MKTG6007 Consumer Behaviour
MKTG6007 Overview
- Postgraduate
- Semester 2 2026
- Coursework assessment
- Weekly workshop
MKTG6007 Consumer Behaviour is a postgraduate University of Sydney unit that studies the psychological, social and contextual processes behind consumption. The current teaching sequence begins by defining consumer behaviour as decisions about offerings by decision-making units over time.
- Assessment Six coursework components with published weights totalling 100%
- Core lens Diagnose Motivation, Ability and Opportunity before recommending action
- Applied work Connect every observation to a mechanism and an evidence boundary
- Revision Practise separating close concepts with fresh scenarios
What you get in the full MKTG6007 Study & Assessment Guide
- 8 chapters, 36 pages — every assessed topic
- 22 original practice questions, each with a model answer
- 8 worked examples, solved the way MKTG6007 marks
- 8 computed figures, redrawn from the course’s own numbers
- Before-you-submit checklist for the Changing Consumer Behaviour Challenge (30%) — what markers reward, what costs marks
Free on this page: assessment table, chapter map, one worked example, key terms, FAQ. The rest is in the full study & assessment guide.
MKTG6007 Course Changes in Semester 2 2026
Compared with Semester 1 2026
✅ Same assessment as Semester 1 2026: same components, same weights. Dates and task details follow the Semester 2 2026 outline.
How MKTG6007 is assessed in S2 2026
| Component | Weight | Format |
|---|---|---|
| LookBook | 18% | Individual portfolio with a post, reply and document across the semester |
| Out-of-Class Quiz | 5% | Individual open-book online quiz, 25 minutes, multiple-choice and true-false questions |
| Group Written Assignment | 25% | Group theory application to a consumer-relevant problem |
| Group Oral Presentation | 20% | Group presentation linked to the written assignment |
| Changing Consumer Behaviour Challenge | 30% | Individual behaviour-change journey and reflective mock blog post |
| Business Research Component | 2% | Individual research participation or research-paper review |
From the course outline for Semester 2 2026 (as of 2026-10-30); dates and venues are subject to confirmation. Always check your own subject guide and LMS for the authoritative timetable. See how MKTG6007 has been assessed over time
How MKTG6007 has been assessed over time
2 teaching periods tracked. Open an earlier period to see its full assessment.
- Semester 2 2026 CurrentSee table above ↑
Semester 1 2026ShowHide
Component Weight Format Changing Consumer Behaviour Challenge (CCBC) 30% Individual · a self-experiment written up as a CB-theory blog post — the single biggest mark Group Written Assignment 25% Group · diagnose a real consumer problem and design a theory-grounded solution Group Oral Presentation 20% Group · communicate the problem, its CB explanation and the solution LookBook portfolio 18% Individual · a 1.5% post + 1.5% reply + 15% document tagging everyday stimuli to concepts Out-of-Class Quiz 5% Individual · open-book, 30 MCQ / true-false in the Week 6 slot Business Research Component 2% Individual — confirm the exact split and current weights in your unit outline No final exam in this offering. Source: course outline, as of 2026-06-13.
Chapters written for the S1 2026 offering, still available: Post-Purchase Behaviour
What other students are asking about MKTG6007
- Where can I find lecture notes or study guides for MKTG6007 at USyd?
- The MKTG6007 study guide in AskSia Library covers Consumer Behaviour in 8 chapters, with the assessment table, a chapter-by-chapter topic map, key terms and a worked example, free to read on this page.
- Is there a final exam in MKTG6007?
- No final exam is listed in the offering this AskSia Library guide is built from; MKTG6007 is assessed by LookBook 18%, Out-of-Class Quiz 5%, Group Written Assignment 25%, Group Oral Presentation 20%, Changing Consumer Behaviour Challenge 30%, Business Research Component 2%.
- What does MKTG6007 cover on perception?
- In AskSia Library's MKTG6007 guide, the Perception chapter explains exposure, attention, sensory thresholds, organisation and comprehension.
- What does MKTG6007 cover on learning and memory?
- In AskSia Library's MKTG6007 guide, the Learning and Memory chapter explains encoding, storage, retrieval, schemas and memory enhancement.
- What does MKTG6007 cover on motivation and attitudes?
- In AskSia Library's MKTG6007 guide, the Motivation and Attitudes chapter explains persuasion routes, cognitive responses, affect and behaviour.
Current MKTG6007 dates
| Date | Item | Control |
|---|---|---|
| 25 August 2026 | LookBook Post due | Published for the current offering. |
| 1 September 2026 | LookBook Reply due | Published for the current offering. |
| 8 September 2026 | Out-of-Class Quiz | Published midday quiz window. |
| 16 October 2026 | Group tasks due | Written assignment and oral presentation. |
| 30 October 2026 | LookBook Document due | Business Research Component is also due this day at a different time. |
| 6 November 2026 | Behaviour Challenge due | Published for the current offering. |
Dates are as published in the official Semester 2 2026 assessment overview. Confirm exact submission details on your unit site.
