UGBA 160

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Haas School of Business

Summer 2015
MTW 10:30-1, C220

COURSE OBJECTIVE
To provide a familiarity and working knowledge of the terminology and concepts from
the field of consumer behavior, and an understanding of how those concepts are applied
in the world of marketing.
COURSE STRUCTURE
Instruction will be handled using a combination of lecture and discussion, with an eye
toward application to cases and current business events. Reading will be required for each
class in which new material is covered. This reading will come from the textbook and
also a separate reader to supplement the text. There will also be outside speakers.
Writing and presentation skills are critical in all areas of marketing, as is the ability to
work both individually and in a group. These areas will be incorporated into the
assignments, and there will be group activities and discussions in class as well.
Class discussion and participation are critical. Lectures will generally be informal and
interactive, and students are expected to participate on an ongoing basis.
COURSE PHILOSOPHY
Consumer behavior encompasses a wide variety of disciplines and concepts. It is
grounded in psychology, sociology, and anthropology. The orientation of this course will
be one of providing familiarity with those areas, and focusing on the application of those
concepts to business and marketing.
The goal is to gain an understanding of the ways in which these concepts affect marketing
strategies, as well as a basic understanding of the underlying concepts and theories
themselves (e.g., from the field of psychology, etc.).
INSTRUCTOR
Bill Fanning
Office: F502M
Office phone: 643-4192
Office hours: Tu 2:15-3:15 or by appointment
Email: fanning@haas.berkeley.edu

COURSE READING
The basis for most of the new material introduced in the course will be the textbook,
Consumer Behavior (Tenth Edition) by Michael Solomon.
In addition, there is a separate course reader with supplementary articles that are part of
the assigned reading. There may also be supplementary reading and cases which will be
handed out throughout the course.
The reader is organized chronologically by class meeting. It is available online through
Study Net, and no hard copies will be available in the bookstore. You should be able to
access it online at www.study.net once you are registered for the course and listed in
bcourses. You basically have 3 choices: 1) read the material online; 2) print the materials
on your own printer as we get to them; or 3) order a printed copy which will be sent to
you. The third option is recommended. (Copying another students reader is a violation
of copyright law.)
TESTS
There will be a midterm at the beginning of week 3 (6/8), which will take half the class
period. There will be a final given on 7/1, for which the entire class period is allocated.
These dates are firm and there are no exceptions. These exams will be designed
primarily to measure your knowledge and understanding of the reading material but may
also include some broader questions that cover material we have covered in class. They
will be a combination of multiple choice, Scantron questions and short answer questions.
The material on the final will be from the second half of the course.
For each exam, it is your responsibility to bring a Scantron form (882-ES) and #2 pencils
and erasers.
ASSIGNMENTS
There will be two group assignments and one individual assignment. One group
assignment will be a short presentation and the other will be a longer presentation and
recommendation.
As in the real world, the groups are competing against each other. Thus, part
of the task is to differentiate yourselves from the other groups, to discover
some insight that the others do not see, and to be creative in both your ideas
and your presentation.
There will be 5-6 people in each group. These groups should be formed by the
second week of class. Both group assignments will be done with the same
group.
Part of the goal of group assignments is to give students the experience of
working with other students from different backgrounds. Haas and UC
Berkeley students will be divided evenly across all groups. Students visiting
from other countries should plan to work in a group with no more than 1-2
other students from the same country.

The limits for both length of written assignments and presentation timing are
firm. Editing your thoughts is an extremely important communication skill for
both written and presented projects. Rehearse your presentation so there are
no surprises.
For the group assignments, the intent is to award all members of a group the
same grade. Again, this reflects the real world. (At the end of the term, we will
use an effort evaluation process within each group and adjustments to group
grades will be made if necessary.) Additionally, it is recommended that you
use this group as a study group to informally discuss readings and cases in
preparation for class. This is a way of working that will be helpful in your
continued study in the area of business, as well as in the real world.

