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CERTIFICATE IN BUSINESS PSYCHOLOGY VPS017

Duration (approx) 600 hours
Qualification

Study business and psychology - learn how people think in business.

  • Unique course offering both business and psychology studies.
  • Learn more about the theories of psychology relating to business.
  • Increase productivity in your work place by understanding your staff and creating a workplace that supports them.
  • Gain an understanding of marketing psychology and promote your business successfully.
  • Learn about conflict management and apply this to your business to create a more positive environment and productive work place.

Modules

Core ModulesThese modules provide foundation knowledge for the CERTIFICATE IN BUSINESS PSYCHOLOGY VPS017
 BUSINESS COACHING BBS304
 INDUSTRIAL PSYCHOLOGY BPS103
 MARKETING PSYCHOLOGY BPS107
Elective ModulesIn addition to the core modules, students study any 3 of the following 9 modules.
 BUSINESS PLANNING BBS302
 CAREERS COUNSELLING BPS202
 CONFLICT MANAGEMENT BPS201
 ENTREPRENEURSHIP - BBS204
 INDUSTRY PROJECT BIP000
 INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY BPS101
 LEADERSHIP BBS110
 MOTIVATION VBS111
 STRESS MANAGEMENT VPS100

It's easy to enrol...

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Select a learning method

Please note, choosing offline (USB stick) will attract a 5% surcharge on top of the course fee

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Use the principles of psychology to improve your knowledge and understanding of how to run a more successful business.

  • Understand more about the psychology of business - the workplace, the business environment, and the market place.
  • Deal better with your employees or staff to run a business effectively and efficiently.
  • Understand theories of psychology in relation to marketing and improve the performance of your business.

Course Structure And Content

The Certificate In Business Psychology is a 600 hour course that you study by distance learning. It is available to start at any time.

The course comprises of three Core Modules, plus a further three modules that you select from a range of Elective Modules - this enables you to focus your qualification on areas of particular interest and benefit to you.

 
Marketing Your Business 

Anyone who works in a field of marketing needs to understand the consumer - who their customers are, and what they want. When it comes to manufacturing and selling products, one of the quickest routes to bankruptcy is by accumulating stock and then hoping that the buyers will come. It is imperative to know who you are selling to so that you can meet their needs and demands.

Principles of Marketing Psychology

The consumer is influenced not only by market regulations and finances, but also by demographic factors (such as their location, gender, household size, etc.) and psychological factors (such as information processing, group influences, and personality).

Consumer behaviour can be viewed as a combination of personal characteristics, product characteristics and situational factors.

Knowing your customer is a crucial starting point in selling. You need to think about:

  • Who will buy your products - most of your resources should go into targeting this group.
  • Who might buy your products - this group might be tempted with appropriate marketing.
  • Who definitely won't buy your products - you could waste a lot of time and money targeting people who are totally disinterested otherwise.

Retailers must be able to:

  • Satisfy their customer's needs.
  • Satisfy their customer's wants.

Customer Needs

Customer need is less complex than wants. In order to satisfy a customer's needs it is usually only really necessary to gather information pertaining to what they bought, and where and when they bought it.

A lot of marketing theory has seen the application of Abraham Maslow's 'hierarchy of needs' (1954) as a way of marrying psychology and marketing. Maslow's needs are based on a hierarchy of human needs where basic physiological needs such as food and sex must first be satisfied before we seek to appease needs for safety, love, esteem, meaning, aesthetics, and ultimately self-actualisation - reaching one's full potential.

This hierarchy of needs is an explanation of motivation. It has been applied with some credibility to the behaviour of employees in workplace situations as well as other areas of life. However, criticisms of the model include the fact that there are many instances where higher needs are met whilst lower physiological needs are not, or where people may value specific types of needs over others based on their personal circumstances and aspirations. It is therefore not really accurate to suggest that needs are hierarchical in nature.

When applied to marketing, proponents of this theory have also often failed to take into account that Maslow was a humanist and, if anything, his theory is more able to explain why people may consume less rather than more goods. It does, however, provide a useful starting point for advertisers because they can focus their campaigns on a need level likely to be shared by members of their target market. It also helps with product positioning in that the product can be presented in a particular way to appeal to the needs of its potential customers.

Others such as Carl Rogers (1961) believed that people only had two fundamental needs - the need for positive regard and the need for self-actualisation. By positive regard, Rogers meant the need to be viewed positively by others. For instance, this is often attained through a loving family or a loving relationship and without fulfilment individuals would be harmed psychologically. This need could also be satisfied through approval from others, and this is an area advertisers have sought to exploit.

The satisfaction of the need for self-actualisation which Rogers also regarded as paramount for good mental health can be achieved through anything which involves actualising our natural talents.

Packard (1957) identified eight needs in consumers which he claimed advertisers promised to fulfil. Through careful application of messages within advertising, merchandisers were able to tune into these needs so that consumer's would be compelled to buy their products.

  • Emotional Security - products are marketed as items of security, warmth, and safety.
  • Reassurance of Self-worth - products are sold to reassure the purchaser of their role in the world.
  • Ego-gratification - advertising includes images of people who recommend a product actually using it.
  • Creativity - products which enable the purchaser to take a role in the completed version, e.g. mixing ingredients, allow for fulfilment of creative needs.
  • Object of Love - the product is compared to something beautiful and adorable.
  • Sense of Power - the owner of the product will have more control.
  • Sense of Roots - products used by the family e.g. special occasions, can appeal to a sense of roots.
  • Immortality - products can have value from one generation to the next.

Enrol today - focus on improving the performance of your business

You can enrol on the Certificate In Business Psychology today. You study by distance learning - either online or by eLearning - meaning you can study when and where you want to. You are supported and guided in your studies by our expert tutors - all highly qualified with extensive real world experience.

Any Questions?

Our tutors are more than happy to answer any questions, so please click here to ask a question.

Request a copy of our handbook here.

Courses can be started anytime from anywhere in the world!

Meet some of our academics

Tracey Jones (psychology)B.Sc. (Hons) (Psychology), M.Soc.Sc (social work), DipSW (social work), PGCE (Education), PGD (Learning Disability Studies) Tracey began studying psychology in 1990. She has a wide range of experience within the psychology and social work field, particularly working with people with learning disabilities. She is also qualified as a teacher and now teaches psychology and social work related subjects. She has been a book reviewer for the British Journal of Social Work and has also written many textbooks, blogs, articles and ebooks on psychology, writing, sociology, child development and more. She has had also several short stories published.


Check out our eBooks

Working With PeopleAre you a "people person" looking for a job; or a better understanding of careers that might suit you? If so, this book was written for YOU!
Saving Your BusinessMost businesses fail; but failure is more often than not avoidable. This book shows you how to quickly get a handle on what is wrong, take action, and give a shaky business the best chance of resurgence.
Marketing PsychologyThe Marketing Psychology ebook will provide you with an understanding of the psychology behind the consumer decision making process. With 52 pages of insight into marketing psychology and consumer behaviour, this ebook help you understand consumers much more effectively. Marketing psychology is about understanding people’s purchasing behaviour and applying that understanding to the advertising, marketing and ultimately the selling of products or services.
Modern MarketingThis book explores new approaches to marketing, how to adapt to a continually changing world both through online marketing, and more. Some aspects of marketing never change; but many of the well established approaches used in the past simply do not work any more. This book lays a foundation for thinking about marketing in a different way