Looking to boost sales? Recent research by neuroscientist Dr. David Eagleman reveals some scientifically proven—and surprising—ways to do that.
Dr. Eagleman’s lab studies haptics, the science of how the human brain processes the sense of touch. In a six-part video series, Neuroscience Shorts, sponsored by Sappi North America, he explains key findings that have implications for marketers. “We use touch to communicate with and understand the world,” Dr. Eagleman says. “Touch is the only sense that puts you in direct contact with your subject. You can’t touch something without being touched yourself. Touch…helps us gather information and exert influence.”
Our top takeaways after watching the series:
1. The medium matters. “In over a hundred studies looking at reading on paper and on a screen, overall people prefer reading on paper,” Dr. Eagleman says. “That’s because it’s more intuitively navigable and easier to create a mental map as well as cognitively easier than reading on a screen. Our research also shows that we have a longer-term memory for what we’ve read on paper [and that] higher-quality, coated paper was more successful at building knowledge and fostering positive long-term memories compared to a lower-grade of uncoated paper or visiting a website. In essence, the physical nature of an object unconsciously influences our decisions.”
2. Touching affects decision-making. “Researchers at Boston College found that people had a high sense of ownership when they touch, pinch and zoom while online shopping because they feel like they are physically interacting with an object,” Dr. Eagleman notes. “And when the medium isn’t digital but is real, such as a catalog, the research suggests that the tactile experience of touching a piece of paper is a surrogate for touching the object…So touch really is an important part of decision-making.”
3. Our evaluation of other people can be swayed by our haptic system. “Let’s say you’re asked to judge how warm a person is. So you’d look at them, you’d watch their behavior to figure out how they comport themselves and you would come to some conclusion and stick with the same conclusion every time, right? Well, no, it turns out human evaluations are swayed by many factors, including haptics,” Dr. Eagleman explains. “A study out of Yale found that you’ll rate a stranger as being kinder, more generous and more caring if you’re making the decision while holding a cup of coffee because of the signals coming into your haptic system. So the feeling of warmth and cold on our system of touch influences decisions that are completely unrelated. How we understand the world has everything to do with our physical body.”
There’s much more to mine from the video series, including some thought-provoking examples of how incidental touch can sway your perception of a situation. We recommend you watch all six videos, which run three to five minutes each. We think you’ll find the content as fascinating and useful as we do.
Click here to watch the full series and request a free copy of Haptic Brain, Haptic Brand.
