Sentient Insight: the business blog for consumer psychology and consumer marketing

In 1996, behavioral psychologists Ulf Dimberg and Arne Öhman sought to test if the human mood is independent from its immediate external environment. Their study, Behold the wrath: Psychophysiological responses to facial stimuli investigated the affect of primed facial gestures on the participant’s mood. When I present these findings in talks, I usually tease that only a social psychologist could write a title like that. At Sentient, we affectionately call this study: Why am I so Happy? And the answer, as you will clearly see is, “I have no idea.”

Frugal behaviors and healthy living go hand and hand, according to the April First Command Financial Behaviors IndexTM and recently reported in The New York Times. The Index, commissioned by First Command and conducted by Sentient, examines financial behaviors, attitudes and intentions among U.S. consumers ongoing since February 2008. While there’s little doubt that the recession has had a negative effect on health by way of increasing stress and anxiety and other such ailments, there is evidence that recessionary behaviors may actually be improving Americans’ health. The April First Command Financial Behaviors IndexTM reports that nearly one-half of Americans (49%) believe that their frugal behaviors are making them healthier, and an additional 45 percent believe that at least some of...

I’m slowly recovering from the joint AQR/QRCA Worldwide conference on qualitative research in Prague last week: this year’s theme “Inspiration in Action.” The workshop day – with Wendy Gordon, Jay Zaltzman and Ava Lindbergh gave me enough to contemplate for a month, but the next two days were jam-packed with session after session that made me think and re-think qualitative research – specifically how we do it on a daily basis. The presentations were inspiring, provocative and beautifully done. Here’s a snapshot of my top Three Inspirations from Prague..(not in any particular order except top-of-mind!):

Over the past few months, Toyota has recalled a number of its vehicles. Given all the negative press coverage from announcement after announcement of recalls, it is not a stretch to think that Toyota’s brand has taken a hit. Specifically, one could imagine that the Toyota brand – historically perceived as very reliable – is now suffering in the area of reliability. Assuming Totyota has been tracking consumers’ emotional reactions to the Toyota brand, they probably saw a drop in the Brand’s equity, and in a specific area such as reliability, soonafter its very first falter a few years ago. But how impactful the drop was, may have been colored by tracking consumers’ conscious associations with the brand.

I had the honor of attending a workshop by master moderators sponsored by the Philadelphia / Delaware Valley chapter of the QRCA yesterday. The event’s theme was simple: bring in 3 expert moderators who between them have moderated over 30,000 focus groups in a combined 100+ years of experience, and let professional moderators observe from behind the glass while they moderate groups with real respondents. The three moderators: Bob Harris, Pat Sabena and Judy Langer – have different approaches to moderating focus groups, making the day thought-provoking and educational. Here are the three styles that were demonstrated:

The Garden Variety How do we know what others are feeling? How do we gauge our audience in social interactions? Paul Ekman, a prominent psychological researcher, suggests that it’s all in our facial expressions. Even if you’re the type of person who keeps your emotions to yourself, Ekman’s research shows that humans are psychologically disposed to show our emotions on our faces.  Analyzing facial expressions in others, thus, is one way in which we empathize with other’s emotions. And it’s not always something you’re conscious of. Consequently, we don’t wear our hearts on our sleeves; we display them right on our faces!

People like to be given a choice. The desire to exercise one’s own free will and proclivity to act in one’s own interests might just be the last part of our consciousness that’s keeping us away from The Matrix, 1984, Brave New World, or whatever your favorite dystopian story is. But is there such a thing as “too many choices?” Sheena Iyengar, behavioral psychologist and choice expert, studies how people make decisions precisely to answer this question. And her research has revealed some startling implications! A recent New York Times article highlighted Iyengar’s fascinating research in a review of her new book The Art of Choosing. Iyengar, a Stanford grad, has been in the field of social psychology and decision theory for almost 15 years. Her most famous project: a jelly tasting.