the grading of an assignment, please provide
me with a written explanation of why your grade should be higher, not to exceed one page
along with a clean (unmarked) copy of the work in question. Based on your rationale and my
careful examination of your work, your grade may go either up or down.
Students with Disabilities
Students with learning, medical, psychological or other disabilities desiring academic
accommodations, modifications, or auxiliary aids should contact the Student Disability Access
Office (919-668-6213 or http://www.access.duke.edu/students/requesting/index.php). The
SDAO determines eligibility for and authorizes provision of services. Please let me know as
soon as possible if you are eligible, so that I can make the appropriate accommodations.
Syllabus Disclaimer
I reserve the right to modify the syllabus, including the schedule, grading, and
requirements, as deemed necessary. You will be notified of any changes on Sakai, are
individually responsible for making note of these changes.
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CLASS SCHEDULE
Date
8/27 (Tu)
Topic
Introduction to consumer behavior
8/29 (Th)
Assignments & Deadlines
Read: Syllabus
Read: Understanding Consumer Behavior
Read: Nonconscious Goals and Consumer Choice
9/3 (Tu)
Motivation, ability, and opportunity
Read: The Impact of Effort Investment on Goal Value and
Consumer Motivation
Goal Setting & Goal Striving in Consumer Behavior
9/5 (Th)
9/10 (Tu)
Due: Sign up for Discussion Leadership
Response Paper 1 due Wednesday 9/4 by 11:59 p.m.
Exposure, attention, and perception
Read: Sensory Branding: It Makes (Five) Senses
Retail Therapy
Due: Response Paper 2 due Wednesday 9/11 by 11:59 p.m.
Read: Asymmetries in the Sequential Learning of Brand
Associations
Product Scent and Memory
9/12 (Th)
Due: Select focal business for Field Research Project
9/17 (Tu)
Knowledge and understanding
Read: How P&G Tripled its Innovation Success Rate
Branding in the Digital Age
Due: Response Paper 3 due Wednesday 9/18 by 11:59 p.m.
 In class: Quiz 1
Read: Entrenched Knowledge Structures and Consumer
Response to New Products
9/19 (Th)
9/24 (Tu)
Attitudes based on high effort
Read: The Influence of Attitudes and Attitude Strength on
Consideration and Choice
Due: Response Paper 4 due Wednesday 9/25 by 11:59 p.m.
Read: The Interplay of Affect and Cognition in Consumer
Decision Making
Identity-Based Motivation
9/26 (Th)
10/1 (Tu)
Attitudes based on low effort
Read: Automatic Influences on Consumer Judgment, Behavior,
and Motivation
Due: Response Paper 5 due Wednesday 10/2 by 11:59 p.m.
 In class: Quiz 2
10/3 (Th)
Read: Peripheral Persuasion and Brand Choice
The Unbearable Automaticity of Being
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Read: What Becomes an Icon Most
10/8 (Tu)
Memory and retrieval
Due: Summary of field research notes
Response Paper 6 due Wednesday 10/9 by 11:59 p.m.
Read: Expertise-Induced False Recall Effects in Product
Comparison
10/10 (Th)
Evaluative Conditioning Procedures and the Resilience of
Conditioned Brand Attitudes
 In class: Quiz 3
** Fall Recess: No class 10/15 **
10/17 (Th)
Effort in decision making
Read: The Consumer Decision Journey
Watch: Malcolm Gladwell on Spaghetti Sauce
Barry Schwartz on the Paradox of Choice
10/22 (Tu)
Due: Response Paper 7 due Wednesday 10/23 by 11:59 p.m.
Read: Antecedents of True Brand Loyalty
Anticipating Adaptation to Products
10/24 (Th)
10/29 (Tu)
Post-decision processes
Read: The Effects of Self-Control Regret on Consumer Behavior
Due: Response Paper 8 due Wednesday 10/30 by 11:59 p.m.
Read: Immediate and Delayed Emotional Consequences of
Indulgence
10/31 (Th)
 In class: Quiz 4
11/5 (Tu)
Demographics, social class, and
household influences
Read: The Status Costs of Subordinate Social Capital
Modes of Intergenerational Influence on Young Adults
11/7 (Th)
11/12 (Tu)
Read: Rediscovering Market Segmentation
The Sure Thing That Flopped
Due: First draft of Field Research Paper
Values, personality, and lifestyles
Read: Do Brand Personalities Rub Off On Consumers?
The Next 20 Years
Read: Does Choice Mean Freedom and Well-Being?
The Effects of Brand Relationship Dimensions and SelfConstrual on Brand Evaluations
11/14 (Th)
Due: Revised Field Research Paper due 11/15 by 11:59 p.m.
11/19 (Tu)
Social influences on consumer
behavior
Read: Power and Consumer Behavior
Self-Construal, Reference Groups, and Brand Meaning
11/21 (Th)
11/26 (Tu)
Read: Social Strategies That Work
Watch: Are We In Control Of Our Decisions?
Giving an effective presentation
Due: Peer review papers
 In class: Quiz 5
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** Thanksgiving Recess: No class 11/28 **
12/3 (Tu)
Field Research Presentations, Part 1
12/5 (Th)
Field Research Presentations, Part 2
** Submit final Field Research Paper using Sakai Drop Box by 12/10 at 11:59 p.m. **
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