Consumer Behaviour

Consumer Behaviour: Nature, scope & application: Importance of consumer behaviour in marketing decisions, characteristics of consumer behaviour, role of consumer research, consumer behaviour- interdisciplinary approach.
Introduction to ‘Industrial Buying Behaviour’ Market Segmentation: VALS 2 segmentation profile.

Consumer Needs & Motivation: Characteristics of motivation, arousal of motives, theories of needs & motivation: Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, McLelland’s APA theory, Murray’s list of psychogenic needs, Bayton’s classification of motives, self-concept & its importance, types of involvement.
Personality & Consumer Behaviour: Importance of personality, theories of personality- Freudian theory, Jungian theory, Neo-Freudian theory, Trait theory: Theory of selfimages; Role of self-consciousness.
Consumer Perception: Concept of absolute threshold limit, differential threshold limit & subliminal perception: Perceptual Process: selection, organisation& interpretation.
Learning & Consumer Involvement: Importance of learning on consumer behaviour, learning theories: classical conditioning, instrumental conditioning, cognitive learning & involvement theory.
Consumer Attitudes: Formation of attitudes, functions performed by attitudes, models of attitudes: Tri-component model, multi-attribute model, attitude towards advertisement model: attribution theory.

Group Dynamics & consumer reference groups: Different types of reference groups, factors affecting reference group influence, reference group influence on products & brands, application of reference groups.
Family & Consumer Behaviour: Consumer socialisation process, consumer roles within a family, purchase influences and role played by children, family life cycle.
Social Class & Consumer behaviour: Determinants of social class, measuring & characteristics of social class.
Culture & Consumer Behaviour: Characteristics of culture, core values held by society & their influence on consumer behaviour, introduction to sub-cultural & cross-cultural influences.
Opinion Leadership Process: Characteristics & needs of opinion leaders & opinion receivers, interpersonal flow of communication.

Diffusion of Innovation: Definition of innovation, product characteristics
influencing diffusion, resistance to innovation, adoption process.
Consumer Decision making process: Process- problem recognition, pre-purchase search influences, information evaluation, purchase decision (compensatory decision rule, conjunctive decision, rule, Lexicographic rule, affect referral, disjunctive rule), postpurchase evaluation; Situational Influences

Models of Consumer Decision making: Nicosia Model, Howard-Sheth Model, Howard- Sheth Family Decision Making Model, Engel, Kollat& Blackwell Model, Sheth Newman Gross Model of Consumer Values.