The science of relationships
The quiet life of the brain: why neuroscience and behavioral economics should be in every digital marketer’s toolkit.
How does the mind work? For thousands of years, this question has been at the center of conversations in philosophy, religion, psychology,sociology, biology, and neuroscience. While there is no shortage of hypotheses, there are relatively few concrete answers. But over the last 20 years, advances in brain imaging technology have provided us with an unprecedented look into how the brain works—at least mechanically.
Using the results of decades of behavioral research by psychologists, scientists are gaining a clearer picture of how the mind works, what motivates us, and the rationale behind our seemingly irrational behaviors. As marketers,we can leverage this information to help our customers make better decisions and build stronger relationships with them.
Behavioral economics and neuroeconomics
In 2002, the field of economics was shaken up when the Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded to Daniel Kahneman, a psychologist. This practice of merging economics and the behavioral sciences has become known as behavioral economics. While this area of study has been around at least since the mid-1900’s, Kahneman’s achievement added a needed level of legitimacy to the field.
But what exactly is behavioral economics? Behavioral and neuroeconomics are both inter- or trans-disciplinary fields, uniting economics with the behavioral sciences and neurosciences, respectively. They developed as a method for explaining some of the inconsistencies seen in traditional economic theories. Economic principles would suggest that given two options of different values, people will pick the more valuable option.
However, multiple studies have shown people don’t always do this.
If you have business and your revenue stream depends on customers, you should know the answer.
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