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Ask and They Shall Deceive

How what we ask drives what they tell us, and why it’s mostly useless

Kent AndersonExecutive Director

International Business and Product DevelopmentThe New England Journal of Medicine

Initial Thoughts

n The goals of market research¡ Problems and limitations¡ Knowing “that” or “why”

n Getting the answers you wantn The correlation negationn Data versus anecdotes

The Storytelling Problem

n “We have, as human beings, a storytelling problem. We’re a bit too quick to come up with explanations for things we don’t really have an explanation for.”

- Malcolm Gladwell, Blink

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My Premise

The lights go down, it’s dark.The jungle is your head –Can’t rule your heart.A feeling’s so much stronger thanA thought.Your eyes are wide,And though your soulIt can’t be boughtYour mind can wander.

Hello, hello –I’m at a place called Vertigo.It’s everything I wish I didn’t knowExcept you give me something I can feel.

- Vertigo (2004) by U2

Six Underlying Assumptions

Customers:1. think in a rational, linear way2. can explain their thinking3. can have their minds, bodies, culture, and

society studied independently of one another4. can use their memory to accurately represent

their experiences5. think in words6. can be “injected” with messages and will

interpret those messages as marketers intend

Six Superior Assumptions

Customers:1. think in irrational, nonirrational, non--linearlinear ways2.2. cannot explain their thinkingcannot explain their thinking3.3. cannotcannot have their minds, bodies, culture, and

society studied independentlystudied independently of one another4.4. cannot use their memorycannot use their memoryto accuratelyaccurately

represent their experiences5.5. do not think in wordsdo not think in words6.6. cannot be “injected”cannot be “injected”with messages and won’twon’t

interpret those messages as marketers intend

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The Triune Brain

Lizard(primordial)

brain• Breathing

• Eye movements• Tracking

• Tongue, mouth

Neocortical brain

• Explicit thought• Rational thought

• Reason• Verbalization

Limbic brain• Instinct

• Emotional synthesis• Decision-making

Reptilian brainReptilian brain

Limbic brainLimbic brain

Cortical brainCortical brain

External world

Internal milieu

Conscious thought

Action planning

Heart rate

Intestinal function

Blood flow

Blood pressure

Respiratory rate

Visual tracking

HypothalamusHypothalamus

The Difficult Transmutation

“ . . . People must strain to force a strong feeling into the straitjacket of verbal expressionthe straitjacket of verbal expression . Often, as emotionality rises, so do sputtering, gesticulation, and mute frustration. Poetry, a bridge between the neocortical and limbic brains, is simultaneously improbable and powerful. Frost wrote that a poem ‘begins as a lump in the throat, a sense of wrong, a homesickness, a love sickness. It is never a It is never a thought to begin withthought to begin with. ’ ”

- Lewis T., MD; Amini F., MD; and Lannon R., MDfrom “A General Theory of Love”

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The Loop of High Reason

n “The lower levels in the neural edifice of reason are the same ones that regulate the processing of emotions and feelings, along wit h the body functions necessary for an organism’s survival. In turn, these lower levels maintain direct and mutual relationships with virtually every bodily organ, thus placing the body directly wit hin the chain of operations that generate the highest reaches of reasoning, decision making, and, by extension, social behavior and creativity. Emotion, feeling, and biological regulation all play a role in human reason. The lowly orders of our organism are in the loop of high reason.”

n Antonio Damasio, neuroscientist

The lower levels in the neural edifice of reason are the same ones that regulate the processing of emotions and feelings

. . . these lower levels maintain direct and mutual relationships with virtually every bodily organ, thus placing the body directly within the chain of operations that generate the highest reaches of reasoning [and] decision making . . . .

Emotion, feeling, and biological regulation all play a role in human reason. The lowly orders of our organism are in the loop of high reason.

