MKTG90008 Consumers and Consumption
The Complete Exam Bible · S2 2026MKTG90008 Overview
- The University of Melbourne
- 2026; Semester 2 offering
Within The University of Melbourne — Department of Management and Marketing, Melbourne Business School (Faculty of Business and Economics), MKTG90008 walks the consumer through three blocks in order — the Psychological Core (how consumer research is actually conducted, then the MAO model of Motivation, Ability and Opportunity, the sensory journey from exposure through attention to comprehension, classical and operant models of learning and memory, and attitudes and persuasion via the Elaboration Likelihood Model), the Decision-Making Process (problem recognition and information search, then judgement, compensatory and non-compensatory choice models, and the post-decision process including satisfaction and cognitive dissonance), and the Consumer's Identity and Culture (reference groups, personality and self-concept including Belk's extended self, social class and
cultural capital, and McCracken's movement of cultural meaning) — always asking what a marketer should actually do with each theory.
Half the mark is one closed-book, on-campus, laptop-based exam sat inside Canvas under Respondus LockDown Browser, and the coordinator has pre-published its exact skeleton: five 10-mark short answers drawn one per week from Weeks 1-5, then two 25-mark two-part essays drawn from Weeks 6-11 — about 2,000 words in two hours.
- MKTG90008 grading 50% end-of-semester exam, 30% major group project (4,000-word report, teams of 3-5, due Week 11), 10% team case presentation (15 minutes), 10% class participation via in-seminar Canvas quizzes in Weeks 3-10 — eight quizzes, best five count at 2% each
- MKTG90008 task mode On-campus, closed-book DIGITAL exam sat on your own laptop inside a Canvas quiz under Respondus LockDown Browser. 15 minutes reading plus 2 hours writing, out of 100 marks. Section 1 = five short answers at 10 marks each, about 200 words and 12 minutes each, one drawn from each of Weeks 1-5.
- MKTG90008 mark trap Definition-dumping is explicitly not enough. The revision seminar states: The focus of questions is how well you can apply theory you have learned from the consumer behaviour course. Focus is on how well you understand the theory rather than whether you can copy and paste definitions. A good way to think of it is how would you use this theory as a consultant, and ranks the skill Memorizing is a good but lower form of learning / Understanding is more complex / Critically unpacking is the highest level.
- MKTG90008 rule check Treat the MKTG90008 hurdle status as unconfirmed. Check the current Subject Guide for any component-level pass rule before relying on the overall mark.
How MKTG90008 is assessed
| Component | Weight | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly Quizzes | 10% | Best five results from eight quizzes in the published 2026 guide |
| Team Case Presentation | 10% | Team presentation; current team and delivery instructions are in the LMS |
| Major Group Project | 30% | Group consumer-research project |
| End-of-semester Exam | 50% | Two-hour closed-book examination in the published 2026 guide |
The detailed local guide is from the Semester 1 2026 delivery. The subject is also offered in Semester 2, but this build does not carry Semester 1 deadlines into Semester 2. Confirm current dates, teams and sitting conditions in the Semester 2 LMS.
What MKTG90008 covers
Build the course in three arcs: Assessment Map and Consumer-Insight Workflow establishes the frame, Problem Recognition and Information Search deepens it, and Culture, Integration and Exam Strategy tests the complete method.
Assessment Map and Consumer-Insight Workflow
10/10/30/50 structure · research-to-implication chain · Semester 2 date control · map each assessment to concept, evidence, application and recommendation02Consumer Research and Insight
research question · qualitative and quantitative evidence · insight versus observation · turn an observed behaviour into an investigated mechanism and implication03Motivation, Ability and Opportunity
motivation · ability · opportunity · diagnose which MAO condition constrains a target behaviour04Sensation, Exposure, Attention and Comprehension
sensory threshold · selective attention · comprehension and inference · trace how a stimulus must be encountered and interpreted before it can influence response05Learning, Memory and Behaviour
classical and operant learning · observational learning · memory retrieval · select a learning mechanism that matches the intended behaviour and reinforcement06Attitudes and Persuasion
attitude components · elaboration route · source and message effects · design a persuasion strategy around involvement and ability to process07Problem Recognition and Information Search
actual and desired state · internal and external search · consideration set · identify what triggers recognition and which information becomes decision-relevant08Judgement, Decision Making and Post-decision Response
heuristic and analytic judgement · choice architecture · satisfaction and dissonance · explain a decision from evaluation through post-purchase learning09Reference Groups and Social Influence
normative influence · informational influence · identity and comparison · specify who influences whom, through which mechanism and in what setting10Personality, Identity and Self-concept
trait and motive · actual and ideal self · identity signalling · connect a consumption choice to a bounded identity function11Social Class and Consumption
resources and constraints · status and taste · mobility and segmentation · analyse how economic and cultural resources shape accessible consumption12Culture, Integration and Exam Strategy
cultural meaning · ritual and norm · cross-cultural interpretation · integrate individual, social and cultural mechanisms in an applied consumer caseWhat is examinable is boundaried by the slides: 'Use of the lecture slides as a boundary for what is examinable. If a required reading was not discussed in the lecture, then it will not be examined.' The other 50% is team work plus low-stakes weekly quizzes where only your best five of eight count.
It is a content-heavy theory-application subject, not a quantitative one: 'More theoretical and conceptual, more abstract, more content-heavy.
Less statistical, but there will be some calculations involved.'
