Enrolments for 2023 have closed.
Consumer Psychology
Postgraduate | CUR-PSB500 | 2023
Course information for 2023 intake View information for 2024 course intake
Dive into consumers’ minds as you learn what drives consumption. Study human perception, memory, cues that subconsciously move us to make decisions, and what leads to attitude change. Find out what it takes to influence behaviour.
- Study method
- 100% online
- Assessments
- Subject may require attendance
- Entry requirements
- No ATAR needed,
- No prior study
- Duration
- 13 weeks
HECS-HELP and FEE-HELP available
Consumer Psychology
About this subject
At the completion of this subject students will be able to:
- apply basic psychological principles and theories to novel problems in consumer behaviour
- develop psychological solutions to business problems concerning consumers
- communicate psychological solutions to business problems.
- Principles of perception, attention, and learning
- Decision-making, heuristics, and biases
- Motivation and personality
- Opinion leadership
- Psychological market segmentation
- Impact of physical context on consumer behaviour
- The role of culture in consumer behaviour
- Contemporary topics in consumer psychology
This subject considers how psychology helps us to understand consumer’s attitudes and their consumption behaviour. Module 1 overviews 10 fundamental principles concerning human perception, learning, and memory, and outlines some basic ways in which each relates to consumer behaviour. Module 2 considers consumer decision-making, with particular focus on heuristics and attitude change. Module 3 considers consumer’s personality in terms of the five-factor model and also addresses consumer innovativeness. Module 4 considers consumers as members of social groups, addressing conformity, social identity, fashion, and opinion leadership. Module 5 describes market segmentation with particular emphasis on psychographic strategies as the basis of understanding why market segments should behave the way they do. Module 6 describes psychological research on how physical retail and leisure environments can themselves influence consumer behaviour, influencing consumer’s propensity to approach these environments, their time perception, and their willingness to cooperate with calls to action therein. Module 7 addresses cross-cultural issues, focussing on how dimensions of culture correlate with various consumption attitudes and behaviours. Module 8 addresses two contemporary topics in consumer psychology, namely ethical and sustainable consumption, and trust in online retailers.
Please Note: If it’s your first time studying a Curtin University subject you’ll need to complete their compulsory ‘Academic Integrity Program’. It only takes two hours to complete online, and provides you with vital information about studying with Curtin University. The Academic Integrity Program is compulsory, so if it’s not completed your subject grades will be withheld.
Find out more about the Academic Integrity module.
- Written Assignment (50%)
- Invigilated Examination (50%)
For textbook details check your university's handbook, website or learning management system (LMS).
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Entry requirements
No entry requirements
Study load
- 0.125 EFTSL
- This is in the range of 10 to 12 hours of study each week.
Equivalent full time study load (EFTSL) is one way to calculate your study load. One (1.0) EFTSL is equivalent to a full-time study load for one year.
Find out more information on Commonwealth Loans to understand what this means to your eligibility for financial support.
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What to study next?
Once you’ve completed this subject it can be credited towards one of the following courses
PostgraduateCUR-PBM-GCE
Graduate Certificate in Psychology of Business and Management
PostgraduateUNE-PRO-GCE
PostgraduateOUA-PSU-GCE
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