Buy•ology Part 1 of 5: Mirror Neurons
February 9, 2009 by dr. lam
I was fascinated by Martin Lindstrom’s book Buy•ology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy, which focuses on how consumers make their buying choices based on a field known as neuromarketing. Neuromarketing employs a variety of techniques to explore how and why consumers make their purchases based on sophisticated brain scans and other methods to detect how our fallible human brains function. I enjoyed another book on behavioral economics better, Predictably Irrational, which I discussed in a series of blogs several weeks ago. I would like to thank Gary, my hair transplant patient, who recommended both books to me and who also confessed was an avid reader of these blogs, so thanks Gary for encouraging me to read Lindstrom’s book. I actually read another of his books many years ago called Brand Sense, which was equally as insightful. I would welcome comment/feedback and ideas for future blogs from any of my readership.
The field of behavioral economics/neuromarketing is fascinating to me. I think by laying out the way that we think we can see our own irrational behavior so that when we make purchasing decisions we can do so perhaps more rationally and avoid the pitfalls of being all too human. Today’s discussion will be on mirror neurons.
In 1992 an Italian researcher Giacomo Rizzolatti was studying the gestural behaviors of a species of monkey known as the macaque. He was specifically exploring a part of the brain known as the premotor area and how the monkeys behaved when performing certain gestures. What he found was that the monkeys would have their premotor area light up not only when they carried out the assigned task but when they watched another monkey doing the same. Interestingly, one day when a grad student returned from lunch break and was about to lick an ice cream cone, the same center of the brain lit up longingly. Only certain targeted gestures would elicit this neural response, whereas most observed activities would not. Rizzolatti termed these specific regions of the brain that were involved as “mirror neurons”, which are located in the inferior frontal cortex and superior parietal lobe.
When we watch a baseball game and we observe our team lose, we cringe. When we read the words “fingernails crossing a chalkboard”, we can hear and feel it. When we see someone smile, we tend to do the same. In a study in 2008 using functional MRI (fMRI) by Takashi Tsukuira and Roberto Cabeza, they found that when subjects looked at a smiling face, they would more readily remember that individual’s name. Being sensitive to positive social signals, we tend to remember those individuals better. We have a tendency to mirror those around us that we like or that we see on a frequent basis. In fact, a certain chemical signal comes alive when we engage our mirror neurons, specifically dopamine. Our pleasure center lights up when we mirror someone.
Particularly when we see products that we think are “cool”, our dopamine levels soar. We tend to want the iPod not only because it is cool but perhaps because we see all these shiny white ear buds surrounding us wherever we are. I certainly have a wonderful visceral response when I think of Apple products, as all of you know. It is also interesting how the book points out that what we thought was absolutely ugly and would never buy becomes something that we must have once we see it worn on every third person we encounter. I think it is fascinating to understand this example in light of how as social creatures we want to bond with those around us. I personally enjoy how my readership aims to mirror some of the thoughts and behaviors that I outline in these blogs, and I in turn enjoy responding to the positive energy that my readership imparts to me. I think mirror neurons can be a good thing so long as we are aware of the power that they possess in how we behave and think. I am certain to smile big next time I meet someone in the hope that they would remember my name better!
Comments
2 Responses to “Buy•ology Part 1 of 5: Mirror Neurons”
Feel free to leave a comment...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!
I rarely jump on bandwagons. I pride myself on it and think long and hard (usually) before purchasing anything, giving much thought to the ‘why’ and attempting to figure out what my own motivations may be. Ten years ago, I bought a car, a really ‘nice’ car. I had long conceived this particular make to be one driven by a certain type of person (smart and studious). Without going into the outcome, I then became well aware that I was operating within what you just outlined. Knowing this, I believe I’m able to make better decisions.
I think if I just point out some of our limitations that our mind has, we can all make smarter buying decisions. These blogs and their responses are fun!