The Business Case for Human Behavior Research

• Researchers can gain greater insights into consumer preferences by combining traditional research methods with tools that measure subjects’ physical and neurological responses to stimuli.
• When business schools add behavioral research initiatives, they promote interdisciplinary collaboration, solidify corporate connections, and develop novel research ideas.
• Companies are looking for business graduates who can make use of massive amounts of physiological data and understand the challenges of using it ethically.

 
What do you focus on when you see a new ad or spot a new product on the shelf? How do you react when you’re trying to navigate an unfamiliar web page or manage a stressful situation? If researchers were taking certain physiological measurements, they could track your body’s cues to understand what captures and holds your attention, how you make decisions, and how you interact with the people around you.

The study of human behavior is often referred to as “neuroeconomics,” “neuromarketing,” or “organizational neuroscience.” In this field, researchers combine principles from psychology, neuroscience, and economics to better understand how physiological factors reflect the way subjects behave, make decisions, and interact. These physiological metrics enable organizations to design more effective advertising, optimize work environments, improve ergonomics, prevent accidents, and enhance user experiences.

Previously, the field mainly focused on neurophysiology measurements (such as EEGs and fMRIs) to track measurements of the brain for insights into the mind. Today, we have tools that are more accessible, both in terms of cost and technical ability. These biometric tools—often referred to as biosensors or wearable sensors—can analyze eye movements, facial expressions, heart activity, galvanic skin responses (also known as electrodermal activity), respiration rates, and voice patterns to measure a subject’s attention level, stress, cognitive workload, arousal, and engagement.

Researchers can combine this information with the subject’s self-reported responses, gathered through traditional research methods such as surveys, focus groups, interviews, and observation. By analyzing both the conscious and subconscious ways the participant processes stimuli, researchers can make more nuanced inferences about the participant’s decision-making processes, emotions, perceptions, preferences, and biases.

Across most industries today, more organizations are turning to physiological metrics to track and predict customer behavior. At the same time, individual consumers are relying on biosensor tools in their daily lives as they use smartphones, smartwatches, and fitness trackers to count their steps, assess their sleep, or monitor their overall health.

Because physiological research has become so important to companies and consumers, it’s essential for business schools to address it in their scholarship activities and in their classrooms.

Adding Up the Advantages

Schools that incorporate human behavior research into their teaching and research will find that it offers a host of benefits:

It promotes interdisciplinary collaboration. Economics, marketing, psychology, medicine, and even art offer different lenses through which analysts can examine human behavior. Information systems, computer science, and engineering departments provide methods for producing, processing, and analyzing physiological data. As representatives from various departments gather in the same spaces, they engage in constructive collaborations and generate ideas that can be leveraged to attract students, media attention, and funding opportunities.

“This perpetuates a cycle of fundraising, grants, and rankings, all of which contribute to the ultimate mission of advancing education and research,” says Mike Breazeale, director of the Market Innovation Lab & Observatory (MILO) at Mississippi State University in Starkville.

When human behavior research is combined with traditional research methods, analysts can develop a deeper understanding of the scenarios they’re studying.

It facilitates corporate connections. Large and small businesses in many industries can benefit from human behavior research. A local restaurant might use such research to test menu layouts, while a major music producer might use it to predict whether a song will become popular. Because companies might not have the necessary equipment or expertise to gather physiological data on their own, many will look to partner with business schools to conduct the research.

It produces novel insights. When human behavior research is combined with traditional research methods, analysts can develop a deeper understanding of the scenarios they’re studying. For instance, student research projects have looked at gender bias in sports viewership and how subtitles affect comprehension and perception.

It gives students a competitive edge in the job market. As companies seek to gain better insights into their customers, CEOs will look for graduates with a knowledge of physiological metrics.

“Companies need to build their own expertise with those who know how to apply these new methodologies,” explains Mike Mickunas, former global vice president of insights and analytics at Kellogg’s and current professor of marketing at Michigan State University’s Broad College of Business in Lansing.

It provides added insights for students in certain fields. Human behavior research will be particularly valuable for students passionate about careers that revolve around these critical business topics:

• Sustainability and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues. Business graduates who have a deep understanding of human behavior will be able develop strategies that guide consumers toward making more environmentally conscious decisions.
• Diversity, equity, and inclusion. Physiological metrics can help supervisors uncover the unconscious biases and assumptions that employees hold about their co-workers. This in turn enables business leaders to design DEI policies that will be effective.
• Trust. In a world rife with misinformation, trust is a major factor in how consumers relate to brands, employees relate to management, and people relate to stories. Using biometric tools, researchers can see how subjects respond viscerally to brands or public figures, and they can compare this information to how subjects self-report their levels of trust or distrust. Such research gives business leaders a more nuanced understanding of how people react to various sources.

