Decision-Making

This semester, we’ve been learning about the importance of constructing effective communication messages with creative visual appeal and a strong, relevant statement that appeals to the intended audience. When people connect with those messages, they connect with the product and brand and, well, you (hopefully) know the rest.

So how do people decide if they should, or should not, purchase an item based on an advertisement they saw on Facebook or a bus?

The decision-making process has been the subject of much scientific and social research, particularly in recent years, but it is generally considered to be an emotional process (Jarrett, 2014). People like having the freedom to choose, and our brains help us to make decisions about what to buy by placing specific sensory values on informational data, such as a visual advertisement or a social media posting, and essentially weighing the rewards of those values through neuronal activity in the parietal lobe (BrainFacts.org, 2009; Szalavitz, 2012). The values placed on informational data can be heavily influenced by both positive and negative personal experiences (Sharot, Martorella, DelGado, & Phelps, 2007). Choices that are positively impacted by the decision-making process tap into the brain’s reward center (Leong, 2011), and the following video gives a great overview about how our brains process positive experiences:

Of course, not all decisions are good. Sometimes people make seemingly bad decisions that can make us feel a sense of loss. The emotional impact of loss can be twice that of reward, and our brain’s goal is ultimately to make the decision that leads to the greatest sense of reward (Jarrett, 2014).

As we craft communication strategies and messages, it is important to incorporate stimuli that will encourage people to make positive brand associations so that they can place a greater value on the brand and its product than they do the competition. This isn’t to say the message itself needs to be positive, as there are plenty of effective non-positive messages (I’m looking at you, ASPCA commercials); rather, this is to say that messages should be constructed so that people think choosing Brand X over Brand Y will yield a greater reward. How do we convince people of this? Through relatable images, colors, sounds, qualities, etc. Knowing who your consumers are and what they want in the product you’re selling can make all the difference between making someone feel like they made a great choice vs. a bad choice.

Jen

References:

BrainFacts.org. (2009, October 1). Decision-making. BrainFacts.Org. Retrieved from: http://www.brainfacts.org/sensing-thinking-behaving/awareness-and-attention/articles/2009/decision-making/

Jarrett, C. (2014, March 10). The neuroscience of decision-making explained in 30 seconds. Wired. Retrieved from: http://www.wired.com/2014/03/neuroscience-decision-making-explained-30-seconds/

Leong, M. (2011, July 21). Red pill or blue pill: Who cares? Getting to choose is the best part. National Post. Retrieved from: http://news.nationalpost.com/health/red-pill-or-blue-bill-who-cares-getting-to-choose-is-the-best-part

Sharot, T., Martorella, E. A., Delgado, M., & Phelps, E. A. (2007, January 2). How personal experience modulates the neural circuitry of memories of September 11. PNAS. Retrieved from: http://www.pnas.org/content/104/1/389.full.pdf%20html

Szalavitz, M. (2012, September 4). Making choices: How your brain decides. Time. Retrieved from: http://healthland.time.com/2012/09/04/making-choices-how-your-brain-decides/