Cambridge A Level Psychology 9990: Consumer Psychology — Revision Notes

These notes condense Specialist Option 2, Consumer Psychology, of Cambridge International A Level Psychology 9990 (syllabus for 2024 to 2026). The option has five topics: the physical environment, the psychological environment, consumer decision-making, the product, and advertising. Each topic has three sub-topics, and the exam can ask you to describe, evaluate or apply any of them.

Read the Consumer Psychology study guide for full explanations, then test yourself with the Consumer Psychology practice questions.

What is on the Consumer Psychology syllabus?

Topic	Sub-topics	Key study
2.1 Physical environment	Store design; sound; atmospherics	North et al. (2003) music and spending
2.2 Psychological environment	Wayfinding and movement; menu design; personal space and queues	Robson et al. (2011) table spacing
2.3 Decision-making	Models and strategies; heuristics; mistakes	Hall et al. (2010) choice blindness
2.4 The product	Packaging and shelf position; selling; buying	Becker et al. (2011) packaging and taste
2.5 Advertising	Media and models; personality and placement; brands and slogans	Snyder and DeBono (1985) self-monitoring

Key terms

Term	Meaning
Grid layout	Parallel aisles; efficient, used in supermarkets
Freeform layout	Irregular fixtures; encourages browsing
Racetrack layout	A main loop leads shoppers past every department
PAD model	Pleasure, arousal, dominance produce approach or avoidance (Mehrabian and Russell)
Wayfinding	Finding one’s way through a space using cues such as signs and maps
Trip types	Short, round, central, wave
Spatial behaviour patterns	Specialist, native, tourist, explorer, raider
Hall’s zones	Intimate, personal, social, public
Utility theory	Rational choice of the option with the greatest value
Satisficing	Choosing the first option that is good enough
Prospect theory	Gains and losses judged from a reference point; losses loom larger
Compensatory strategy	Weighs all attributes; strengths can offset weaknesses
Non-compensatory strategy	Rejects options failing on a key attribute
Anchoring	Judgement pulled towards an initial number
Choice blindness	Failing to notice that a chosen option has been switched
Planogram	Shelf-placement diagram
Central gaze cascade	Centre products get more attention and are chosen more
Disrupt-then-reframe	Confuse with an odd detail, then reframe the offer positively
Need for cognitive closure	Desire for a quick, firm answer
Post-purchase dissonance	Discomfort after a purchase that conflicts with beliefs
Self-monitoring	Degree of adjusting behaviour to fit social situations
Mere exposure	Repeated exposure increases liking

Key studies at a glance

Study	What was done	What was found	Evaluate with
North et al. (2003)	Classical, pop or no music on different evenings in a restaurant; spending recorded	Spending per head highest with classical music	Field experiment: ecological validity high, but no random allocation of diners
Robson et al. (2011)	Web survey of 1,013 Americans: tables 6, 12 or 24 inches apart x business, friend or romantic scenario	Close spacing lowered comfort and satisfaction, especially for private conversations	Applied value; imagined situations may not predict real behaviour
Hall et al. (2010)	Supermarket tasting stall; chosen jam or tea secretly switched	No more than a third of switches detected; people justified a choice they had not made	Realistic setting; deception needed, so debriefing essential
Becker et al. (2011)	Yoghurt tasted from packages varying in shape and colour saturation	Angular shapes and saturated colour raised perceived taste intensity	Controlled experiment; narrow product range
Snyder and DeBono (1985)	Self-monitoring measured; adverts with image or quality appeals (focus study 3)	High self-monitors favoured image appeals; low self-monitors favoured quality claims	Practical for targeting; student samples, self-report measures

Must-know lists

• Store exterior: storefront, window displays, landscaping.
• Five Yale model features: source, message, medium, audience, effect.
• Lauterborn’s 4 Cs: consumer, cost, convenience, communication.
• Five heuristics: availability, representativeness, recognition, take-the-best, anchoring.
• Cialdini’s six: reciprocity, commitment and consistency, social proof, liking, authority, scarcity.
• Sales techniques: customer-focused, competitor-focused, product-focused.
• Engel Kollat Blackwell stages: problem recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase, outcomes.
• Interference: retroactive (new disrupts old) and proactive (old disrupts new), Burke and Srull (1988).

Worked example: applying a heuristic

A supermarket puts up a sign: “Tins of soup, 4 for £3. Limit 12 per customer.” Explain why this might increase sales. The “4 for £3” offer is multiple unit pricing, and “12” acts as an anchor: shoppers start from that number and adjust down, so they buy more than they would have. Wansink et al. (1998) found both techniques increased purchase quantity. A strong answer names the heuristic, applies it to the sign and cites the study.

Mini essay plan: “Evaluate the effects of the physical environment on consumers” [10]

1. Support: North et al. (2003) and Chebat and Michon (2003) show music and odour change perceptions and spending.
2. Validity: field settings are realistic but uncontrolled; confounding variables such as weather or day of week.
3. Individual differences: Machleit et al. (2000) show crowding effects depend on expectations and tolerance, so situational explanations are not the whole story.
4. Determinism and ethics: shoppers may be influenced without awareness; is this manipulation?
5. Cultural differences: music, odour and crowding preferences vary; findings from one country may not generalise.
6. Conclusion: strong applied value, but effects are modest and depend on the person and setting.

Common mistakes and exam traps

• Mixing up retroactive and proactive interference.
• Calling satisficing “making the best choice”; it is choosing a good-enough one.
• Describing the PAD model without the outcome (approach or avoidance).
• For Snyder and DeBono, writing detailed methods for studies 1 and 2; the syllabus says focus on study 3.
• Forgetting that Hall et al. is a field study with deception; ethics marks are often available.
• Listing Hall’s zones without approximate distances when the question asks you to describe them.

Quick self-test

1. Name the four trip types.
2. Which menu positions did Dayan and Bar-Hillel (2011) find were chosen most?
3. What are the three functions of personal space on the syllabus?
4. Define a non-compensatory strategy with an example.
5. What did Atalay et al. (2012) use to study shelf position?
6. Which factors increase the need for cognitive closure?
7. Name the explanation for product placement effects based on familiarity.
8. Who studied children’s recognition of logos in 1991?

Answers: (1) short, round, central, wave; (2) the beginning and end of a category list; (3) overload, arousal, behaviour constraint; (4) rejecting any option that fails on one key attribute, e.g. “no phone under 128 GB storage”; (5) eye-tracking; (6) time pressure, fatigue, noise; (7) mere exposure; (8) Fischer et al.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need exact figures from the key studies? Approximate findings and direction of results are enough in most answers. Precise figures help in Paper 4 questions on data, so learn any that you are confident about.

How do I make Consumer Psychology answers stand out? Apply the concept to the specific shop, restaurant or advert in the question, and name the study that supports your point.

Official syllabus

Cambridge International AS & A Level Psychology 9990 syllabus for 2024, 2025 and 2026, Specialist Option 2: Consumer Psychology — cambridgeinternational.org.

Related resources

• Consumer Psychology study guide
• Consumer Psychology practice questions
• Specialist Options revision notes