Human Brain Responses to Fast-Moving Consumer Goods Using Electroencephalography

Aksoy, Murat

Abstract

The utilisation of brain monitoring methods in the field of neuroscience provides an opportunity to go beyond subjective data collection methods such as questionnaires, focus groups, and interviews. Using these monitoring methods allows researchers in the marketing discipline to gain new consumer neuroscience insights. Consumer neuroscience aims to utilise insights and techniques from the field of neuroscience for a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms and cognitive processes involved in consumer behaviour.
The role of visual perception is especially important in consumer behaviour as it represents the first interaction between consumers and products at the moment of truth. Consumers encounter numerous products in retail stores, especially fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) brands. However, humans have cognitive limitations when perceiving and comprehending such an overwhelming amount of information. Consequently, gaining insights into the visual sensory and perceptual processes that differentiate the perception of FMCG packaging designs is crucial for studying consumer decision-making processes.
The use of brain monitoring methods has gained popularity in studying consumer behaviour and providing valuable insights into the psychological processes that influence consumer perception towards products and brands. Electroencephalography (EEG) has emerged as a valuable neuroscientific method for studying the sensory processing and perception of visual stimuli. EEG records the electrical signals arising from brain activity at the scalp surface. By using EEG, researchers can gain new insights into how consumers perceive FMCG packaging from a neurophysiological perspective. One approach is to analyse EEG event-related potentials (ERPs), which capture brain responses to visual stimuli that are time-locked at the point of presentation to the participant. Given the complex visual characteristics of FMCG packaging images, including brand logo, colour, shape, and label, it is crucial and desirable to include control conditions in experiments measuring ERP responses. To date, only a limited number of ERP studies have focused on FMCG packaging, and the inclusion of appropriate control conditions to enhance the accuracy of findings has been minimal.
This thesis addresses the need for a methodological approach in the field of consumer neuroscience and explores the utilisation of control conditions and stimuli in ERP studies that examine consumer visual perception towards FMCG packaging. The main purpose of this thesis is to determine and utilise experimental control conditions for ERP studies that investigate the impact of FMCG packaging on visual perception. The research employs an integrated theoretical framework combining the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) model, Information Processing Theory (IPT), and Mechanisms Identification (MI) approach to offer valuable insights into the perceptual and cognitive processes underlying consumer behaviour in response to packaging stimuli.
Visual stimuli sets were selected, processed and assessed to be utilised in a subsequent ERP investigation. Photo images for four experimental conditions, namely full version of front-of-package (FoP) FMCG packaging (FP), front-view of famous buildings (FB), front-view of ordinary objects (OO) and front-view of famous faces (FF), have been selected and processed using an image processing procedure to control visual features of the images, including luminosity, colour and orientation. An online questionnaire was designed and conducted to evaluate the familiarity and typicality of each photo image in the experimental conditions. A shortlist of photo images in each condition was formed based on images with higher combined scores of familiarity and typicality. Additionally, blank (BP) and scrambled (SP) versions of the photo images in the FP condition were generated. A final list of photo images for six experimental conditions with similar familiarity, typicality and visual features was determined to be utilised in the ERP investigation to prevent any confounding effects on the ERP responses.
An ERP investigation was conducted to compare FMCG packaging images to different types of potential control conditions, including BP, SP, FB, OO and FF conditions separately. ERP responses to all experimental conditions successfully obtained from all participants represented consistent patterns of ERP waveforms with corresponding components, including the N1, P1 and N2 components in the anterior and the P1, N1, and P2 components in the posterior brain regions. Then, the ERP responses to the FP condition were statistically compared to those from the BP, SP, FB, OO and FF conditions separately (FP vs BP; FP vs SP; FP vs FB; FP vs OO; FP vs FF) using mean amplitude, peak amplitude, and peak latency via multiple general linear model (GLM) analysis of variance (ANOVA). These statistical comparisons of the FP condition to the other conditions resulted in significant ERP differences between the FP and the BP, SP, OO and FF conditions with different components of ERPs at different time courses and brain regions. The selection of these control conditions might be considered based on the desired ERP components and brain regions corresponding to the specific research objectives and experimental paradigms in the field of consumer neuroscience.
Key findings of this research reveal significant differences in ERP responses between FMCG packaging stimuli and various control conditions. The comparison between the FP and BP conditions showed that the absence of informational elements on FMCG packaging (BP condition) led to increased attentional processing and effort in searching for missing information, as reflected by higher anterior N1 (aN1) amplitudes and slower latencies. This finding aligns with the attention stage of IPT, demonstrating how the absence of familiar visual elements on packaging can lead to greater allocation of attentional resources. The comparison between FP and SP conditions indicated that coherent packaging designs (FP condition) elicited enhanced attentional engagement, as reflected by higher aN1 amplitudes, capturing the attention stage of IPT. The higher aP1 amplitude and shorter latency for the SP condition suggest that scrambled images may set lower expectations from repetitive stimuli, leading to easier matching of sensory input with these reduced expectations, reflecting the perception stage of IPT.
Interestingly, no significant differences were found in early ERP components between FP and FB conditions, suggesting that the initial processing of familiar, complex visual stimuli may be relatively category-independent, driven more by low-level visual features and general familiarity than by semantic category. This finding relates to the early stages of attention and perception in IPT. However, differences captured in the comparison between FP and OO conditions, specifically in the aN2 and pP2 components, suggest that FMCG packaging may elicit distinct cognitive processes related to marketing-specific information. These components are associated with the comprehension stage of IPT, indicating that FMCG packaging engages higher-order cognitive processing and memory encoding processes that differ from those elicited by ordinary objects. Furthermore, the FF condition successfully elicited the N170 and VPP components, demonstrating the reliability of the ERP methodology employed in this study and validating both the experimental paradigm and data analysis procedures, in line with the well-established literature on face processing.
In conclusion, this thesis makes a new contribution to knowledge and understanding by demonstrating the importance of considering and including control conditions in experimental paradigms involving ERPs and FMCG. The inclusion of control conditions will enable researchers to better design their experimental protocols, more accurately interpret ERP responses obtained, and thereby advance the field of consumer neuroscience. The integrated theoretical framework developed in this thesis offers a comprehensive model for understanding consumer cognitive processing in FMCG contexts, providing a foundation for future studies leading to a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of consumer decision-making in the context of FMCG packaging and beyond.

Citation

Aksoy, M. (2024). Human Brain Responses to Fast-Moving Consumer Goods Using Electroencephalography. (Thesis). University of Hull. https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4910116

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Nov 6, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 4, 2029
• Keywords: Event-Related Potentials; Electroencephalography; Consumer Perception; Fast-Moving Consumer Goods; Front-of-Package
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4910116
• Additional Information: Marketing, Management & Business Strategy; University of Hull
• Award Date: Oct 3, 2024