Course description
Title of the Teaching Unit
Consumer behavior
Code of the Teaching Unit
12UGE70
Academic year
2025 - 2026
Cycle
Number of credits
3
Number of hours
36
Quarter
1
Weighting
Site
Anjou
Teaching language
French
Teacher in charge
DEVENTER Claire
Objectives and contribution to the program
Learning Objective 1: Understand the foundations of consumer behavior
1.1 Explain the key concepts related to the study of consumer behavior.
1.2 Discuss the cognitive, affective, and social dimensions influencing individuals’ choices and thoughts.
Transversal skills addressed: Critical thinking, Decision-making.
Bloom’s taxonomy level: Remember and Understand.
Learning Objective 2: Analyze and evaluate marketing situations using the theories studied in class
2.1 Identify the psychological mechanisms at work in concrete cases.
2.2 Propose relevant marketing recommendations.
2.3 Critically evaluate the ethical and societal implications of these marketing levers.
Transversal skills addressed: Critical thinking, Decision-making.
Bloom’s taxonomy level: Apply, Analyze, and Evaluate.
Learning Objective 3: Design a socially responsible and innovative marketing action in teams
3.1 Develop a marketing action promoting sustainable behaviors (e.g., video) integrating the mechanisms studied.
3.2 Justify the choices made in a written report addressed to external partners, drawing on course theories and ethical critique.
3.3 Reflect on one’s personal characteristics and strengths when performing tasks grounded in consumer behavior theories.
Transversal skills addressed: Self-development, Communication, Collaboration, Critical thinking, Decision-making, Designing desirable futures.
Bloom’s taxonomy level: Create.
Prerequisites and corequisites
Content
The course content is divided into three main parts:
A) Perceiving the world: perception and memory
B) Embodying ideas: identities and attitudes
C) Acting: motivations and decision-making
By the end of the course, these three dimensions will be integrated, enabling students to analyze and approach a marketing situation as a whole.
Teaching methods
The course consists of three types of activities:
A) Lectures: presentation of the main theories of consumer behavior. Each lecture begins with a quiz game that allows students to reactivate the knowledge acquired during the previous session.
B) Tutorial sessions: students, individually or in small groups, work on concrete situations to identify the concepts studied, evaluate them from a managerial and ethical perspective, and derive appropriate recommendations. These sessions also include a guided reflection on each student’s specific strengths.
C) Group project: students put their skills at the service of a sustainable cause by designing a marketing action (e.g., a short advertising video) promoting responsible behaviors. The project is carried out in partnership with an external stakeholder (e.g., non-profit organization, working group, or social enterprise) in order to maximize its impact.
Assessment method
1) Formative assessments
1.1 Quiz games at the beginning of lectures to help students test and consolidate their knowledge.
1.2 Tutorial sessions with corrective feedback and group discussion, allowing students to practice and self-assess their skills.
2) Certificative assessments
2.1 Individual written exam: consisting of multiple-choice and true/false questions, as well as open-ended case studies. This evaluates the understanding of concepts and the ability to analyze marketing situations.
2.2. Group project: design of a marketing action (e.g., short video) accompanied by a brief report explaining the choices made and their impact. The project is assessed on theoretical grounding, creativity, societal impact, and quality of communication.
3) Use of generative AI
The use of generative AI tools or unauthorized digital devices is strictly forbidden during the written exam.
In all other contexts of this course, the use of generative AI tools is permitted, provided it is done responsibly and transparently:
3.1 Students may use AI as a support tool to clarify concepts, reformulate ideas, explore directions, or check their understanding—similar to a discussion with a peer or instructor.
3.2 AI may not replace personal or group work: all analyses, ethical reflections, and creative outputs must originate from the students.
3.3 For the video project, students may use AI tools to generate the form of the video (images, voice, editing). However, the content (message, ideas, script) must be created by the students themselves.
3.4 Any substantial use of AI must be acknowledged in the assignment or report, e.g., by adding a note specifying the tool used and how it was used.
3.5 Students remain responsible for the quality, accuracy, and originality of their work.
References
Optional references:
Mothersbaugh, D. L. (2016). Consumer behavior: Building marketing strategy. New York, McGraw-Hill Education.
Solomon, M. R. (2010). Consumer behaviour: A European perspective. Pearson education.
A selection of scientific papers on Moodle.