Consumer psychology
Class 1: introduction
1. Introduction
Why is privacy more important now than in the past?
Data collection is more advanced and pervasive:
Companies collect both explicit data (what you type, click, or
share) and implicit data (how long you look at something, your
location, behavior patterns).
Allows them to predict what you want to see and target you
with personalized ads.
Commercial use of personal data:
Your data is used to influence your buying behavior.
Businesses can manipulate your choices based on online activity
and preferences.
Gossip as a psychological mechanism:
In humans, gossip serves a similar function as grooming in
primates (like picking fleas in apes).
It helps build social bonds and reduce stress.
Gossip reduces stress:
Research shows that after a stressful event (e.g., putting hands in
cold water), gossiping helps people feel less stressed.
This highlights how sharing information—even personal or
sensitive—can have emotional benefits, but also risks when privacy
is not protected.
Consumer Psychology: What comes to your mind?
Emotions play a huge part in making decisions when buying stuff or wanting to
buy/ consume stuff.
- Understand the tricks the shops and online marketeers apply to make you
buy stuff.
- Understand the consumer why they like and consume stuff.
- Take a micro approach to communication strategies.
- Nudging
- Overconsumption (stanley cups, american cookies, …)
Consumers make choices and how can we try to predict these choices with
existing theories. (choices= different packaging for same product, healthy
(virtue?) vs unhealthy (vice?) food, etc.)
On tiktok: can we predict virality? What makes videos go viral?
1
, Online shopping, what tricks and persuasive ways do they use to make you
consume it?
2
, Consumer psychology
- All behaviors that relate to people as consumers
- What makes them like/choose/buy things? Emotions, rational
behavior, choice processes, situational influences …
o The time of the day, your hormones, the weather, … all have effect on
your emotions and on your consumer behaviour.
- How do consumers deal with persuasion attempts?
o Resistance = when you try to go against the ads. For example, anti-
smoke campaigns and you resist the campaign by keep smoking. Or
vaccination campaigns and people think this restricts their individual
decision so don’t vaccinate themselves.
- Psychological methods (experiments), focus on (underlying)
processes of attitudes & behavior (and individual differences or
other moderators)
Physical appearance improvements increase prosocial
behavior.
Booming business on TikTok (beauty products). Does It
make people more materialistic? What does it mean for
their consumer socialization, what does the product
add to their identity or popularity?
Prosocial behavior= like donating to charity.
Because being aware how you present yourself online
increases your public awareness
- Applies psychological theories to understand consumers/consumer
behavior (CB).
- Core themes:
o Consumer information processing (attention, elaboration, decision
making)
o Motivation and affect
o Persuasion, attitudes, social influence
! Not only for academic and managerial purposes, goal is also to
advance knowlegde for consumer wellbeing (+ public policy).
3
, 4
Class 1: introduction
1. Introduction
Why is privacy more important now than in the past?
Data collection is more advanced and pervasive:
Companies collect both explicit data (what you type, click, or
share) and implicit data (how long you look at something, your
location, behavior patterns).
Allows them to predict what you want to see and target you
with personalized ads.
Commercial use of personal data:
Your data is used to influence your buying behavior.
Businesses can manipulate your choices based on online activity
and preferences.
Gossip as a psychological mechanism:
In humans, gossip serves a similar function as grooming in
primates (like picking fleas in apes).
It helps build social bonds and reduce stress.
Gossip reduces stress:
Research shows that after a stressful event (e.g., putting hands in
cold water), gossiping helps people feel less stressed.
This highlights how sharing information—even personal or
sensitive—can have emotional benefits, but also risks when privacy
is not protected.
Consumer Psychology: What comes to your mind?
Emotions play a huge part in making decisions when buying stuff or wanting to
buy/ consume stuff.
- Understand the tricks the shops and online marketeers apply to make you
buy stuff.
- Understand the consumer why they like and consume stuff.
- Take a micro approach to communication strategies.
- Nudging
- Overconsumption (stanley cups, american cookies, …)
Consumers make choices and how can we try to predict these choices with
existing theories. (choices= different packaging for same product, healthy
(virtue?) vs unhealthy (vice?) food, etc.)
On tiktok: can we predict virality? What makes videos go viral?
1
, Online shopping, what tricks and persuasive ways do they use to make you
consume it?
2
, Consumer psychology
- All behaviors that relate to people as consumers
- What makes them like/choose/buy things? Emotions, rational
behavior, choice processes, situational influences …
o The time of the day, your hormones, the weather, … all have effect on
your emotions and on your consumer behaviour.
- How do consumers deal with persuasion attempts?
o Resistance = when you try to go against the ads. For example, anti-
smoke campaigns and you resist the campaign by keep smoking. Or
vaccination campaigns and people think this restricts their individual
decision so don’t vaccinate themselves.
- Psychological methods (experiments), focus on (underlying)
processes of attitudes & behavior (and individual differences or
other moderators)
Physical appearance improvements increase prosocial
behavior.
Booming business on TikTok (beauty products). Does It
make people more materialistic? What does it mean for
their consumer socialization, what does the product
add to their identity or popularity?
Prosocial behavior= like donating to charity.
Because being aware how you present yourself online
increases your public awareness
- Applies psychological theories to understand consumers/consumer
behavior (CB).
- Core themes:
o Consumer information processing (attention, elaboration, decision
making)
o Motivation and affect
o Persuasion, attitudes, social influence
! Not only for academic and managerial purposes, goal is also to
advance knowlegde for consumer wellbeing (+ public policy).
3
, 4
