The course is designed to provide a strong foundation for critical thinking in the area of consumer behavior. The course is based on social and cognitive psychology and will examine how consumers integrate external communication such as advertising and product information to form or change attitudes. The goal of this course is not only to impart knowledge about the body of consumer behavior but also to help learners to develop interests and preferences in consumer behavior related issues. This course focuses on understanding and forecasting consumer behavior by integrating theories from psychology, sociology, anthropology and economics. The topics to be covered in this course include the role of the consumer and the marketer; internal influences of consumer behavior such as motivation, personality, self-image, perception, learning, attitude formation and change, and communication; external influences such as culture, subculture, and family, the diffusion of innovations, marketing ethics and consumer decision making.