- Dr. Bjorn Persson completed his PhD in cognitive neuroscience at the University of St Andrews studying memory processes and now works at Durham University Business School researching consumer behavior and decision-making. - The document discusses four common assumptions made in marketing about neuroscience that are sometimes myths and sometimes truths, providing evidence and sources to evaluate each assumption. It also provides tips for critically evaluating claims made about neuroscience and marketing.

1. The Use of Neuroscience
in Marketing
Dr Bjorn Persson
Durham University Business School
Durham University
Fact and Fiction:

2. Dr Bjorn Persson
I completed my PhD in cognitive neuroscience
at the University of St Andrews studying
cognitive and neural memory processes.
Currently working at Durham University’s
Business School researching consumer
behaviour and decision-making

3. Four neuroscience assumptions commonly
accepted in marketing and advertising.
Some are myths…
Some are truths…

4. A person who is "left-brained"
is often said to be more logical,
analytical, and objective.
True? False?
Assumption 1:
A person who is "right-brained" is
said to be more intuitive,
thoughtful, and subjective.

6. Sorrell said consulting and creativity were very different: "Traditionally, those
consultants have worked with chief information officers or chief technology officers on
the left brain; we’ve tended to work with chief marketing officers on the right brain."
https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/consultancies-cant-just-buy-culture-sorrell-says/1438508#6zA1r9mg6OaRX6pT.99

7. The balance of left-and right-brained thinking is a key element of
the modern CMO. Rather than complicating this balance,
technology can facilitate creative thinking and agile processes.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/johngreathouse/2016/05/02/right-brain-left-brain-which-will-define-the-future-of-marketing/

8. True False
Assumption 1:
• Evidence that some brain functions rely more on left or right hemisphere,
there is no truth to a person being more left or right brained.
• Large scale brain imaging studies have found no evidence that people use
one hemisphere more than the other
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0071275

9. True? False?
Assumption 2:
The size of your pupils can reveal a person’s preferences and
give insights to other cognitive processes.

10. Our pupils dilate if we listen to music that has a big emotional effect on us,
researchers have found. They say the amount of dilation could reveal how
much a song really touches us.
It could even help us retain more information - is we listen to our 'happy
songs' when we are learning.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3320925/Music-eyes-Listening-favourite-songs-causes-pupils-dilate-help-study.html#ixzz54BBKtqjJ

11. By using wearable devices we can measure evidence streams from sensors
recording the way stimuli affect our non-conscious physiological reactions,
such as pupil dilation, eye-tracking, facial expressions, skin-sweat and
heart rate levels, all of which are indicators of an emotional response.
https://www.marketingweek.com/2016/10/12/why-emotional-reactions-are-a-key-driver-of-behaviour/

12. True False
Assumption 2:
• Increased pupil dilation has been linked to attractiveness, but also
preference for objects
• Increased pupil dilation has also been found during retrieval in memory
tests and in predicting whether someone will click on a link
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27253862
http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7817082/?reload=true

13. True? False?
Assumption 3:
Studies on Oxytocin found a link between levels of the hormone
and love and trust, where more Oxytocin = higher levels of love
and trust. This has led people to name it the hug or cuddle
hormone, and suggest that it is crucial for establishing trust and
affection.

14. Without [Oxytocin] there would be no cities, no villages, no families. It is
the trust hormone in all of us,” Paul said, adding: “How do we trigger this?
How do we induce this in our communication, because the difference
between good and great has to do with the amount of oxytocin you can
trigger
We spend too much time on data and strategy,” he said, adding later that
“the beautiful thing about oxytocin is it’s available for free.”
https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/228373/better-advertising-through-chemistry-oxytocin-is.html?edition=
Josy Paul, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of BBDO India

15. Oxytocin, which is secreted at the point of orgasm and when mothers feed
their babies, is a hormone that elicits a sense of trust. You feel wonderful.
Therefore it motivates you to trust and fall in love with the person – or brand
– involved [...] if a brand can trigger oxytocin release in a consumer, it is
more likely to be trusted, and more likely to evoke a positive memory of that
brand.
https://www.mumbrella.asia/2013/12/bbdos-andy-wilson-hormones-behind-orgasms-childbirth-crucial-brands
Andy Wilson, Regional Strategy Director BBDO

