Read posts about neuromarketing on Sentient Decision Science’s implicit market research blog.
Society revolves around an endless parade of enviable goods—Rolex watches, Prada handbags, cars flaunting the Ferrari logo, and artwork by Rembrandt, Monet, or Warhol. After depositing a paycheck, we race to the shopping mall to snatch up the latest and greatest items, never pausing to consider the true reasons behind our “need” for these products. […]
Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein wrote Nudge with optimism and dedication as primary tools while arguing for ways which we could improve our world. And there’s no government policy shift necessary – we only need to pay closer consideration to how we present decisions to individuals. The authors show how small changes in such “choice architecture” can produce big results. You might be surprised, but just by changing the order of food items in a cafeteria can increase or decrease the frequency which certain foods are selected by as much as 25%. Imagine, just from placing the vegetables at eye level in a prominent position in our school cafeterias and placing the Hostess delicacies on a hard-to-reach shelf (or even more sinister, hide them in a cupboard where students must open a door to access them), we could significantly improve our children’s diets.
Dan Ariely, the James B. Duke Professor of Behavioral Economics at Duke University and author of Predictably Irrational, recently published an insightful article in the Harvard Business Review titled “The End of Rational Economics.” Following the global economic crisis, it has become painfully apparent that individuals do not always make rational decisions and the invisible […]
Imagine the following scenario for a moment. You have been dating Brian for some time. He has been with you through thick and thin; your strong emotional connection can weather any storm. He is completely loyal and faithful to you. However, one day, you realize that his wealthy friend, Ryan, is pretty darn attractive. You […]
Coming Home to Eat is a personal story. A man’s personal experience trying to grow crops in Arizona, a man’s personal relationship with indigenous groups trying to reclaim their ancestral dietary traditions, even a man’s (graphically) personal intimacy with his girlfriend blindfolded under a peach tree. It is a hyper-idealized narrative about Gary Paul Nabhan’s endeavor to experience his daily nutritional intake on a more fundamental and traditional plain.