42635 - Psychology of Food Consumption

Learning outcomes

Students will know basic psychological mechanisms useful to understand human behaviours; will also understand cognitive, affective and decision making processes that sustain purchase and consumption processes and especially food consumption. Relevance for modern delivery of food services of understanding consumers needs is also underlined.

Course contents

Consumer behavior models

Perception

Learning

Motivation

Personality

Attitudes

Consumer decision making

Readings/Bibliography

- Williams K.C., Psicologia per il marketing, Bologna, Il Mulino, (capitoli da II a VIII)

- Conner M., Armitage C. (2008) La psicologia a tavola, Bologna: Il Mulino, (capitolo atteggiamenti, pp. 64-80).

Teaching methods

Lectures, exercises, design of customer satisfaction surveys, interviews to managers of food services.

Assessment methods

Assessment methods implies two parts: 

1) knowledge test (4-5 open questions on parts of the program);

2) presentation of an individual case study conducted by interviewing a manager, staff personnel and customers of a real restaurant, sel-service, or other catering services, collecting information, describing and giving recommendation on the service.

Teaching tools

Overhead projector, power point presentations

Office hours

See the website of Salvatore Zappalà