The conflict of the conscious and unconscious mind
Professor Joel WeinbergerDerner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies, and Chip WalkerY&R Advertising
Researchers assume respondents are answering honestly but human behaviour is complex and often unconscious, so to better connect with consumers, avoid over-reliance on conscious assessment
Most marketing research relies on assessing consumers' conscious reactions to marketing ideas, ads, etc. through methods like questionnaires, surveys, and focus groups. It also often relies on evidence that the message was attended to by assessing recall of ad content.
One assumption these researchers make is that respondents can, and will,...