What MKTG6007 covers
The unit moves from the psychological core of Motivation, Ability and Opportunity through perception, memory and attitudes, then applies those ideas to decision making, social influence, diversity, psychographics and behaviour change.
Consumer Behaviour Foundations
Consumption decisions, roles, needs and Motivation, Ability and OpportunityConsumer behaviour examines the complete set of consumption decisions made by people or groups across time.
- Consumer behaviour definition
- Acquisition, usage and disposition
- Products, services, activities, experiences, people and ideas
- Decision-making roles
- Motivation, Ability and Opportunity
- Needs and Maslow's hierarchy
Perception
Exposure, attention, sensory thresholds, organisation and comprehensionThe consumer information chain moves from exposure to attention, perception and comprehension.
- Exposure and selective exposure
- Limited and selective attention
- Five-sense perception
- Absolute threshold
- Just noticeable difference and Weber's Law
- Perceptual organisation
Learning and Memory
Encoding, storage, retrieval, schemas and memory enhancementMemory is the persistence of learning through storage and retrieval.
- Encoding routes
- Sensory memory
- Working memory
- Long-term memory
- Episodic and semantic memory
- Brand schemas
Motivation and Attitudes
Persuasion routes, cognitive responses, affect and behaviourAttitudes are evaluations with properties such as accessibility, confidence, persistence and resistance.
- Attitude characteristics
- Elaboration Likelihood Model
- Central route
- Peripheral route
- Support and counterarguments
- Source derogation
Consumer Decision Making
High-effort journeys, low-effort tactics, choice and learningConsumer decisions vary in effort and need not follow one linear funnel.
- Need recognition
- Internal and external search
- Evaluation criteria
- Nonlinear journeys
- Judgement hurdles
- Variety seeking
Social and Cultural Influences
Requests, norms, household roles, diversity and identity cuesConsumers act within households, peer groups and cultural meaning systems.
- Household decision roles
- Interpersonal persuasion
- Flattery
- Foot-in-the-door
- Social proof
- Normative influence
The Self and Psychographics
Identity, household context, social class, values and segmentationIdentity, household context, social class, values and lifestyle can all shape consumption meaning.
- Consumer identity
- Actual and ideal self
- Household context
- Social class
- Activities, interests and opinions
- Values and lifestyle
Applied Consumer Behaviour
Observation, theory, intervention, testing and reflectionThe major assessments share an evidence-to-action cycle.
- Bounded observation
- Theory selection
- Mechanism explanation
- Intervention design
- Outcome measurement
- Rival explanations
It then develops Motivation, Ability and Opportunity as a core diagnostic framework, moves through exposure, attention, perception and comprehension, and examines how information is encoded, stored and retrieved. The attitude modules connect effort to central and peripheral persuasion, cognitive responses, affect and the gap between evaluation and behaviour.
Later topics contrast high-effort decision journeys with low-effort choice tactics, then examine social influence, consumer diversity, households, social class, psychographics and ethics. The practical thread is consistent: observe a bounded behaviour, choose the closest concept, explain the mechanism, identify what the evidence does not establish, and recommend an action that repairs the diagnosed gap.
Assessment is entirely coursework in the current published table. The LookBook develops observation and reflection, the open-book online quiz tests concept discrimination, the written and oral group tasks apply theory to a consumer-relevant problem, the Changing Consumer Behaviour Challenge documents an individual behaviour-change journey, and the Business Research Component offers research participation or a paper review.
This guide uses original scenarios and diagrams to practise those moves. It does not reproduce captured task prompts, past papers or proprietary classroom examples, and it does not invent a University marking scheme where no rubric was captured.
Worked example · free
Map a nonlinear consumer decision journey
- +1Define the required criteria: compatibility, performance, portability and battery life.
- +1Show how familiarity narrowed the initial consideration set.
- +1Explain why one vivid review produced an unbalanced search.
- +1Treat the compatibility failure as feedback that reopens search.
- +1Recommend a common comparison table using required software tests and explicit trade-offs.
Key terms
- Consumer behaviour
- The totality of decisions about consuming an offering by decision-making units over time.
- Motivation
- The personal relevance and drive that make a consumer willing to allocate effort.
- Ability
- The knowledge, skills and resources that let a consumer understand or perform an action.
- Opportunity
- The time, access and situational conditions that let a consumer act.
- Absolute threshold
- The minimum stimulus intensity at which something becomes detectable.
- Differential threshold
- The change between detectable stimuli that is just large enough to be noticed.
- Comprehension
- The interpretation and meaning a consumer gives to perceived information using prior knowledge.
- Working memory
- The temporary system that holds and uses information while a task is being performed.
- Brand schema
- A connected network of associations that represents what a brand means in memory.
- Central route
- Effortful persuasion in which consumers scrutinise issue-relevant arguments.
- Peripheral route
- Lower-effort persuasion in which simple cues and accessible inferences carry more weight.
- Social proof
- Information about other people's behaviour that can guide choice under uncertainty.
MKTG6007 FAQ
How is the unit assessed in Semester 2 2026?