16. Assumption 3:
• Increased levels of Oxytocin has also been found to:
• Increase schadenfreude/envy
• Intensify a negative memory of a social experience
• Increased aggression and violence toward members of
outgroup
True False
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fact-or-fiction-oxytocin-is-the-love-hormone/

17. Assumption 4:
Neuroscience methods, such as fMRI, can reveal
what people are thinking about.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fact-or-fiction-oxytocin-is-the-love-hormone/
True? False?

18. UNIQLO customers were fitted with a neuro-headset and shown a series
of video stimuli. Their neurological responses to the stimuli were then
analysed in real-time by a custom-built algorithm that identified their
current mood and recommended the perfect T-shirt for them.
http://www.isobar.com/gb/en/work/umood/

19. By watching how different neural circuits light up or go dark during the
buying process, the researchers found they could predict whether a person
would end up purchasing a product or passing it up. They concluded, after
further analysis of the results, that "the ability of brain activation to predict
purchasing would generalise to other purchasing scenarios".
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2008/apr/03/news.advertising

20. Assumption 4:
• It is possible to identify patterns of neural activity and use
supervised learning to infer the content of someone’s thoughts.
• Analysis of patterns of activity found to accurately predict
whether a person was thinking about a location or a tool
True False
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0001394

21. Top tips when reading about
neuroscience/neuromarketing
Where is the brain?
What does this mean/add?
Beware of claims that brain area X does Y

22. “Lottolab’s previous experiments include a pop-up at London’s Science Museum that looked into
people’s motivations when they donate money to good causes. People who entered the space had the
option of donating publicly or privately. If public, they had their photograph taken with their donation
value and their image was projected onto a wall in the middle of the space in which a party was taking
place.
[...]
Last week Lotto launched a messaging app called Traces that will monitor users’ behaviour and
determine how digital media can help to build empathy between people. He plans to open the app up to
partners including brands, educational organisations and publishers.”
Neuroscience and marketing:
what you need to know
https://www.marketingweek.com/2014/08/06/neuroscience-and-marketing-what-you-need-to-know/
Where is the brain?

23. “A decade of studies using brain imaging shows that human neural activity, particularly in the insula
cortex region, reflects the precise degree of unfairness in social interactions.
In a classic example known as the ultimatum game, [...] unfairness has a negative value that outweighs
the positive value of the money they would otherwise receive.
The motivation to reject unfairness, and the humiliation that results from it, can become deeply
embedded in national narratives and decision-making. In 1951, Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad
Mossadegh rejected years of inequitable profit-sharing agreements with the British-run Anglo Iranian Oil
Company by nationalizing Iran’s oil industry”
The Neuroscience Guide to Negotiations
With Iran
What does this mean/add?
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/01/the-neuroscience-guide-to-negotiations-with-iran/282963/

24. “A decade of studies using brain imaging shows that human neural activity, particularly in the insula
cortex region, reflects the precise degree of unfairness in social interactions.
Insula also involved in:
• Different types of addiction
• Proprioception
• Perception and experience of pain
Few highly specialised areas in the brain (some exceptions in memory, vision, language for example)
Reverse Inference Fallacy
Brain area X is active when people see A, and also when people see B - therefore B = A.
A case of the Reverse inference fallacy,where the engagement of a particular cognitive process is
inferred from the activation of a particular brain region (Poldrack, 2006)
http://www.cell.com/trends/cognitive-sciences/abstract/S1364-6613(05)00336-0
Beware of claims that area X does Y

25. If someone tries to sell you something with a brain on
it, don’t just take them at their word. Ask the tough
questions, ask to see the evidence, ask for the part of
the story that’s not being told. The answers shouldn’t
be simple, because the brain is not simple.
- Dr. Molly Crockett

26. Thank you!
Dr Bjorn Persson
Durham University Business School
Durham University