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Instructor:
David Campbell
Office:
444 BSS
Phone:
826-3721
Office
Hours: Wed 8:00-11:30
E-mail:
dec1@humboldt.edu
Web
site: users.humboldt.edu/decampbell/psyc.htm
Textbooks:
(You must purchase the
current edition of the Solomon text.)
Solomon, M.R. (2011).
Consumer behavior. (10th
edition)
In addition to our main text by Solomon,you will need one of these two supplementary texts for your book review assignment:
Schlosser, E. (2002). Fast food nation: The dark side of the
All-American meal.
Pollan, M. (2006). Omnivore’s
dilemma. New York: Penguin.
Course
Overview:
We are all consumers. We all must decide daily how to spend our precious time and money. This course is designed to shed light on why we behave as we do in the role of consumers. We examine the role of advertising and marketing campaigns in shifting our choices. We also analyze how our collective actions contribute to and shape our contemporary culture. But this course goes beyond understanding of ourselves and of those around us. Virtually everyone in the class will spend much of their adult lives working in some context. The fruit of this labor will be some combination of products, services, and information that a target group will consider desirable. If efforts are not made to study and understand the perceived needs of potential "customers," then there is a very real risk that the productive labor will fail. The ideas and information encountered in this course will have direct value in helping students to become successful in their chosen careers. While covering this information, we must be mindful that there is a "dark side" to consumer behavior. Persuasive advertising and effective marketing can result in addictions and destructive behavior that raise disturbing questions regarding our materialistic values. We will confront this dark side and debate the implications for our way of life.
Course
Procedure:
Since this class is being taught via the internet, we will not have traditional face-to-face meetings. You must do the assigned reading and submit homework assignments as you would in a traditional class. And you will have several exams over the course material—all completed over the web except for the final exam. Beyond that, much of your work in this course will be in the form of participation in a “virtual” class discussion. Frequently during the week, you will be expected to logon to Moodle and contribute to the discussion using a bulletin board format. This will require a fair amount of your time, but if done conscientiously, you will find that the class debate and discussion is one of the most interesting parts of the whole course. The expectation is that you will spend a total 3-4 hours each week participating in class discussion (note that we are using the time you would normally spend going to, waiting for, and sitting through lectures each week).
Grading:
35%
of your course grade will be based on weekly quizzes
over the assigned reading. Please don't
ask for make-up opportunities; these quizzes must be completed by the
scheduled due dates (normally by
Friday midnight).
15% of your grade
will be determined by your participation in group
discussion. Log on frequently, participate fully, and you
will do well with this part of your responsibilities.
15% of the grade will
be based on a presentation of a
topic chosen by you. This will be an individual project.
Detailed instructions will be provided but think of this as a short
(6-8 minute) presentation based on 15-20 PowerPoint slides.
10% will be determined by your book review of one of the supplementary textbooks assigned this semester.
25% is left for your
final exam. This will be a
comprehensive multiple-choice test taken online and based on the
reading and videos assigned during the semester.
Student
Responsibilities:
You are expected to tackle this course in a constructive and
mature manner. Your goal should be to
find out what psychology and related disciplines know about consumer
thinking and behavior. It is expected
that you will logon to our course site frequently and will
participate fully in the class activities. Also, be sure to review the HSU policy on academic
honesty. You need to be aware of
what constitutes cheating and plagiarism (e.g., is it OK to turn in
essentially the same paper in two classes with similar assignments, or
is it OK to make use of quizzes provided by your roommate from the
same class last semester?).
Extra
Credit:
You can earn extra credit in this course by participating in
one or two hours of research as a participant (subject).
To sign up for experiments, you need to first create an
account in the participation pool system. Instructions
are available at http://www.humboldt.edu/psychology/pool/poolinfo.html Extra credit in this course does not carry a
specific point value but it will be helpful if you are between two
course grades at the end of the semester.
Schedule
of Topics and
Week Topic
Solomon
Aug
26 Introduction
1
Sept 2 Perception
2
Sept
9 Learning & Memory
3
16
Motivation & Global Values
4
23
The Self
5
30
Personality & Psychographics 6
Oct
7 Attitudes & Persuasion
7
14 Decision Making 8
21
Buying & Disposing
9
28
Organizational & Household Decision Making
10
Nov 4 Groups & Social
Media
11
11 Social
Class & Lifestyles
12
18 Subcultures 13
25 Thanksgiving Break --
Dec 2 Cultures 14
9 Completion of presentation & book review 16
Finals Week (Dec 16-20) Final exam must
be taken on Thursday.