Customer Research Gimmicks for 2009: EEG Brain probes
It seems rather wacky that some usability practionners are going to wacky extremes to quantify the “customer experience”. Here’s Foviance, a UK UX company that uses EEGs to assess customer reactions to brand appetite.
Electroencephalographs were first used on humans by Hans Berger in 1920 in an effort to understand epilepsy.
For basic cognitive research, this technique has a high margin of error – reflecting mostly in changes in stimuli which make causality interpretive at best. EEG results are also very imprecise due to the filtering caused by the scalp and scull. More accurate results can be obtained by drilling holes for intracranial EEGs – but that’s a bit intrusive for marketing purposes!
The fact that a UX company advertises EEGs as a proper method for evaluating a brand’s effectiveness should be cause for close scrutiny!
Hi Mitch,
We came across your posting suggesting that EEG is a gimmick. Our feeling is that we have been unfairly represented and hoped you would permit us an opportunity to respond.
As you rightly point out we are beginning to apply the use of EEG’s to research user interfaces. We are trying to push the boundaries of our discipline in an effort to understand some of the more elusive aspects of good UI design. As a company we take pride in innovating through the use of novel techniques where they offer real value. EEG, for us, is not a gimmick but a means of potentially uncovering why people are either engaged or repelled by a particular type of creative. We didn’t happen upon EEG but rather faced a problem – namely that traditional research approaches are unable to tap into the reasons why people prefer one design over another – and went in search of a solution. As I’m sure you’re aware psychologists have demonstrated that decision making primarily occurs in the subconscious and this calls into question the merits of traditional market research techniques. For this reason we scoured the literature and the market for possible solutions and predictably, of course, the use of EEG came up.
We work very closely with a company called Neuroco (www.neuroco.com) and their credentials vouch for themselves. Dr David Lewis, a very respected neuropsychologist, is the R&D Director at Neuroco (www.drdavidlewis.co.uk). We do not promote gimmicks as a company and will only bring approaches to market after carefully determining if they provide valid and meaningful insights. Our aim is to use the best available tools to conduct consumer behaviour research in order to better comprehend how consumers make decisions in a real world environment. You are undoubtedly correct in your assertion that EEG has margins of error and we are at pains to call attention to its shortcomings in conversations with interested parties. It’s early days for us and we are certainly not suggesting that EEG is a panacea for all market research questions. However, we have had some promising results and we hope that, over time, we can add to the body of knowledge in the UX field.
I hope you appreciate this feedback on your comment and I would be happy to discuss further if that would be of interest to you. In any event we welcome the debate so I thank you for giving us the opportunity to respond.
Kind regards,
Marty
Consultancy Director
Foviance