Bringing Biometrics Into the Classroom

Schools that want to integrate physiological research into their curricula often rely on tools provided by third-party vendors. One such company is iMotions, which makes software that supports a wide variety of hardware for various physiological metrics.

Some schools start by simply bringing biometric tools into their classrooms. Because web cameras can be used to track eye movements and facial expressions, students in large classes can design projects that combine these physiological metrics with traditional research methods such as surveys. Because students can design studies and analyze results on their own laptops, this approach is also suitable for remote learning.

Some students have said that if they had not been able to study subconscious responses, they would have had to choose completely different topics for their projects.

As an example, in a recent one-week marketing course at VIA University College in Horsens, Denmark, students conducted 35 distinct studies using browser-based software. Students designed and distributed A/B split test studies of social media content they had created. By the end of the week, they had gained hands-on experience in learning how small changes affected participants’ engagement, and they had analyzed and presented their findings.

When more specialized hardware is needed, professors can conduct classes in labs that contain equipment for tracking eye movements, galvanic skin response, heart rate, and respiration. For instance, at High Point University’s Phillips School of Business in North Carolina, marketing students work in BEACON Lab to collaborate on real-world research with leading brands. Students have looked at logo design in social media ads, brand recognition in the fast-food industry, and sports-viewing experiences on virtual screens versus traditional flat-screen media.

“This is more than just a class, it’s a résumé builder,” notes Miguel Sahagun, the Charles T. Ingram Associate Professor of Marketing and director of neuromarketing at BEACON Lab. “Students start from scratch having nothing but an idea. And by the end of the semester, they end up writing a manuscript and presenting it.”

Still other schools, such as the Quinlan School of Business at Loyola University Chicago, take a mixed approach. There, assistant professor Dinko Bačić teaches Analytical Decision-Making, a course where undergraduates first learn about physiological research through a classroom tool. Then students use the school’s User Experience and Biometrics Lab (UX & B) to conduct studies they design themselves.

In a recent semester, Quinlan students conducted seven studies that were approved by an institutional review board. Students had the opportunity to present their work at a campus event that showcases university-based research—an event that typically is dominated by research in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering, and math. Students also drafted manuscripts to submit to academic journals.

Some of Bačić’s students have said that if they had not been able to study subconscious responses, they would have had to choose completely different topics for their projects. One student added that doing “research such as this has provided me invaluable insights into today’s data-driven landscape.”

Confronting the Challenges

It’s important for students not only to gain hands-on experience with biometric tools, but also to understand the two main challenges facing companies when it comes to physiological research:

Dealing with data. There’s a lot of it, which leads to a risk of overload. Many metrics are recorded per second, or even per millisecond, meaning that one person watching a 30-second video one time with one sensor can produce tens of thousands of data points.

In addition, the data is easy to collect, so it accumulates quickly. Some physiological metrics—such as analysis of eye movements, facial expressions, voice levels, and respiration—can be recorded remotely with the cameras and microphones many people have on their laptops. Add in smartwatches and other wearables, and the opportunities to gather data seem infinite.

Graduates who have designed, executed, and analyzed physiological data will develop the creativity and critical thinking skills needed to use big data to drive business strategies.

“I believe that the big data we see now is nothing compared to what will come in the future when we start harnessing physiological data and working with it,” observes Bačić.

Companies are still figuring out how to use all that information. While artificial intelligence tools that help users organize and visualize data are increasingly available, business leaders often are unsure of how to gain useful insights from the information they’ve collected. It’s like having the freshest ingredients and the finest cooking tools, but no recipe.

To turn out the analysts that companies need, business schools should provide their students with firsthand experience in hypothesis testing, data analysis, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Graduates who have had opportunities to design, execute, and analyze physiological data will develop the creativity and critical thinking skills needed to use big data to drive business strategies.

Evaluating ethics. Many ethical implications surround data in the digital age. To prevent the misuse of physiological data, executives need to understand how it is acquired, anonymized, and analyzed. Because AI often is used to extract useful insights from physiological data, CEOs also must be prepared to engage in the discussion about the responsible use of AI. This means students must have these same discussions while they’re still in business school.

Facing the Future

Tomorrow’s business leaders will help shape future policies regarding the hardware and software that generate and handle physiological data. For this reason, today’s business students need to gain firsthand experience with these tools while participating in ethical discussions about the use of this technology. They will need to understand how to balance the need for personal privacy with the imperative to leverage technology to improve society.

By showing students how to navigate the way forward with physiological data, schools will ensure that companies have access to even deeper insights into their customer bases and their businesses.