Into the Unconscious Mind

n Culture and biology work togethern Thought is based on images, not words

¡ Thought is not “internalized conversation”n Approximately 95% of thought, emotion, and

learning occur in the unconscious mindn The metaphor is one tool through which to

probe the unconscious mind¡ “Embodied cognition”

The Value of Metaphors

n Speed and efficiency of thoughtn Mental shorthand for sizing up new informationn Pattern recognitionn Synthesizing existing knowledge and new

knowledgen Anticipationn Tie ideas and emotions to reality

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“Thin Slicing”

n “. . . The ability of our unconscious to find patterns in situations and behaviors based on very narrow slices of experience.”

n Why practice makes perfect, why team sports work, how bird watchers identify birds, etc.

n Some people are innately better at this than others

n It can be trained to improven Often, people who can do it can’t explain how

Exercise #1

Exercise #2

n Two volunteers from the audiencen Simple exercise¡ Walk across the front of the room¡ Complete 10 scrambled sentences¡ Walk across the front of the room

n Volunteers?

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Making Sentences

1. him was worried she always2. from are Florida oranges temperature3. ball the throw toss silently4. shoes give replace old the5. he observes occasionally people watches6. be will sweat lonely they7. sky the seamless gray is8. should now withdraw forgetful we9. us bingo sing play let10. sunlight makes temperature wrinkle raisins

Making Sentences

1. him was worried she always2. from are Florida oranges temperature3. ball the throw toss silently4. shoes give replace old the5. he observes occasionally people watches6. be will sweat lonely they7. sky the seamless gray is8. should now withdraw forgetful we9. us bingo sing play let10. sunlight makes temperature wrinkle raisins

Making Sentences

1. him was happy she always2. from are Texas bluebonnets temperature3. ball the throw toss quickly4. shoes give replace red the5. he observes occasionally people watches6. be will sweat happier they7. sky the seamless blue is8. should now accelerate cheerful we9. us poker sing play let10. sunlight makes temperature grow flowers

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Making Sentences

1. him was happy she always2. from are Texas bluebonnets temperature3. ball the throw toss quickly4. shoes give replace red the5. he observes occasionally people watches6. be will sweat happier they7. sky the seamless blue is8. should now accelerate cheerful we9. us poker sing play let10. sunlight makes temperature grow flowers

Comparing Vocabulary

1. worried2. Florida3. silently4. old5. lonely6. gray7. forgetful8. bingo9. wrinkle raisins

1. happy2. Texas3. quickly4. red5. happier6. blue7. accelerate8. poker9. grow flowers

Describe Hiking Boots

Rational Descriptionn Non-slip solen Insulatedn Strong ankle supportn Good lookingn Affordable

Emotional Descriptionn Adventurous personn Warm, worthwhilen Intelligent, daredeviln Spontaneous, stylishn Smart with money

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The Hiking Boots Example

Rational Descriptionn A top-quality non-slip sole and good-

looking, insulated leather outer, along with strong ankle support – all in an affordable boot.

The Hiking Boots Example

Emotional Descriptionn You’re an adventurous person who needs a

warm boot with great support at a fair price – because you never know whether today it’s an outdoor concert, a sunset hike, or a snowball fight.

Describe a Medical Journal

Rational Descriptionn Published x times/yrn Peer-reviewedn High impact factorn Supports clinical

decision -makingn Offers CME

Emotional Descriptionn Best and brightestn Sophisticated tastesn Smarter than the next

personn Can make better

diagnosesn Admired, even envied,

for their skilln Make their mamas proud

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The Medical Journal Example

Rational Descriptionn The Journal of Medical Research is the leading peer-

reviewed publication in its field. It is published 24 times per year. The JMR publishes the latest research in the field, and has a high impact factor. Physicians use our research to support their clinical decision -making, and to earn valuable CME credits.

The Medical Journal Example

Emotional Descriptionn The Journal of Medical Research is the pulse of

advanced medicine. Our readers have an eye to the future. Blended with their hands -on clinical skills, they are natural leaders. We’re proud to be their partners in taming biomedicine’s mysteries.

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Flavor

Chocolate

Orange

Lime

Cherry

LemonLemon

Grape

Flavor

Cherry

Lime

Orange

Chocolate

GrapeGrape

Lemon

What Do You See?

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What Do You See?

What Do You See?

