Chapter 1: Introduction
Neuromarketing: Part in marketing that studies the effect of marketing stimuli on consumer’s
sensimotor, cognitive and affective responses. Often seen as the commercial use of neuroscience
insights and tools that companies can use to better understand consumer responses to different
kinds of brands, product and service related communication effects
Consumer Neuroscience: A combination of the academic study of consumer psychology and
consumer behaviour, which are more focused on the way in which consumers respond and act.
Applied Neuroscience: Broader attempt to link the role of the brain to many different walks of life.
Cognitive Neuroscience: Focus on: brain bases of cognitive functions and processes
Affective Neuroscience: Focus on: brain mechanisms and underlying emotional responses
Decision Neuroscience: Focus on: neural mechanisms responsible for our choices
Social Neuroscience: Focus on: social life and the brain structures
Neuroeconomics: Study of the neural bases of economic behavior.
Neuroscience: This term is too broad.
Neurology: Study of brain disorder
Neurpsychology: Study of relationship between brain injury, disorder, changes in cognition, affect
and behavior.
How to use the brain to study consumer behaviour:
1. Methodological application of neuroscience: Cognitive and affective neuroscience offers a whole
new set of tools that can be used to study our direct unconscious responses to stimuli, that can
supplement or even sometimes replace other methodologies (neuroimaging)
2. Theoretical application of neuroscience: The study of the brain itself offers several insights that
can be key to understanding consumers. Reading a book on cognitive neuroscience can reveal new
insights into how we should understand consumers.
Why neuroscience in consumer behaviour?
1. Allows to assess human responses to different kinds of stimuli and conditions.
2. Human decision making deviates from a conscious process.
Notable effects that argue for a need for assessing unconscious effects in consumer choice:
1. Choices are often based on unconscious processes and influences
2. Emotions affect our choices
3. Decisions are not made after complete information is obtained, but happen almost instantly
We are not rational, fully informed, influenced by others, and purely conscious in decision making
External validity lacks in cognitive and affective neuroscience research: the way in which we can say
that lab based findings can explain our human behaviour.
Model of consumer Choice p. 9: model for understanding consumer behaviour (4 Stages)
1. Representation and Attention
Representation: The way in which needs and desires are presented to us
Attention: Bottom-up & Top-Down (Chapter 5)
2. Predicted Value: The value that an individual assigns to different options before they are chosen
3. Experienced Value: The consequences of our choice
Hedonic experience: Our experience of pleasure or displeasure.
4. Remembered Value & Learning:
Remembered Value: experienced, episodic and semantic memory of the event
Learning: intertwined with decision making: Choices and outcomes allow to learn from experience
0
, Chapter 2: The Brain
Brain Compass
Anterior (Forward) Posterior (Back)
Dorsal (Upwards) Ventral (Downwards)
Medial (Towards the middle) Lateral (Towards the sides)
Occipital Lobe – Back - Damage p.14
Functions: - Primary visual sensing
- Bottom-up Attention
- Contour, colour, movement
Relation to - Bottom-up attention: how visual properties automatically attract
consumer attention
behaviour: - Brand and product recognition
Parietal Lobe - Above the Occipital Lobe - Damage p. 15
Functions: - Spatial processing (where)
- Object action (how)
- Navigation
- Self-awareness
- Body Sense and Body Representation
- Attention & Consciousness
Relation to - Top-down attention: Willfully focus mental effort on certain items
consumer - Product Handling: Ability to learn to operate products
behaviour: - Product Navigation: Assistance on navigating real/virtual stores
Temporal Lobe – Bottom – Damage p.16
Functions: - Recognition of objects, places and faces
- Hearing and perception of sounds
- Memory (declarative, conscious)
- Social perception and reasoning
Relation to - Processing, learning and conscious memory of brands & products
consumer - Understanding of communication (via ads)
behaviour: - Social framing effects
Frontal Lobe – Front – Damage p.17
Functions: - Crude and sophisticated motor skills
- Planning and executive control
- Top-down attention and consciousness
- Working memory
- Hedonic Experience
- Social Cognition and behavior
Relation to - Consumer choice execution
consumer - Long-term planning of actions
behaviour: - Impulse control (or lack thereof)
- Manual handling of objects
- Hedonic Experience
Deep Structures of the Brain
Deep regions of the brain involves human’s complex processing capacity.
