Katherine Ziegelbauer

This course is available on the CEMS Exchange, Global MSc in Management, Global MSc in Management (CEMS MIM), Global MSc in Management (MBA Exchange), MBA Exchange, MSc in Management (1 Year Programme) and MSc in Management (1 Year Programme) (Work Placement Pathway). This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit. This course uses controlled access as part of the course selection process. For information on controlled access courses, including eligibility, application processes, deadlines, and departmental contact details, please refer to the Controlled Access Courses webpage.

How to apply:

Places on oversubscribed courses will be allocated via a random ballot process with priority given to students with the course in their Programme Regulations, followed by other Department of Management students, then students from elsewhere in the school. Providing you apply before the Department deadline of 10am on Monday 28 September 2026, the time you applied will not be taken into account. Please be aware that places on high demand courses cannot be guaranteed. By submitting an application, students are confirming that they meet any pre-requisites specified. Providing an additional written statement will not aid a student’s chances of being accepted onto a course, and statements are not read.

For further information and updates on course availability during Week 1, please see the Department of Management Electives Moodle page.

Deadline for application:

Please apply by 10am on Monday 28 September 2026 with your first course choices. No allocations are made before this date and time.

For queries contact:

Please view the Department of Management Electives page for contact emails.

Mutually exclusive courses:

This course cannot be taken with MG404 at any time on the same degree programme.

Additional requisites:

This course is not available to MSc Marketing students.

For many companies, non-profit organisations, and political figures, success relies on understanding the “consumers.” What is it that they really want, and why? What information will they attend to, and what will they ignore? How do they make decisions, why do they sometimes make bad ones, and how can we help them make better ones? It can be tempting to answer these questions intuitively, based on your own experiences as a consumer. However, intuitions about human psychology are often wrong. This course builds a rigorous, evidence-based understanding of consumer psychology, drawing on contemporary research and examining how behavioural insights are applied in practice—from traditional marketing contexts to digital platforms, AI-driven personalisation, and algorithmic decision-making systems.

• Chronic and temporary sources of customer needs, desires, and motivations
• How customers search for information, acquire, and process information
• How customers allocate attention and how to attract it
• Customer decision-making processes, and the heuristics and biases that play a role
• The formation of attitudes and intentions, and processes for persuasively changing them
• Social influences on intentions and behaviour, including unconscious determinants
• How digital environments and AI-powered systems interact with human decision-making processes
• Why intentions are or are not translated into behaviour, and strategies to narrow the intention-behaviour gap in both offline and digital contexts.

Course content is refreshed continually to incorporate current research, emerging technologies, and evolving business practices.

30 hours of seminars in the Autumn Term.

This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Autumn Term.

In its Ethics Code, LSE upholds a commitment to intellectual freedom. This means we will protect the freedom of expression of our students and staff and the right to engage in healthy debate in the classroom. 

Regular multiple-choice quizzes to assess understanding and application of course concepts.

• Consumer Behavior, 6th edition. Hoyer, MacInnis, & Pieters. South-Western Cengage Learning, 2010; 
• Consumer Behavior: Science and Practice. Kardes, Cronley & Cline. South-Western Cengage Learning. 
• Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. Cialdini, Robert. Collins Business, 2006. 

Further references, especially for journal articles and HBS case studies, will be provided at the commencement of the course. 

Essay (70%).

Discussion post (30%).

For detailed assessment information, including all deadlines and timings, please see the relevant course Moodle page. Assessment timings will be available at the start of each term.