Leadership

Aaron Reid, Ph. D. - Founder and Chief Behavioral Scientist

Dr. Reid founded Sentient Decision Science in 2007 in response to a need for the market research industry to benefit more quickly from the insights coming out of the behavioral sciences. Aaron saw 15 to 20 year lags in business community adoption of new insight on the drivers of behavior, and decided that in this global business world an American company should lead the way in market research innovation. Client response has been tremendous and Sentient has received numerous accolades for the unrivaled insight the company provides to its clients.

“The global economy demands innovation more than ever and companies all over the world should be able to turn to their market research partners and access the best knowledge we have on the drivers of behaviors. It is our responsibility as an industry to innovate and the time to do it is now. Moving the market research industry forward will move the business community forward, creating new jobs and stimulating the economy here at home and abroad, affording better lifestyles and more security across the globe. As an industry, we need to step up and say we’re no longer satisfied with methods that provide data that is “good enough” or worse. As an industry, we need to take our best thinking and translate it into real business advantage for our clients. We need practical and precise methods that businesses can easily understand and implement to their advantage. That is how we stay viable. That is how we create lasting value. At Sentient, we intend to lead the market research industry into the new global economy and we intend to create tremendous value along way. And wow, as an offshoot we get to advance human understanding of the drivers of behavior, what could be more fun than gaining a deeper understanding of why people do what they do? Behavior is infinitely interesting - we’re truly fortunate to be in the business of behavioral insight.”

- Aaron Reid, Ph.D. - Chief Behavioral Scientist

Dr. Reid is Chief Behavioral Scientist at Sentient Decision Science, and is the Director of the Center for Automatic Brand Associations. A cognitive psychologist by training, with a published research record in the decision-making literature, his areas of expertise include how emotion influences choice, advanced statistical modeling, and the non-conscious drivers of brand associations. Dr. Reid frequently presents his research and mathematical models of consumer behavior at trade conferences and is an adjunct professor of Psychology at Middlebury College where he has taught his unconscious research methods and his course on Emotion and Rationality.