May
In the search to better understand emotional reactions to stimuli and the workings of the subconscious, marketing researchers have turned toward the use of numerous technologies. Here we discuss one of them, facial electromyography, also known as fEMG.
Facial electromyography is a technology that enables researchers and medical professionals to measure muscular activity in the eyes. The process quantifies the tiny electrical impulses that are generated by actively contracting muscle fibers. Because fEMG monitors movement in the facial area, researchers can gain a greater understanding of the subtle emotional responses participants feel towards a particular stimulus. In particular, fEMG studies two types of muscles: Certain activity of the corrugator muscle is usually associated with negative feelings, and activity of the zygomatic muscle is usually correlated with positive emotions.
May
For a long time, corporations have been working to understand how to affect consumer behavior and influence more people to purchase their products. Market research has made some headway in this arena recently, explaining how the impulses that drive consumers to purchase are produced. Now, you may not realize it, but it turns out that what makes you feel good is a part of the brain dubbed “the pleasure center.” It’s this center that makes us feel happy when kissed, that drives us to eat our favorite foods or play our favorite games, that makes us want to relax on the beach.
Laboratory tests have shown that rats who can control their pleasure centers with a switch will literally jump at the opportunity to do so. Scientists set up electrical pulses that control the pleasure centers of rats’ brains and found that the rats would sacrifice anything to continuously pounce towards the levers and experience electrical bursts of happiness. Disturbingly, rather than eat or sleep, these rats flipped their switches without end, stopping only when they died of sheer exhaustion…
Apr
When you first think of market research methods, the image of surveys and focus groups may come to mind. However, market research has evolved, to the point that you may be unaware what methodologies are being used today. While methods have grown more complex, they’ve also gotten a lot more interesting. Here are some examples of how much the game has changed.
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