PSY70011: Brain and Behaviour

Assignment 1B: Essay

Word/time limit: 1500 words (+/- 10%)

Weighting: 30%

Due date: 5pm AEST Monday 1 September 2025 (Week 8)

Individual/team task: Individual

After you have read this information, head over to the Assignment 1B Q&A discussion board to ask any questions and see what your peers are saying about this assignment.

Assignment overview

This assignment will help you develop fundamental skills in APA formatting, academic writing, and the critical evaluation of research. The learning materials, activities and discussions provide opportunities to develop the relevant skills and knowledge for completing the essay. 

This assignment assesses unit learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

View the Rubric to learn about this assignment’s marking criteria.

Assignment details

Task

For this assignment, you will write an essay that critically reviews the research that relates to the topic outlined in the structure section

Essay topic

The essay is as follows:

How does sensory marketing influence consumer decision-making?

In modern marketing, sensory marketing has become an integral tool for influencing consumer behaviour. Sensory marketing involves engaging consumers’ senses to create a stronger brand identity and improve customer experience. Understanding how sensory stimuli affect perception and decision-making can help businesses develop effective marketing strategies.

The purpose of this essay is to review how sensory marketing influences consumer decision-making. Discuss various sensory modalities (visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, and tactile) and their impact on consumer perception and behaviour. Evaluate the effectiveness and ethical considerations of sensory marketing strategies.

In this essay, please:

1. Describe sensory marketing and its significance in consumer psychology.

2. Explain how different sensory modalities are used in marketing to influence consumer behaviour. Provide examples and evidence.

3. Discuss the psychological mechanisms through which sensory stimuli affect consumer perception and decision-making.

4. Evaluate the effectiveness of sensory marketing strategies. Include empirical evidence.

5. Consider the ethical implications of using sensory marketing.

For this essay, you will review the research literature on sensory marketing. Given the complexity of this topic, you may need to focus on a few key studies to stay within the word limits. You will need to refer to at least four articles in your essay: the two starting references plus at least two you find independently. You will need to support your argument with the credible source material, which you may have found during your literature search for Assignment 1A: Article analysis.

Starting references

You must locate and read the following journal articles:

Title: An integrative review of sensory marketing: Engaging the senses to affect perception, judgment, and behaviour.

Authors: Krishna, A.

Publication Details: Journal of Consumer Psychology, (2012) 22(3), 332–351. 

Title: Multisensory design: Reaching out to touch the consumer

Authors: Spence, C., & Gallace, A.

Publication Details: Psychology & Marketing, (2011) 28(3), 267–308.

Note that these references are not in APA format. You are required to correctly format references in your essay’s reference list.

The following video was created by psychology lecturer Dr Ben Bullock from Swinburne University and discusses writing critical review essays specifically in relation to this assignment. Please note this video refers to APA 6. Please refer to the most recent updated APA 7 style for your assignments.

Critical review essay (2015) created by Swinburne University of Technology

Structure

Structure for your essay

Assignment title page (not marked but mandatory for submission)

The title page should include the title (Assignment 1B: Essay), your name, your OLA’s name, and the assignment due date. See figure 5.2 on page 77 of your eText, How to write psychology research reports and essays (9th ed.) (Kaufmann & Findlay, 2021), for a template of what your title page should look like.

Introduction

The introductory paragraph should broadly outline the topic, briefly explain why it is an important issue, and outline what you will discuss and/or argue in the essay.

Body

The body of the essay should define key concepts, as well as describe and evaluate the research literature that is relevant to the topic. You will need to work the research literature into a story or narrative that helps you to present your perspective on the topic in a logical and coherent manner. The following questions will help guide you:

 What is sensory marketing, and why is it important in consumer psychology?

 How do different sensory modalities (visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, and tactile) influence consumer behaviour?

 What are the psychological mechanisms through which sensory stimuli affect consumer perception and decision-making?

 What is the empirical evidence supporting the effectiveness of sensory marketing strategies?

 What are the ethical considerations related to sensory marketing?

 Based on the information and evidence reviewed, what might you recommend for businesses implementing sensory marketing strategies and for future research in this area?

 Are the papers you have reviewed for your paper high quality? (i.e., are they reliable, replicable, are the conclusions the authors draw valid?)

Conclusion

The concluding paragraph is an integrated summary of your major points and a final statement of your understanding of what the research literature has to say on this topic. You should not introduce new material in the conclusion and should avoid citations.

Reference list

The reference list should include all of the research literature you have cited in your essay, listed in alphabetical order by first author’s surname, and presented in the correct APA 7th edition style. In order to receive a Distinction or High Distinction for the references criterion of this assignment, you must include at least two of the starter articles used and at least one other found independently.

Supporting resources

You can create an APA formatted reference list using Word. Microsoft Office has provided information about How to automatically format bibliographies in APA. (Microsoft, 2021), which you may find useful.

For general information about assignments:

 Study resources (Swinburne Online, 2020).

 Swinburne APA style guide. (Swinburne Online, 2020).

 Essay writing guide. (Swinburne Online, 2020).

 Writing paragraphs (PDF 846 KB). Download Writing paragraphs (PDF 846 KB).

 Linking words and phrases (PDF 69 KB).Download Linking words and phrases (PDF 69 KB).

As you’re finalising your draft, don’t forget that the Alvie Assignment Feedback Tool is available 24/7 to help you refine your grammar, referencing, writing style, and more. For more details, see 0.4 Assignments and support.

The following essays received an HD mark in a previous study period. They are on a different topic, and are not perfect; however, they give you an idea of the approximate standard expected of an HD-level essay:

 Example-HD-essay-1 (PDF 96 KB). Download Example-HD-essay-1 (PDF 96 KB).

 Example-HD-essay-2 (PDF 118 KB) Download Example-HD-essay-2 (PDF 118 KB).

We also encourage you to watch the videos provided here on critical thinking within the university environment. Select each tab to view the videos.