Scientists are so damn smart, what with their lab coats, beakers, experiments and such. Some high thinkers over at Stanford and Carnegie Mellon teamed up to study what happens inside our brains when we make shopping decisions.
Here’s how it went down: A bunch of undergraduates were giving cash and offered the chance to buy dozens of different items. Meanwhile, the scientists peeked inside their heads with a brain scanner. Jonah Lehrer (a brainy fellow himself) dissected this neuroscientific study in an article published in the Dallas Morning News. From the source:
They discovered that when subjects were first exposed to the item, a part of the brain called the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) was turned on. The NAcc is a crucial part of our dopamine reward pathway—it’s typically associated with things like sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll—and the intensity of its activation was a reflection of desire for the item. If the person already owned the complete Harry Potter collection, then the NAcc didn’t get too excited about the prospect of buying another copy. However, if he’d been craving a George Foreman grill, then the NAcc flooded the brain with dopamine whenever that item appeared.
When the subjects were exposed to the cost of the product, the insula was activated. The insula is associated with aversive feelings, and is triggered by things like nicotine withdrawal and pictures of people in pain. In general, we try to avoid anything that makes our insula excited. Apparently, this includes spending money.
Lehrer goes on to explain how retailers like Costco have effectively tuned into the inner workings of our minds:
The goal of these discount warehouses is to constantly prime the pleasure centers of the brain, to keep us lusting after things we don’t need. Even though we probably won’t buy the Rolex, just looking at the fancy watch makes us more likely to buy something else, since the coveted item activates the NAcc.
But it’s not enough to just excite our reward centers: Retailers must also inhibit the insula. This brain area is responsible for making sure we don’t spend excessively, and when it’s repeatedly assured by retail stores that low prices are “guaranteed,” it stops worrying so much about the price tag. In fact, researchers have found that even when a store puts a promotional sticker next to the price tag – something like “Bargain Buy!” or “Hot Deal!” – but doesn’t actually reduce the price, sales of the item will still dramatically increase.
The full article is definitely worth your time. Lehrer also just published a book on neuroscience and human behavior called How We Decide, which I will be picking up post haste.