Building Block #1

MetaphorsMetaphors

n Human qualitiesn Plants/vegetablesn Games n War/fightingn Liquidsn Walking/runningn Food/drink

n Movement/transfern Vehicles/vesselsn Weathern Vision/frontiern Placesn Moneyn Cloth/clothing

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Mental ModelsMental Models

Building Block #2

MetaphorsMetaphors

Bound with CoverBound with Cover

The Book Consensus Map

Writing is like speaking Writing is like speaking but without soundbut without sound

Networked computer with Networked computer with an input device and lighted displayan input device and lighted display

The Web Consensus Map

Library? Desktop? Frontier?Library? Desktop? Frontier?Superhighway? Office? Newspaper?Superhighway? Office? Newspaper?

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The Online Metaphors

n Window visionn Home placen Bookmark placen Address placen Link relationship

Good, Limbic Uses

The Organizational Paradox

n Organizations are supposed to be rational places outsiders can trust

n Emotions are not trustworthy, metaphors are almost too powerful to adopt

n Leaders mostly trained in quantitative research, statistical analyses

n Qualitative research expensive, unfamiliarn Yet, organizations live and die by the emotions

they create – a paradox!

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My Premise

The lights go down, it’s dark.The jungle is your head –Can’t rule your heart.A feeling’s so much stronger thanA thought.Your eyes are wide,And though your soulIt can’t be boughtYour mind can wander.

Hello, hello –I’m at a place called Vertigo.It’s everything I wish I didn’t knowExcept you give me something I can feel.

- Vertigo (2004) by U2

Who You Are Dealing With:

Customers:1. think in irrational, nonirrational, non--linearlinear ways2.2. cannot explain their thinkingcannot explain their thinking3.3. cannotcannot have their minds, bodies, culture, and

society studied independentlystudied independently of one another4.4. cannot use their memorycannot use their memoryto accuratelyaccurately

represent their experiences5.5. do not think in wordsdo not think in words6.6. cannot be “injected”cannot be “injected”with messages and won’twon’t

interpret those messages as marketers intend

The Triune Brain

Lizard(primordial)

brain• Breathing

• Eye movements• Tracking

• Tongue, mouth

Neocortical brain

• Explicit thought• Rational thought

• Reason• Verbalization

Limbic brain• Instinct

• Emotional synthesis• Decision-making

95% of cognitive

work

Images, emotions,

metaphors

Non-verbal

Rapid assimilation

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The Loop of High Reason

The lower levels in the neural edifice of reason are the same ones that regulate the processing of emotions and feelings

. . . these lower levels maintain direct and mutual relationships with virtually every bodily organ, thus placing the body directly within the chain of operations that generate the highest reaches of reasoning [and] decision making . . . .

Emotion, feeling, and biological regulation all play a role in human reason. The lowly orders of our organism are in the loop of high reason.

Metaphors – Elicit Them!

n Speed and efficiency of thoughtn Mental shorthand for sizing up new informationn Pattern recognitionn Synthesizing existing knowledge and new

knowledgen Anticipationn Tie ideas and emotions to reality

What Exists in Customers

n Primed for primingn Implicitly emotion -seekingn Unstated preferences or beliefs about

relationshipsn Reliance on metaphorsn These drive mental modelsn Language, emotions, metaphors, and images

create responses when they have multiple meanings, penetrate the limbic brain

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Source Material

nn “How Customers Think”“How Customers Think”Gerald Zaltman, HBS Press (2003)

nn “A General Theory of Love”“A General Theory of Love”Thomas Lewis, MD; Fari Amini, MD; Richard Lannon, MD, Vintage (2000)

nn “Blink “Blink –– The Power of Thinking Without Thinking”The Power of Thinking Without Thinking”Malcolm Gladwell, Little-Brown (2005)

n Personal correspondence with Sharon Livingston, PhD, President of the Livingston Group

n Ratzan L. Making sense of the Web: a metaphorical approach. Information Research 2000;6(1).

n “Derek Tastes of Earwax,” BBC (2005); Dilly Barlow, reporter

Questions?

Thank You

A feeling’s so much stronger thana thought.

Kent AndersonExecutive Director

International Business and Product DevelopmentThe New England Journal of Medicine