WebWord

Not long ago, Arnold Worldwide, a Boston-based marketing firm, had six male whiskey drinkers take a look at various images to gauge their emotional power for an advertising campaign. This is not unusual. However, it was unique in that the brains of the drinkers were analyzed during the viewings using functional MRIs (fMRIs). We’re starting to see the birth of neuromarketing.

With this as the backdrop, consider how fMRIs might be used in the realm of user experience, usability testing, and information architecture. Assuming that the intention is to increase usability and improve life for users, this presents no real problem. But, if this information is used to profile or stereotype users, especially  for certain marketing activites, then we should be concerned.

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 10th, 2007 at 3:40 pm and is filed under Usability. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.