Entry requirements
First-year examination in Psychology
Description
Economic and consumer behaviour is to a large extent social behaviour, which means that understanding social cognition is essential to understanding economic and consumer behaviour. This course provides advanced knowledge of social cognition (theories, paradigms, empirical findings) and of how this knowledge can in turn be applied to understand and influence economic and consumer behaviour. The course consists of 2 complementary parts: lectures and work group sessions. The lectures will provide a solid theoretical basis in social cognition. The work group sessions consist of discussion meetings on assigned readings. The discussions are initiated by students’ presentations of the topics. Students are encouraged to think actively about the assigned readings and topics by developing essay questions for each work group session. Moreover, during the course students are required to write and review a paper in which the theoretical ideas of the course are applied to a relevant question in the field of economic and consumer psychology.
Course objectives
Upon completion of the course, students can:
recognize and reproduce knowledge about the most important theories, paradigms, and empirical findings in the field of social cognition;
apply knowledge on social cognition to understand and analyse economic and consumer behaviour; and
explain, discuss, and report on problems regarding economic and consumer behaviour and has further developed his or her academic skills through reading, presenting, assessing, and discussing recent literature on economic and consumer behaviour.
Timetable
For the timetables of your lectures, workgroups, and exams, select your study programme.
Psychology timetables
Lectures
Work group sessions
Exams
Registration
Course
Students need to register for lectures, workgroups and exams.
Instructions for registration in courses for the 2nd and 3rd year
For information on registration periods consult the bachelor course registration
Elective
Elective students have to enroll for each course separately. For admission requirements contact your study advisor.
Exchange/Study abroad
For admission requirements, please contact your exchange coordinator.
Examination
Students are not automatically enrolled for an examination. They can register via uSis from 100 to 10 calendar days before the date; students who are not registered will not be permitted to take the examination.
Registering for exams
Mode of instruction
8 2-hour lectures and 8 2-hour mandatory work group sessions.
Assessment method
Examination consisting of multiple-choice and essay questions (50%) and work group sessions assignments (50%). The information presented in lectures and on Blackboard is part of the examination material.
Regulations on grade calculations
The Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences has instituted that instructors use a software programme for the systematic detection of plagiarism in students’ written work. In case of fraud disciplinary actions will be taken. Please see the information concerning fraud.
Reading list
- Fiske, S. T., & Taylor, S. E. (2013). Social Cognition (2nd edition)
Seminar 1
Wänke, M. (2009). What’s social about consumer behavior? In: M. Wänke (Ed.), Social psychology of consumer
behavior (pp. 3-18). New York: Psychology Press.Crusius, J., van Horen, F., & Mussweiler, T. (2012). Why process matters: A social cognition perspective on
economic behavior. Journal of Economic Psychology, 33(3), 677-685.Dijksterhuis, A., Smith, P. K., van Baaren, R. B., & Wigboldus, D. H. J. (2005). The unconscious consumer:
Effects of environment on consumer behavior. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 15, 193-202.Chartrand, T. L. (2005). The role of conscious awareness in consumer behavior. Journal of Consumer
Psychology, 15(3), 203-210.
Seminar 2
Karremans, J. C., Stroebe, W., & Claus, J. (2006). Beyond Vicary’s fantasies: The impact of subliminal priming
and brand choice. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 42(6), 792-798.Bermeitinger, C., Goelz, R., Johr, N., Neumann, M., Ecker, U. K., & Doerr, R. (2009). The hidden persuaders
break into the tired brain. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45(2), 320-326.Verwijmeren, T., Karremans, J. C., Stroebe, W., & Wigboldus, D. H. (2011). The workings and limits of subliminal
advertising: The role of habits. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 21(2), 206-213Kopetz, C. E., Kruglanski, A. W., Arens, Z. G., Etkin, J., & Johnson, H. M. (2012). The dynamics of consumer
behavior: A goal systemic perspective. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 22(2), 208-223.Kruglanski, A. W., Chernikova, M., Rosenzweig, E., & Kopetz, C. (2014). On motivational readiness. Psychological Review, 121(3), 367.
Seminar 3
Van Koningsbruggen, G. M., Stroebe, W., & Aarts, H. (2011). Through the eyes of dieters: Biased size
perception of food following tempting food primes. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 47(2), 293-299.Dunning, D., & Balcetis, E. (2013). Wishful seeing how preferences shape visual perception. Current Directions
in Psychological Science, 22(1), 33-37.Krishna, A. (2012). An integrative review of sensory marketing: Engaging the senses to affect perception,
judgment and behavior. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 22(3), 332-351.Topolinski, S., Lindner, S., & Freudenberg, A. (2014). Popcorn in the cinema: Oral interference sabotages
advertising effects. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 24(2), 169-176.Bruner, J. S. & Goodman, C. C. (1947). Value and need as organizing factors in perception. Journal of Abnormal
and Social Psychology, 42, 33-44.