Autonomous Nervous System:
1. Sympathic: Activating
2. Parasympathic: Relaxing Sympathic and Parasympathic nervous system work in opposition.
3. Enteric
1
Neuromarketing: Part in marketing that studies the effect of marketing stimuli on consumer’s
sensimotor, cognitive and affective responses. Often seen as the commercial use of neuroscience
insights and tools that companies can use to better understand consumer responses to different
kinds of brands, product and service related communication effects
Consumer Neuroscience: A combination of the academic study of consumer psychology and
consumer behaviour, which are more focused on the way in which consumers respond and act.
Applied Neuroscience: Broader attempt to link the role of the brain to many different walks of life.
Cognitive Neuroscience: Focus on: brain bases of cognitive functions and processes
Affective Neuroscience: Focus on: brain mechanisms and underlying emotional responses
Decision Neuroscience: Focus on: neural mechanisms responsible for our choices
Social Neuroscience: Focus on: social life and the brain structures
Neuroeconomics: Study of the neural bases of economic behavior.
Neuroscience: This term is too broad.
Neurology: Study of brain disorder
Neurpsychology: Study of relationship between brain injury, disorder, changes in cognition, affect
and behavior.
How to use the brain to study consumer behaviour:
1. Methodological application of neuroscience: Cognitive and affective neuroscience offers a whole
new set of tools that can be used to study our direct unconscious responses to stimuli, that can
supplement or even sometimes replace other methodologies (neuroimaging)
2. Theoretical application of neuroscience: The study of the brain itself offers several insights that
can be key to understanding consumers. Reading a book on cognitive neuroscience can reveal new
insights into how we should understand consumers.
Why neuroscience in consumer behaviour?
1. Allows to assess human responses to different kinds of stimuli and conditions.
2. Human decision making deviates from a conscious process.
Notable effects that argue for a need for assessing unconscious effects in consumer choice:
1. Choices are often based on unconscious processes and influences
2. Emotions affect our choices
3. Decisions are not made after complete information is obtained, but happen almost instantly
We are not rational, fully informed, influenced by others, and purely conscious in decision making
External validity lacks in cognitive and affective neuroscience research: the way in which we can say
that lab based findings can explain our human behaviour.
Model of consumer Choice p. 9: model for understanding consumer behaviour (4 Stages)
1. Representation and Attention
Representation: The way in which needs and desires are presented to us
Attention: Bottom-up & Top-Down (Chapter 5)
2. Predicted Value: The value that an individual assigns to different options before they are chosen
3. Experienced Value: The consequences of our choice
Hedonic experience: Our experience of pleasure or displeasure.
4. Remembered Value & Learning:
Remembered Value: experienced, episodic and semantic memory of the event
Learning: intertwined with decision making: Choices and outcomes allow to learn from experience
0
, Chapter 2: The Brain
Brain Compass
Anterior (Forward) Posterior (Back)
Dorsal (Upwards) Ventral (Downwards)
Medial (Towards the middle) Lateral (Towards the sides)
Occipital Lobe – Back - Damage p.14
Functions: - Primary visual sensing
- Bottom-up Attention
- Contour, colour, movement
Relation to - Bottom-up attention: how visual properties automatically attract
consumer attention
behaviour: - Brand and product recognition
Parietal Lobe - Above the Occipital Lobe - Damage p. 15
Functions: - Spatial processing (where)
- Object action (how)
- Navigation
- Self-awareness
- Body Sense and Body Representation
- Attention & Consciousness
Relation to - Top-down attention: Willfully focus mental effort on certain items
consumer - Product Handling: Ability to learn to operate products
behaviour: - Product Navigation: Assistance on navigating real/virtual stores
Temporal Lobe – Bottom – Damage p.16
Functions: - Recognition of objects, places and faces
- Hearing and perception of sounds
- Memory (declarative, conscious)
- Social perception and reasoning
Relation to - Processing, learning and conscious memory of brands & products
consumer - Understanding of communication (via ads)
behaviour: - Social framing effects
Frontal Lobe – Front – Damage p.17
Functions: - Crude and sophisticated motor skills
- Planning and executive control
- Top-down attention and consciousness
- Working memory
- Hedonic Experience
- Social Cognition and behavior
Relation to - Consumer choice execution
consumer - Long-term planning of actions
behaviour: - Impulse control (or lack thereof)
- Manual handling of objects
- Hedonic Experience
Deep Structures of the Brain
Deep regions of the brain involves human’s complex processing capacity.
Autonomous Nervous System:
1. Sympathic: Activating
2. Parasympathic: Relaxing Sympathic and Parasympathic nervous system work in opposition.
3. Enteric
1
