Heart versus head: Which one dominates decision-making?

We used to think that people make choices based on rational thoughts that changed attitudes and then behaviour. In other words, thoughts guiding actions to the best outcome. However, in the last decade, neuroscience has underpinned the conclusion that consumers are largely incapable of making choices without engaging their emotions.

This explains why we are more likely to choose the soft drink that blind taste tests have proven doesn't taste as good. This is why we believe the ATM that looks better – is more aesthetic – is also easier to use.

This is why we will buy from people we like more and why we’ll also say and believe they had the better offer. This may seem irrational.

The emotional content in decision-making also explains why there have been new products in the market that meet rational needs better than other products, yet fail because they don’t meet psycho-emotional needs.

Clearly, product choices are influenced by both rational and psycho-emotional forces.

Clinical evidence of this has been provided by the neuroscientist Antonio Damasio. His work has shown that decision-making is reliant on emotions in conditions of uncertainty. Put very simply, good and fast decisions are made by tapping in to recollected feelings or what we call ‘gut feel’. Based on clinical studies he concludes that emotions are vital to decision-making (see A Damasio; Somatic Marker Theory. The Feeling of Knowing).

The relevance of this to understanding consumer behaviour is increasingly revealed in published studies. Consistent brand investments, for example, have been shown to change thinking and choices without awareness.

Our interest lies in meeting the challenge of trying to measure the true effectiveness of marketing effort as well as optimise communications. A growing number of researchers and marketers are now looking for ways to directly access the decision-making process through real time psycho-physiological means.

We hope you will join us when we discuss some of these measurement tools in future posts.