Assessing Consumer Reactions with Neuroscientific Measurements

Abstract

Positive consumer reactions to corporate marketing activities are regarded a key driver of business success. Since consumer reactions occur to a large extent on non-conscious levels, traditional market research approaches provide limited insights into the consumer's perceptions and intentions. This chapter demonstrates how neuroscientific measurements can contribute to a deeper understanding about critical processes in the consumer's “black box”. Two generic approaches will be outlined: Whereas brain imaging techniques create pictures reflecting brain activity in response to marketing stimuli, psychophysiological methods assess body signals as correlates of neural activity. The chapter provides a general understanding about the meaningful application of neuroscientific measurements in consumer research and presents a critical reflection on the opportunities and challenges of different neuroscientific measurements.