The current published table contains six coursework components: LookBook 18%, Out-of-Class Quiz 5%, Group Written Assignment 25%, Group Oral Presentation 20%, Changing Consumer Behaviour Challenge 30%, and Business Research Component 2%. The numeric weights total 100%. Confirm the current task instructions and submission details on your unit site.
What is the Out-of-Class Quiz format?
The published assessment overview describes an individual open-book quiz lasting 25 minutes. It uses multiple-choice and true-false questions and contains 30 questions in the current outline. Use practice to distinguish close concepts, then verify the live instructions and permitted materials on your unit site before the task.
What makes a strong LookBook entry?
Start with a bounded observation of a real stimulus or consumption episode. Select the closest course concept, explain the mechanism, identify what the example does not prove, and add a reflective implication. Avoid turning one example into a universal consumer claim or reproducing proprietary task wording.
How should the group written assignment use theory?
Define the consumer-relevant problem through an actor, behaviour and context. Use the smallest set of concepts that explains the evidence, then make every feature of the solution repair a diagnosed mechanism. State how the group would evaluate the result and what rival explanation could remain.
How should the group oral presentation be structured?
Communicate the problem, theoretical explanation and solution demonstration as one causal argument. Show the old and revised consumer journey, explain the mechanism in plain language, and close with the measure and limitation. Rehearse against the current time and submission instructions published for the task.
How do I reflect on the behaviour-change challenge?
Compare the planned change with the documented journey. Identify the cues, MAO conditions, attitudes, social influences or feedback that shaped action, then explain what you would change next. Treat your experience as bounded evidence and avoid claiming that every consumer will respond the same way.
Can AI help me study consumer behaviour concepts?
Use AI to generate fresh scenarios, contrast nearby concepts and test whether your reasoning survives a changed condition. Verify explanations against the unit materials, keep submitted work your own, and follow the current University and task-level guidance for permitted use in assessed work.
Questions students ask in each MKTG6007 chapter
- Why is consumer behaviour broader than buying?
- The unit includes decisions across acquisition, usage and disposition, across several kinds of offerings and across time. It also separates the people who influence, decide, purchase and use, so a purchase event is only one part of the analysis. Chapter 01 · Consumer Behaviour Foundations
- What is the difference between attention and comprehension?
- Attention concerns whether mental activity is allocated to the stimulus. Comprehension comes later and concerns the meaning given to what was perceived. A consumer can notice a claim clearly and still misunderstand it, so the remedy depends on the failed stage. Chapter 02 · Perception
- What is the difference between recognition and recall?
- Recognition responds to a present cue, while recall requires recovering information with less direct support. A brand can be recognised on a shelf but fail to enter memory during advance planning, so the marketing response should match the access the decision requires. Chapter 03 · Learning and Memory
- Does a celebrity always signal peripheral persuasion?
- No. The route describes consumer processing. A highly involved consumer may scrutinise the celebrity's expertise or fit and generate source derogation. Explain the MAO conditions before deciding whether the source functions as evidence or as a shortcut. Chapter 04 · Motivation and Attitudes
- Why is the consumer journey nonlinear?
- New information, changing criteria, bias or feedback can reopen search and evaluation after an apparent choice. Map the path that occurred rather than forcing the consumer through a single funnel. A loop can represent learning rather than failure. Chapter 05 · Consumer Decision Making
- How do I identify foot-in-the-door?
- Show a small initial request, compliance with that request and a later larger target request. Two requests alone are insufficient. Explain how consistency with the first action may support the second and assess whether the target can refuse freely. Chapter 06 · Social and Cultural Influences
- How do psychographics differ from demographics?
- Demographics describe observable categories and life context, while psychographics focus on values, activities, interests, opinions and lifestyle. They can complement one another, but neither determines behaviour. Show the mechanism that connects the variable to the decision. Chapter 07 · The Self and Psychographics
- How do I turn an observation into analysis?
- Describe the stimulus, context and response before interpreting them. Choose the closest course concept, explain the mechanism, identify what the example does not prove and state the next evidence needed. That boundary prevents a vivid case from becoming a universal claim. Chapter 08 · Applied Consumer Behaviour
How to prepare for the assessments
Revise MKTG6007 by building a mechanism map rather than memorising isolated definitions. Start with Motivation, Ability and Opportunity, then add the exposure to attention to perception to comprehension chain, the encoding to storage to retrieval process, and the central versus peripheral persuasion split. For each concept, write one diagnostic question, one boundary and one original example.
Practise with fresh scenarios so you can separate nearby ideas: attention from comprehension, recognition from recall, favourable attitude from behaviour, and social proof from household roles. Keep an assessment evidence log that records the stimulus, context, interpretation and uncertainty before you write a recommendation.
For group work, map the consumer journey and make every intervention feature trace to the identified mechanism. For the quiz, explain why the nearest rival answer is wrong. For reflective work, compare expectation with evidence and state what the next action changes. Confirm all current task instructions, dates and allowed tools on your unit site before submission.
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