IPSOS Is the Behavioural Lens Out of Focus? VIEWS SAM: a balanced view of In other cases customers are driven by a desire to avoid stuff- ups: at Ipsos we have found a clear contrast in customer behaviour behaviour between sectors of financial services where the consequences of poor decisions are high like mortgage When these different lenses are superimposed, a simpler and choice or wealth management vs others like credit card clearer view of economic behaviour becomes apparent: three or online savings account. For the former, making the best key forces shape decision and choice processes. Shortcuts possible decision is only a distant second priority to not and biases find their place in this view and we gain a more making a poor decision. unified view of behaviour: it is one of efficiency, not perfection vs flaws in rationality or emotion vs reason. Self-interest (me) is increasingly influenced by ‘me and we’ considerations that are fuelled by hyper-connectivity, a The SAM consumer Seeks to maximise, wants to Avoid desire for transparency and a fresh sense of activism. For negative emotion and Minimise effort (SAM). When behaviour the launch of its plug-in C-Max car, Ford enabled people in is seen from the perspective of how those three internal forces 10 cities around the world to create their own animation and shape our behaviour in a particular situation, social context or be part of a shared story using La Linea, an old animation set of circumstances, which reasoning processes we engage character and the idea of plug-in. So maximisation is driven in decision-making, which shortcuts we turn to and which by what we need or desire as individuals but tempered by biases are at play, we move from behaviour as a “pile of quirks” surface and deep currents of social norms and our enduring to behaviour as decision-processes and outcomes in context. need for belonging. 1. Seeking maximisation Context colours decision situations, how we form impressions, preferences and choices. There are multiple Maximisation looks different from that of economics once facets to context that can be used on their own or in the lens from psychology is added: combination to impact impressions and decision processes: moment and location, time pressure, complexity and Maximisation is not about choosing the best in all uncertainty of situation, presentation of options, social and circumstances but making decisions that we are personal, culture, physiological or mental state, etc. French happy with (and sometimes not unhappy with). Hence fashion label Pimkie has teamed up with Hotel Banks in consumers can seek to maximise very tightly or simply try Belgium to create fashion mini-bars. The range of apparel and avoid poor outcomes … and anywhere in between. and accessories is chosen in light of weather and local It is a much more elastic view of maximisation and allows activities. Hotel customers are free to use the items from the for consumers behaving as effective maximisers in some mini-bar and purchase them on check-out. cases: for examples, eye-tracking studies reveal maximising The ‘hot cognition’ research points to the relationship behaviour as ‘eye fixations’ move between mainstream between mood and how we process situations (more brand and its private label look-alike on shelf. If the eye is holistically and superficially, less analytically). An Ipsos R&D not a window into the soul, it is certainly a window into our experiment using a range of biometrics and other measures mind and the processes at work. (eye-tracking, heart rate, galvanic skin response and voice pitch) shows that handing out a flower to shoppers as they enter the drinks aisle in a large grocery store: 5