The first group presentations will take place during week 4. Each group will be choose a
research source to track and review, and this will be a presentation on something found
in that source and its implications. We will discuss it further in class. Each presentation
should last 5 minutes. Only 1-2 members of each group should present. There is no
written component to this assignment.
The second group assignment is the final project and is also a presentation and will take
place in the last week of class on 6/29 and 6/30. Do not plan to miss these classes. This
project will include some consumer research done outside the classroom. These
presentations should last approximately15 minutes, and all members of the group must
present. In addition, each group must submit a written summary of no more than 3 pages
(with up to two additional pages as exhibits).
There will be more discussion on both projects during the course, and we will spend time
in class reviewing your progress on the final project, including an entire class period
devoted to working on this project.
The individual written assignment will be due at the end of week 2. The assignment has a
1 page limit. You may also include a one page exhibit, which must be a visual of some
sort and not an additional page of text. The assignment will deal with a topic which will
be handed out and discussed in class.
GRADING
Grades will be calculated as follows:
Group presentation #1
Midterm
Written assignment
Group presentation #2
Final
Class participation

15%
20
15
25
15
10

Exams and written assignments will be read and graded by a student grader. They will be
returned with notes that should explain the basis for your grade. The grader will hold
office hours if necessary and may provide feedback, but should not be expected to change
grades.
Assignments are to be turned in (or presented) during the class period on the designated
due date. Once class begins and assignments are handed in, the assignment becomes late.
There will be a deduction of one point for each subsequent class period for which the
assignment is late. Submission of work outside of class may be considered only in special
circumstances and must be arranged beforehand.
Clear and concise expression of your thoughts, whether written or presented, is critical
and improvement in this area is part of the goal of this course. Careless or sloppy writing
or grammar will hurt your grade. Written assignments are not to exceed the page limit,
and either single spaced or double spaced work is acceptable, but no font smaller than 12
point may be used. The extent of your use of technology in your presentation is up to
each individual group, but at the minimum, some type of slide presentation is expected
and the standards at Haas are generally quite high. Effective operation of technology is
the responsibility of the group. I will provide help, to the extent possible, on writing and
presentation style as well as the content itself. This can best be accomplished during the
class work session for the final presentation and during office hours.
PARTICIPATION
Class participation is important for your grade, but also because it is part of the learning
process for a highly interactive discipline such as marketing. The more participation, the
better the class experience for everyone.
Attendance is part of participation. I am also asking each of you to make a name tag from
an 8.5 x 11 piece of paper. Print it using a landscape orientation, and on the bottom half
of the page put your first name in bold type in at least a 48 point typeface. Fold it in half,
keep it in your folder, bring it to class and place it on the table in front of you. (You may
decorate it if you wish, as long as the name is clearly legible.)
We will be following a no laptop policy in this class. This also includes tablets and
smartphones. You will be responsible for taking notes the old fashioned way. Any use of
phones during class for texting or any other reason will be an automatic deduction in your
class participation grade.
Please make every effort to be on time. Consistent late arrival will also be a deduction in
your class participation grade. Students will not be admitted late when we have either
guest speakers or student presentations.

bcourses
Everything in this course runs through bcourses, a course management site. This will be
utilized for announcements, reminders, schedule revisions, group presentation
assignments / dates, and other uses. I will post notes for each class that can be printed and
used as a framework for adding your own notes based on lecture and discussion in class. I
will also post the syllabus so you have an electronic copy (it is also available on
study.net). And there will be posting of grades on this site as well.
You are included in bcourses simply by being enrolled in this class (and providing the
university with a correct email address). It is your responsibility to check bcourses
frequently. If there are problems or questions about this, we will address them during the
first week of class.
SCHEDULE
On the following pages there is a class by class schedule indicating the topic, required
reading, assignments, and other activities. Based on this schedule, it is your responsibility
to come to class prepared.
The final will be given on 7/1 at 10:30A. There are no exceptions. All students must
present as part of the final project. There are no exceptions.
Please do not come to me later in the course and tell me you have a plane ticket that
requires you to leave before the course is finished. You will have to change your
plane ticket if you want to pass the course.

CLASS SCHEDULE
Class Date

Topic

Reading

5/26

Overview

Ch 1 p. 3-23, 32-34

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5/27

Learning

ch 3

-----

6/1

Decision Making

ch 8
ch 10 p.369-375

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6/2

Motivation

ch 4

-----

6/3

Personality
Lifestyle

ch 6

6/8

Midterm
(Guest Speaker)

6/9

Attitudes

6/10

Data Collection

-------

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6/15

(Guest Speaker)

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Presentations

10

6/16

Archetypes

11

6/17

(Guest Speaker)

12

6/22

Cultures, Subcultures ch 14 p. 545-8, 557-66

ch 13 p.483-494

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13

6/23

Behavioral Econ

-------

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14

6/24

Project Review

-------

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15

6/29

-----

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Presentations

16

6/30

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Presentations

17

7/1

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Final

------ch 7 p. 249-272

ch 14 p.528-540
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Assignment

Written Assignment
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Presentations
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