Assessment in MKTG90008 is distributed as follows: 50% end-of-semester exam, 30% major group project (4,000-word report, teams of 3-5, due Week 11), 10% team case presentation (15 minutes), 10% class participation via in-seminar Canvas quizzes in Weeks 3-10 — eight quizzes, best five count at 2% each
The operational assessment conditions matter here.
On-campus, closed-book DIGITAL exam sat on your own laptop inside a Canvas quiz under Respondus LockDown Browser. 15 minutes reading plus 2 hours writing, out of 100 marks. Section 1 = five short answers at 10 marks each, about 200 words and 12 minutes each, one drawn from each of Weeks 1-5.
What makes MKTG90008 demanding is concrete: Definition-dumping is explicitly not enough.
The revision seminar states: The focus of questions is how well you can apply theory you have learned from the consumer behaviour course. Focus is on how well you understand the theory rather than whether you can copy and paste definitions.
A good way to think of it is how would you use this theory as a consultant, and ranks the skill Memorizing is a good but lower form of learning / Understanding is more complex / Critically unpacking is the highest level.
Treat the MKTG90008 hurdle status as unconfirmed.
Check the current Subject Guide for any component-level pass rule before relying on the overall mark.
Build the course in three arcs: Assessment Map and Consumer-Insight Workflow establishes the frame, Problem Recognition and Information Search deepens it, and Culture, Integration and Exam Strategy tests the complete method.
Worked example: Consumers and Consumption integrated response
- 1Use 10/10/30/50 structure to fix the object, category or condition being analysed in Consumers and Consumption integrated response.
- 1Use motivation to write the mechanism or rule that changes the starting condition.
- 1Use resources and constraints for a consequence, counter-case or check that could alter the result.
- 1Give the requested conclusion without crossing this limit: Class categories are analytical constructs and should not become stereotypes.
Key terms
- MAO model
- The MAO model explains whether consumer behaviour is likely by assessing Motivation to act, Ability to process or perform, and Opportunity provided by the situation.
- Felt involvement (Zaichkowsky, 1985)
- Felt involvement is the personal relevance or importance a consumer experiences toward an object or decision; it may be enduring or situational and cognitive or affective.
- Subliminal perception; selective exposure, selective attention and perceptual blocking; Weber's Law
- Subliminal perception concerns stimuli below conscious awareness; selective processes govern which stimuli are encountered or noticed, while Weber's Law relates a just-noticeable change to a constant proportion of the original intensity.
- Classical vs operant
- Classical conditioning learns an association between stimuli, whereas operant conditioning changes voluntary behaviour through reinforcement or punishment following a response.
- Elaboration Likelihood Model (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986)
- The Elaboration Likelihood Model predicts central-route persuasion through effortful argument evaluation when motivation and ability are high, and peripheral-route persuasion through cues when elaboration is low.
- Accessibility-Diagnostic theory
- Accessibility-Diagnosticity Theory says information is likely to be used in judgement when it is easy to retrieve and perceived as useful for distinguishing among the available choices.
- Cognitive dissonance and the satisfaction/dissatisfaction disconfirmation process
- Cognitive dissonance is discomfort from inconsistent beliefs or actions, while disconfirmation compares experienced performance with expectations to produce satisfaction when expectations are met or exceeded and dissatisfaction when they are not.
- McCracken
- McCracken's movement-of-meaning model explains how cultural meaning moves from the culturally constituted world into consumer goods through advertising and fashion, then from goods to consumers through possession, exchange, grooming and divestment rituals.
MKTG90008 FAQ
Is MKTG90008 hard?
Definition-dumping is explicitly not enough. The revision seminar states: The focus of questions is how well you can apply theory you have learned from the consumer behaviour course. Focus is on how well you understand the theory rather than whether you can copy and paste definitions.
A good way to think of it is how would you use this theory as a consultant, and ranks the skill Memorizing is a good but lower form of learning / Understanding is more complex / Critically unpacking is the highest level.
How is MKTG90008 assessed?
50% end-of-semester exam, 30% major group project (4,000-word report, teams of 3-5, due Week 11), 10% team case presentation (15 minutes), 10% class participation via in-seminar Canvas quizzes in Weeks 3-10 — eight quizzes, best five count at 2% each
What is the MKTG90008 exam or final-task format?
On-campus, closed-book DIGITAL exam sat on your own laptop inside a Canvas quiz under Respondus LockDown Browser. 15 minutes reading plus 2 hours writing, out of 100 marks. Section 1 = five short answers at 10 marks each, about 200 words and 12 minutes each, one drawn from each of Weeks 1-5.
Does MKTG90008 have a hurdle or component-level pass rule?
Treat the MKTG90008 hurdle status as unconfirmed. Check the current Subject Guide for any component-level pass rule before relying on the overall mark.
What prerequisites or restrictions apply to MKTG90008?
Check the current official handbook before enrolling in MKTG90008; prerequisites are not inferred from its course number.
Is MKTG90008 offered in 2026; Semester 2 offering?
This resource is aligned to 2026; Semester 2 offering. Confirm your class and assessment timetable in the current institutional system.
How does essay and exam strategy appear in MKTG90008?
Use the 15-minute reading time to plan, mirror the question's wording in the introduction, answer every requested element and use headings to make the structure visible. The two-hour closed-book exam rewards accurate application of theory rather than copied definitions.
Is this MKTG90008 resource an official university guide?
No. It is an independent MKTG90008 study resource; current institutional instructions remain authoritative for assessment operation.
How to study for the exam
Retrieve the subject map, practise the recurring method—explain a consumer response through a named mechanism, apply it to evidence and derive a bounded marketing implication—on changed scenarios, and verify every operational assessment detail in the live institutional system.
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