Writing 2
The purpose of the assignment is to get you to think about the psychology of consumer behavior by applying it to your own life. The theories and concepts that you apply are basically up to your own perception of your behavior. However, these must be theories grounded in the text and classroom discussion. The journal will have three goals: understanding the influences behind your purchases, understanding the consequences of your purchases, and giving you a chance to reassess and change your purchase patterns.
The method is as follows:
For a 2 week period, you must keep a daily diary of the products you purchase. This is simply a listing of the products, when, and where you made the purchase. Online and offline. This includes something as simple as that morning coffee or a candy bar.
At the end of the 2 weeks look for 3 products you seem to “consume” most regularly or consistently.
Why you bought that product over another (why did you buy Dunkin Donuts coffee over Starbuck’s or why did you get Tacos instead of burgers?)
What advantages or disadvantages resulted from purchasing that product over others?
Your satisfaction/dissatisfaction with the purchase
Your intent to continue that purchase (or note if you decided to change your purchase pattern & why)
At the end of the 2 weeks, choose 3 key products and consider the one major psychological factor or process for each separate product (e.g. peer pressure, learning, subliminal messages etc.) that contributed most to your consumption pattern (i.e. one different process for each of the 3 products).
