This neuromarketing glossary gives you clear definitions of key concepts in consumer psychology, decision-making and brain-based marketing. It’s designed to help you quickly understand the science behind why people buy and how to apply it in your strategy.
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1. Consumer Behavior and Psychology
- Neuromarketing: Study of consumer behavior using neuroscience.
- Consumer Insight: Deep understanding of consumer needs and motives.
- Cognitive Bias: Systematic deviation from rational judgment.
- Decision-Making: The process of choosing between options.
- Heuristics: Mental shortcuts that simplify decision-making.
- Rationality: Logic-based reasoning in decisions.
- Impulse Buying: Spontaneous, unplanned purchases.
- Decision Fatigue: Decline in quality of decisions after many choices.
- Choice Overload: Difficulty choosing when options are too many.
- Behavioral Segmentation: Grouping consumers by behaviors.
- Emotional Response: Automatic emotional reaction to stimuli.
- Cognitive Dissonance: Discomfort from holding conflicting beliefs.
- Purchase Intention: Likelihood of a consumer buying a product.
- Perceived Value: Value a consumer assigns to a product.
- Behavioral Economics: Study of psychology in economic decision-making.
- Perception: How consumers interpret sensory information.
- Automaticity: Actions taken without conscious thought.
- Subconscious: Mental processes outside of awareness.
- Persuasion: Act of influencing attitudes or behaviors.
- Influence: Capacity to shape others’ decisions or views.
- Affordance: Property that suggests a use.
- Psychological Distance: Perception of distance in time, space, or relationship.
- Construal Level Theory: How distance affects thinking.
- Friction: Resistance in decision processes.
- Situational Context: Environmental factors influencing behavior.
- Habits: Repetitive behaviors formed by context and rewards.
- Mental Models: Internal frameworks used to interpret the world.
- Attitude Formation: Process by which opinions and preferences are shaped.
- Satisficing: Choosing an acceptable option rather than the optimal one.
- Need Recognition: Initial stage in the buying process when a problem is perceived.
- Approach-Avoidance Conflict: Psychological tension from opposing desires.
2. Emotions and Triggers
- Emotional Triggers: Stimuli that evoke emotional responses.
- Pain of Paying: Discomfort associated with spending money.
- Arousal: State of being alert or stimulated.
- Reward System: Brain network associated with rewards.
- Scarcity Effect: Perceived value from limited availability.
- Fear of Missing Out (FOMO): Anxiety from missing experiences.
- Loss Aversion: Tendency to avoid losses over acquiring gains.
- Emotional Appeal: Strategy to connect through emotions.
- Nostalgia: Longing for the past, often used in marketing.
- Anxiety: Feelings of worry or unease.
- Excitement: High energy, often positive anticipation.
- Happiness: Positive emotional state.
- Sentiment Analysis: Assessing emotional tone in language.
- Mood: Temporary emotional state.
- Empathy: Ability to understand others’ feelings.
- Envy: Desire for others’ traits or possessions.
- Sympathy: Sharing feelings of sorrow or compassion.
- Motivation: Drive behind behavior.
- Affective Conditioning: Associating positive feelings with brands.
- Reward Sensitivity: Responsiveness to potential rewards.
- Emotional Resonance: Emotional alignment with a message.
- Guilt: Negative feeling from perceived wrongdoing.
- Satisfaction: Fulfillment from expectations being met.
- Surprise: Reaction to unexpected events.
- Emotional Contagion: Tendency to “catch” emotions from others.
- Emotional Regulation: Control or adjustment of emotional reactions.
- Anticipated Emotion: Expected feeling influencing future decisions.
- Emotional Labor: Managing emotions to align with expected behavior.
3. Perception and Attention
- Attention Captors: Elements that grab consumer focus.
- Priming: Exposure that influences subsequent responses.
- Subliminal Messaging: Messages below conscious awareness.
- Visual Perception: Interpretation of visual cues.
- Eye Tracking: Tracking eye movements to gauge attention.
- Gaze: The focus of one’s visual attention.
- Attention Span: Duration of focused attention.
- Stimuli: Elements that provoke sensory responses.
- Perception Bias: Tendency to perceive based on expectation.
- Color Psychology: Influence of color on emotions and actions.
- Symbolic Meaning: Deeper meaning attributed to symbols.
- Pattern Recognition: Identifying regularities in data.
- Salience: Noticeability of a feature.
- Sensory Marketing: Engaging consumers’ senses to influence them.
- Multisensory Experience: Interaction involving multiple senses.
- Contrast: Visual difference that draws attention.
- Fluency: Ease of processing information.
- Novelty: Unfamiliarity that captures interest.
- Signal Detection: Ability to discern relevant cues.
- Preattentive Processing: Processing of info before conscious awareness.
- Gestalt Principles: Rules of visual perception.
- Framing: Presenting information in a way that influences interpretation.
- Visual Hierarchy: Arrangement guiding visual attention.
- Haptic Feedback: Tactile response, often in devices.
- Olfactory Marketing: Using scent to affect perception.
- Cognitive Load: Mental effort required to process information.
- Visual Clutter: Excess of visual stimuli that hinders attention.
- Perceptual Set: Predisposition to perceive in a certain way.