Seminar 4
Pettit, N. C., & Sivanathan, N. (2011). The plastic trap self-threat drives credit usage and status
consumption. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 2(2), 146-153.Carter, T. J., & Gilovich, T. (2012). I am what I do, not what I have: the differential centrality of experiential and
material purchases to the self. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102(6), 1304.Belk, R. W. (2013). Extended self in a digital world. Journal of Consumer Research, 40(3), 477-500.
Kim, K., & Johnson, M. K. (2013). Extended self: spontaneous activation of medial prefrontal cortex by objects
that are ‘mine’. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 9(7), 1006-1012.
Seminar 5
Kruger, J., Wirtz, D., Van Boven, L., & Altermatt, T. W. (2004). The effort heuristic. Journal of Experimental
Social Psychology, 40(1), 91-98.Cho, H., & Schwarz, N. (2008). Of great art and untalented artists: Effort information and the flexible construction of judgmental heuristics. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 18(3), 205-211.
Loschelder, D. D., Stuppi, J., & Trötschel, R. (2013). “€ 14,875?!”: Precision boosts the anchoring potency of first
offers. Social Psychological and Personality Science. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1177/
1948550613499942Slovic, P., Finucane, M., Peters, E., & MacGregor, D. G. (2002). Rational actors or rational fools: Implications of
the affect heuristic for behavioral economics. The Journal of Socio-Economics, 31(4), 329-342.
Seminar 6
Briñol, P. & Petty, R. E (2003). Overt head movements and persuasion: A self-validation analysis. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 1123-1139. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.84.6.1123Schneider, I. K., Eerland, A., van Harreveld, F., Rotteveel, M., van der Pligt, J., Van der Stoep, N., & Zwaan, R.
A. (2013). One way and the other the bidirectional relationship between ambivalence and body movement. Psychological Science, 319-325. doi:10.1177/0956797612457393Bullens, L., van Harreveld, F., Förster, J., & van der Pligt, J. (2013). Reversible decisions: The grass isn’t merely
greener on the other side; it’s also very brown over here. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 49(6), 1093-1099. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2013.07.011Briñol, P., & Petty, R. E. (2012). The history of attitudes and persuasion research. In A. Kruglanski & W. Stroebe
(Eds.), Handbook of the history of social psychology (pp. 285-320). New York: Psychology Press.
Seminar 7
Kubota, J. T., Li, J., Bar-David, E., Banaji, M. R., & Phelps, E. A. (2013). The price of racial bias: Intergroup
negotiations in the ultimatum game. Psychological Science, 24(12), 2498-2504.Mazzocco, P. J., Rucker, D. D., Galinsky, A. D., & Anderson, E. T. (2012). Direct and vicarious conspicuous
consumption: Identification with low-status groups increases the desire for high-status goods. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 22(4), 520-528.Reutner, L., Hansen, J., & Greifeneder, R. (2015). The cold heart: Reminders of money cause feelings of
physical coldness. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 490-495.Yang, Q., Wu, X., Zhou, X., Mead, N. L., Vohs, K. D., & Baumeister, R. F. (2013). Diverging effects of clean
versus dirty money on attitudes, values, and interpersonal behavior. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 104(3), 473-489.Kervyn, N., Fiske, S. T., & Malone, C. (2012). Brands as intentional agents framework: How perceived intentions
and ability can map brand perception. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 22(2), 166-167.Aggarwal, P., & Mcgill, A. L. (2012). When brands seem human, do humans act like brands? Automatic
behavioral priming effects of brand anthropomorphism. Journal of Consumer Research, 39(2), 307-323.
Seminar 8
Lelieveld, G. J., Van Dijk, E., Van Beest, I., Steinel, W., & Van Kleef, G. A. (2011). Disappointed in you, angry
about your offer: Distinct negative emotions induce concessions via different mechanisms. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 47(3), 635-641.Fehr, E., & Gächter, S. (2002). Altruistic punishment in humans. Nature, 415(6868), 137-140.
Seip, E. C., van Dijk, W. W., & Rotteveel, M. (2009). On hotheads and dirty harries. Annals of the New York
Academy of Sciences, 1167(1), 190-196.Scherer, K. R. (2011). On the rationality of emotions: or, When are emotions rational? Social Science
Information, 50(3-4), 330-350.Van Kleef, G. A., Van Doorn, E. A., Heerdink, M. W., & Koning, L. F. (2011). Emotion is for influence. European
Review of Social Psychology, 22(1), 114-163.
Contact information
Dr. D.T. Scheepers scheepersdt@fsw.leidenuniv.nl