Consumer Research

Course information

Learning outcomes

By attending the course, participants will be better equipped to analyze and interpret decision-making in varying consumption contexts, as well as the foundational elements of those contexts. In particular, after having attended the module, participants will be able to better understand:
 
1.    To introduce current knowledge of both substantive findings and theory about consumer behavior.
2.    To provide concepts for understanding consumer reactions to marketing stimuli and how consumer decision-making is structured
3.    To provide an understanding of how consumer research is conducted from a methodological perspective
4.    To improve the ability to identify potential applications of consumer behavior concepts and to utilize those concepts in analyzing marketing problems and determining marketing strategy.

Content

Consumer psychology, consumer culture, consumer research methods.

Out of all the subjects that you as a business student might encounter during your studies, consumer behavior is the one you have the most intimate first-hand knowledge with. You were all consumers long before stepping into the hallowed grounds of Aalto University. Yet this familiarity with consumption sometimes makes it difficult to develop a necessary critical or analytical distance. The purpose of this course is to fundamentally challenge the way you understand consumption as an activity and as a topic of study. We will move you beyond colloquial or taken-for-granted understandings of consumption such as conceptually limited tropes like shopping. Understanding consumption is essential for marketing managers in developing effective marketing strategies. That said, we will repeatedly emphasize that to study consumption is not the same as studying customers. The class explores a multitude of concepts and theories from different behavioral sciences to fully appreciate what drives consumption choices and experiences. The course is split into two main paradigms of consumer research: consumer psychology and consumer culture.
 
The consumer psychology side inform participants on psychological processes and biases underlying the decisions made by individuals, with a special emphasis on how to incorporate such insights into consumption-related decisions. As consumers, we are challenged by a large amount and variety of choices every day; current research estimates that an adult makes about 35,000 remotely conscious decisions each day. Each choice we make, i.e., a decision between various options, bears consequences, positive or negative. During decision-making, we generally attempt to estimate with varying degrees of intuition and elaboration the likelihood of an outcome as well as the ramifications of that outcome. Research analyzing such decision-making is typically referred to as Behavioral Science. The module gives participants a broad overview of important results from two major Behavioral Sciences: Behavioral Economics and Consumer Research. To do so, it discusses seminal theories from Economics and Cognitive and Social Psychology, which explore how people make decisions. Moreover, the module offers participants advice about applying these insights to topics in Marketing and Management. Although a number of important concepts will be covered throughout the module, the focus will be largely on understanding heuristics (mental shortcuts or rule of thumbs that are used to increase the efficiency of decision-making) and biases (a systematic error in thinking, in the sense that a judgment deviates from what would be considered a rational choice).
 
In the consumer culture side, we move beyond the individual decision-making brain and investigate the cultural, social, and historical underpinnings of consumption. Here, culture is not to be understood in the colloquial sense ( Finnish culture is like this, Swedish culture is like that ). The view of culture we adopt in this course sees consumer culture as the way in which we, as consumers, make sense of and organize our lived experiences through the various resources provided by the marketplace. We investigate issues like how social class structures consumption, how consumption informs the construction of identity, how gender is performed through consumption, and the inner workings of consumer collectives like subcultures and brand communities, just to name a few.
 
Though the concepts presented during the course will be numerous, we will actively encourage reflection, criticism, deeper exploration, and creative applications based on your own interests. This should also sensitize you to understand that when it comes to understanding consumer behavior, there is no one correct answer; rather different perspectives and explanations are often complementary.

In addition to gaining theoretical understanding, students will carry out a sizeable, practical research project from design to reporting findings and discussing its implications. 

Teacher

Ilona Mikkonen

Study material

Readings may be assigned by the instructor.

Workload

Group and/or individual assignments
Contact sessions (active participation)
Readings assigned by the instructor
Exam

Prerequisites

No prerequisites.

Evaluation

Group and/or individual assignments
Contact sessions (active participation)
Readings assigned by the instructor
Exam

Teaching time and location

The teaching time and the location of the course can be found at Sisu information system

1. The link leads to Completion methods tab of the course page
2. From the top of the page (Version drop-down menu), check that academic year 2025-2026 is selected  

3. From the blue bar, click Lecture and open the Groups and teaching times tab to see the teaching time and the location of the course. Exam times can be seen by clicking Exam.
    

   Exam instructions at the Open University

The teacher has four (4) weeks to grade the exam submissions starting from the exam date.

Online learning environment for the course  

MyCourses online learning environment is a tool for both students and teachers for communication and managing everyday course work. You need an Aalto User ID to log in to the course's MyCourses workspace and participate in teaching.

Digital workspace of the course:
MyCourses

More details on completing the course will be available at MyCourses closer to the start of the course.

Registration and course fee

Registration for Open University courses is done via the link below: 
Course registration

Registration for this course starts on 4.8.2025 at 9.00  
Registration for this course ends on 25.8.2025 at 23.59

It is not possible to register before the registration period has started or after it has ended.

The number of participants is limited to 5.

This course is organized by the Aalto University School of Business.

The course fee is paid upon registration for each course at a time and it is binding. Familiarize yourself with registration and payment rules as well as other guidelines for students:
Registration, payments and rules

Activating Aalto ID and Multifactor Authentication

You can activate your Aalto User ID the day after the registration and you should activate it no later than the day before the start of the course.
Instructions for activating your Aalto user ID

Once you have activated your Aalto user ID, also enable multifactor authentication. Some of Aalto University's services require multifactor authentication.

Instructions for using Multifactor Authentication