Consumers Favor “Right Brain” Training: The Dangerous Lure of Neuromarketing
ABSTRACT
Over the past decade the neuromarketing of educational products has become increasingly common. Researchers have however expressed concern about the misapplication of neuroscience to education marketing, fearing that consumers may be deceived into investing in apparently “brain‐based” products under the misapprehension that they will be more effective. This study provides the first demonstration that these fears are justified. We presented 180 participants with one of four advertisements for an identical educational program, named either “Right Brain” or “Right Start” Training; the advertisements either did, or did not, include an MRI brain image in one corner. Results demonstrated that “Right Brain” training was deemed more interesting, educationally valuable, and scientifically strong than an identical product named “Right Start” training. Advertisements including an unrelated brain image enhanced ratings of scientific rationale. These results confirm that by implying a strong scientific basis, “brain‐based” product names are remarkably effective in implicitly manipulating consumer opinion.
Number of times cited: 8
- Bettina Hohnen, Promoting Educational Success, Child Psychology and Psychiatry, (413-419), (2017).
- Marta Ferrero, Pablo Garaizar and Miguel A. Vadillo, Neuromyths in Education: Prevalence among Spanish Teachers and an Exploration of Cross-Cultural Variation, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 10, (2016).
- O. Karakus, P.A. Howard-Jones and T. Jay, Primary and Secondary School Teachers’ Knowledge and Misconceptions about the Brain in Turkey, Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 174, (1933), (2015).
- Daniel S. Busso and Courtney Pollack, No brain left behind: consequences of neuroscience discourse for education, Learning, Media and Technology, 40, 2, (168), (2015).
- Pedro De Bruyckere, Paul A. Kirschner and Casper D. Hulshof, Neuromyths, Urban Myths about Learning and Education, 10.1016/B978-0-12-801537-7.00004-4, (93-125), (2015).
- Paul A. Howard-Jones, Neuroscience and education: myths and messages, Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 15, 12, (817), (2014).
- Martha J. Farah, Brain Images, Babies, and Bathwater:Critiquing Critiques of Functional Neuroimaging, Hastings Center Report, 44, s2, (S19), (2014).
- Asil Özdoğru and Nursena Balatekin, Neuromyths as a Challenge and Opportunity for the Learning and Teaching of Neuroscience, Cumhuriyet International Journal of Education, 10.30703/cije.457302, 7, 4, (483-494), (2018).
