THE SCIENCE OF PERSUASION

We’ve all been there: you run to the shops quickly after work to pick up some essentials. As you walk around, you realise you’re hungry. The supermarket has obligingly left chips, chocolates and other tasty treats on display. You’re in a rush, so you grab the nearest high-sodium snack or can of soda, and maybe a microwave meal since you’ll be too hungry to cook at home. This isn’t all on you: many supermarkets and convenience stores are set up not only to make us impulse buy,

We’re well past the halfway point of 2019. Like everyone else, you have made plenty of financial decisions so far; some good and some that are less so. You know the correct actions to take: build up your savings and avoid frivolous spending on short-term gratification. You know that, but then Friday rolls around and maybe you splurge a little more than you should on a nice dinner, or you see a new gadget that you simply must get your hands on. This is normal. Neuroscience pro

If the eyes are the window to the soul, then the path our eyes follow must reveal something about us too. For most of us, view is the primary sense by which we perceive our surroundings. When presented with a scene, such as a webpage, the places we look and how our gaze moves act as an indication of our attention and interest. Eye tracking is what neuromarketers use to track the elements of a website, app or point of sale that draw the gaze and, therefore, attention of a cust

Picture this: you’re at a party and things are going well, except that the food is terrible. The host comes up to you and asks whether you’re enjoying everything. They look nervous. You suppress your disgust as you take another bite of food. “It’s great!” you insist. Neuromarketers are the host in this situation. People are hesitant to be impolite, even if asked for their honest opinion. They suppress their emotions. This makes techniques such as facial coding tricky, because