96468 - Communication Psychology

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the student will have acquired psychological knowledge useful for understanding communicative behaviors. In particular, the student will be familiar with the main concepts and rules related to communicative competence, both verbal and non-verbal, and will be able to understand some of the cognitive, affective, and decision-making mechanisms underlying the processes of purchasing and consuming products and services in general, with a specific focus on food-related ones.

Course contents

Introduction to the Psychology of Communication

• Basic concepts of communication
  
• Visual and verbal codes
• Nonverbal communication
• Persuasive communication

Psychology of Communication and Neuromarketing

• Introduction to persuasive communication and neuromarketing
• Perception and the role of communication
  
• The role of emotions in persuasive processes
• Rationality, unawareness, and decisions
• Learning, memorization, and the role of communication
• Implicit and explicit attitudes and their measurement for persuasion
  

Readings/Bibliography

- Slides

- Introduzione alla psicologia della comunicazione, by Lotto and Rumiati, Ed. il Mulino (2013)

- Vincenzo Russo. Psicologia della comunicazione e neuromarketing, Ed. Pearson, MyLab (2017)

Teaching methods

The instructor will use slides to summarize the principles of Communication Psychology and Neuromarketing. Students will have the opportunity to access visual materials such as interesting videos taken from YouTube. Furthermore, specific neuroscientific investigation techniques applied to communication and the study of persuasion in advertising and gastronomy will be covered.

Assessment methods

The final exam will consist of a multiple-choice test on the topics covered in class.

There will be 21 multiple-choice questions and two open-ended questions to be completed within 90 minutes.

Scoring will be as follows: +1 point for each correct answer, 0 points for each incorrect or unanswered question. The open-ended questions will be evaluated for up to 5 points.

Teaching tools

- Course slides
- Textbooks (Psychology of Communication and Neuromarketing)
- Articles
- Course-related videos from YouTube

Office hours

See the website of Andrea Pavan