- Change Blindness: Failure to notice a change in visual stimuli.
- Banner Blindness: Ignoring content perceived as advertising.
4. Social Interaction and Trust
- Social Proof: Influence from others’ actions.
- Trust Signals: Elements that build credibility.
- Brand Loyalty: Preference for one brand over others.
- Brand Trust: Confidence in a brand’s reliability.
- Brand Equity: Perceived value associated with a brand.
- Word-of-Mouth: Recommendations from others.
- Influencer Marketing: Leveraging influential people to promote.
- Authority Bias: Trust in information from authority figures.
- Reciprocity: Responding to a positive action with another.
- Social Validation: Seeking approval from others.
- Customer Testimonials: Reviews supporting product quality.
- Advocacy: Consumers supporting or promoting a brand.
- Familiarity: Recognition and comfort with a brand.
- Reputation: Public perception of a brand or individual.
- Social Influence: Effect of others on behavior.
- Peer Influence: Behavior shaped by peers.
- Social Currency: Value derived from social interactions.
- In-Group Preference: Favoring one’s own group.
- Groupthink: Conformity in group decision-making.
- Approval: Positive endorsement from others.
- Reputation Management: Efforts to shape public perception.
- Public Perception: Collective view of a brand.
- Peer Recommendation: Endorsement from peers.
- Viral Effect: Rapid sharing of content.
- Followership: Support or engagement from followers.
- Halo Effect: Positive impression in one area influencing perception in another.
- Trust Transfer: Gaining trust by association with a trusted entity.
- Social Desirability Bias: Tendency to present oneself favorably.
- Cultural Norms: Shared expectations influencing behavior.
- Identity Signaling: Displaying traits to express group affiliation.
5. Neuroscience and Brain Mechanisms
- Primal Brain: Brain areas associated with survival instincts.
- Mirror Neurons: Neurons that activate when observing others.
- Neural Pathways: Networks of connected neurons.
- Brain Mapping: Study of brain function localization.
- Neurotransmitters: Chemicals that transmit signals in the brain.
- Amygdala: Brain area linked to emotions like fear.
- Prefrontal Cortex: Brain area for complex planning and decision-making.
- Brain Imaging: Techniques for visualizing brain activity.
- Limbic System: Brain system involved in emotions.
- Emotional Brain: Brain areas linked to emotional processing.
- Oxytocin: Hormone linked to bonding and trust.
- Neuroplasticity: Brain’s ability to reorganize connections.
- Cortical Response: Brain’s reaction to stimuli.
- Reward Center: Brain region for processing rewards.
- Neocortex: Part of the brain responsible for sensory perception.
- Dopamine: Neurotransmitter for pleasure and motivation.
- Synapse: Junction where neurons communicate.
- Neurofeedback: Training brain responses through feedback.
- Medial Cortex: Brain area linked to self-reflection.
- Electroencephalography (EEG): Recording electrical activity in the brain.
- Functional MRI (fMRI): Imaging of active brain areas.
- Brain Stimulation: Techniques to influence brain activity.
- Neural Activation: Activation of neurons.
- Default Mode Network: Brain area active during rest.
- Connectivity: Connections between brain regions.
- Reticular Activating System (RAS): Brain system regulating attention and alertness.
- Somatosensory Cortex: Processes sensory input from the body.
- Temporal Lobe: Region linked to memory and language.
- Neural Synchrony: Alignment of brain activity between individuals.
6. Behavioral Economics and Consumer Decision-Making
- Behavioral Economics: Study of psychological factors in economics.
- Loss Aversion: Preference to avoid losses over acquiring gains.
- Anchoring: Relying heavily on the first information received.
- Prospect Theory: Theory on decision-making under risk.
- Mental Accounting: Categorizing money for different uses.
- Framing Effect: Influence of presentation on decision-making.
- Hyperbolic Discounting: Favoring immediate rewards over future.
- Risk Perception: Individual’s interpretation of risk.
- Present Bias: Preference for immediate outcomes.
- Status Quo Bias: Preference for things to stay the same.
- Endowment Effect: Value increase for owned items.
- Opportunity Cost: Loss from choosing one option over another.
- Value Proposition: Value offered to customers.
- Sunk Cost Fallacy: Continuing due to past investments.
- Incentives: Rewards to motivate behaviors.
- Reciprocity: Responding to positive actions in kind.
- Time Preference: Preference for immediate vs. future benefits.
- Behavioral Nudges: Small interventions to influence choices.
- Anchoring Bias: Over-reliance on initial information.
- Availability Heuristic: Relying on readily available information.
- Comparative Thinking: Judging options in comparison.
- Decoy Effect: Preference influenced by a third option.
- Price Sensitivity: Responsiveness to price changes.
- Utility: Satisfaction from consuming a product.
- Willingness to Pay: Maximum price a consumer would pay.
- Choice Architecture: Design of environments to influence decisions.
- Default Effect: Preference for pre-selected options.
- Commitment Device: Strategy to stick with a future goal.
- Licensing Effect: Moral behavior giving license for indulgence.
- Paradox of Choice: Too many options reducing satisfaction.
- Zero Price Effect: Irrational preference for free items.