buy•ology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy—Discussion Topics Intro & Ch 1 • Based on your understanding of the “Intro” and Chapter 1 of this book, explain your understanding of the term “neuromarketing.” Ch 2 • Focus on research presented on “Product Placement.” What conclusions did our author reach based on the research? Think about a time when product placement in a TV show or movie impacted you. Describe your memories about this. How long ago did this occur? Are your present-day purchase decisions impacted by this? Can you think of a current example of effective product placement in a movie or TV show? Ch 3 • What is the significance of the research on “mirror neurons”? Specifically, read and refer to pages 58-63 on the fMRI findings. How can this research be used in a positive way? How can it be used in a detrimental way? Ch 4 • Comment on why subliminal advertising and messaging is so controversial. Is there an example or two in this chapter that you find disturbing? If so, what disturbs you? Ch 5 • After reading the chapter, return to page 99 and re-read from this point to the end of the chapter. Take some time to assess your own buying behavior. (Be as objective as you can.) Are there specific brands that you continue to buy out of habit? Are any of these purchases related to certain rituals or superstitions (ex: you never play your sport in anything but Nike shoes; Nike is your lucky brand)? Do you know anyone who buys because of ritual or superstition? What kind of products and brands? Ch 6 • There are descriptions of two particular studies of interest highlighted in this chapter. The first description, found on pages 107-108, involving fMRI research with nuns from the Carmelite order (regarding brain activity associated with “profound religious experience” versus “profound emotional experience with another human being”), and the second description, beginning on page 121 and continuing to the end of the chapter, discussing commonalities between branding and religion & spirituality. o Was any of this information impactful for you? o What further line of questioning does it provoke? Ch 7 • Consider the information in the chapter on “the power of somatic markers.” What brands do you buy over and over again? Is it possible that somatic markers are involved in any of your purchase decisions? Comment on this possibility, using specific examples, if you can. Ch 8 • The information in this chapter deals with the topic of “selling to our senses.” After reading the entire chapter, consider specifically the information on pages 162 through the end of the chapter. In the middle of page 162, note a significant piece of information, “In sum, the fMRI results revealed that three out of four of our brands did well when sound and vision were combined in a congruent way. Our volunteers were emotionally engaged, and there was evidence of long-term memory encoding. One brand, however, fell catastrophically short.” • Discuss your understanding of this significant research. What are your takeaways from this discussion? • Can you think of a time when you found a product characteristic (perhaps a “subtle sensory assault”) to be so offensive that it prevented you from associating with a brand? Ch 9 • Our authors describe several products or ventures that failed in recent years. The title of the chapter is curiously, “Neuromarketing and Predicting the Future”? • Describe the role you can envision for the research field and practice of neuromarketing? Ch 10 • This particular chapter deals with “sex in advertising.” Our author explains some interesting views on this topic. Read the entire chapter and then re-read pages 190-193. Beginning with the text on pg. 190, “The Question Remains: If sex and beauty don’t necessarily sell products, why are they so prevalent in advertising?” explain your understanding of the material presented. What’s your opinion regarding the future of “sex in advertising”? Ch 11 • In Chapter 11, which deals with “The Future of Marketing and Advertising,” there’s an interesting piece of text on pages 196-197: Neuroscientists have even studied how our brains make decisions about how much we are willing to pay for a product. When subjects view luxury products such as Louis Vuitton and Gucci being sold at full price, both the nucleus accumbens and the anterior cingulate light up, showing the pleasure of anticipatory reward mixed with the conflict about buying such an expensive doodad. But when consumers are shown the same products priced at a significant discount, the “conflict” sign decreases as the reward activation simultaneously goes up. • What’s your reaction to this particular passage and other material in the chapter? What are your predictions about “The Future of Marketing and Advertising”? Ch 12 • Comment on some of our author’s conclusions. What’s your reaction to this information? • Revisit the question posed to you at the beginning of the semester: o At the end of the semester, you will be asked whether you think neuromarketing should be used as a significant tool in marketing decisions. If so, you will need to support or defend your response. If you think neuromarketing should be used only in conjunction with other decision making tools, you will need to state this and explain your reasoning. If you believe it is not appropriate to use neuromarketing in marketing decision making, you will need to justify this position as well. 
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