What is Consumer Neuroscience?

Neuromarketing is the union of cognitive psychology, which studies the mental processes, neurology and neurophysiology, which analyses the functioning and responses of the brain and body’s physiology to external stimuli, and marketing, which studies valuable exchanges, to explain marketing effects on customers’ and consumers’ behaviours and on buying and decision processes.

It includes a set of research techniques that, by observing and evaluating how the brain and other body parts respond, avoids possible biases and provides truthful and objective information on the consumer subconscious. Brand owners, i.e., advertisers, expect more accurate results from market researchers, and consumers have become more advertising-avoidant, making it much more difficult to reach them with advertiser messages. In addition to more accurate data, there is a need to understand, explain, and, above all, predict the behaviour of individuals, groups, and firms toward relevant markets. This type of prediction is becoming more accurate using available technological tools. All of this has had a logical impact on market research practice: with the rapid development of technology, software and applications have become available and more widely used to explore consumers’ needs. This trend has given rise to a research method called neuromarketing.

Neuromarketing is a market or academic research technique that is based on the use of neuroscientific techniques to adapt them to marketing and thus attempt to understand the purchasing processes of consumers, trying to reach the unconscious and subconscious parts of them. The information provided by these techniques is very valuable and, in certain cases, unattainable with other traditional research methods. The techniques and methodologies used in market and academic research are constantly evolving, and neuromarketing is a clear reflection of this.

This new technique has enabled marketing researchers to answer questions that they were previously unable to fully explain. For example, why do you buy a certain product and not another, why do you like one brand more than another, why do you pick up a brand in the retailer’s shop and not another, does a commercial create a more intense emotional response towards the brand than another, etc? Ultimately, it has allowed an understanding of the functioning of the consumer’s subconscious and its influence on consumer behaviour and purchasing processes. Neuromarketing is not only the union of marketing and neuroscience but also the key to understanding the subconscious reasoning, feelings, and desires that drive us when we make a purchase. In this sense, 85–90% of purchase decisions are made unconsciously, and 60% of what we buy is decided in less than 4 seconds. In addition, it has been proven that subjects are unable to reveal the reasons for their behaviour or for certain decisions and preferences. The mind and the brain are indivisible, and decisions are made mostly in the subconscious based on experience and emotions. Finally, both the technology used and the methods of analysing brain activity and its meaning are constantly evolving.

In short, neuromarketing aims to analyse the emotional impact caused by a certain product, service, advertisement, brand, or any other stimulus, and understand and even anticipate consumer behaviour at the time of purchase so that the customer’s wants can be met. All this without asking the individual any questions, but through the information provided by the subconscious, emotional, and non-rational parts of the brain as responses to marketing stimulus. The neuroscientific equipment [Eye Tracking, Facial Expression Analysis, Galvanic Skin Response (GSR), and Electroencephalography (EEG)] requested in this application will further these objectives and position UCT as the leading university in Africa in neuromarketing research.

Prospective research candidates could look at the following research questions:

• Does exposure to marketing stimuli create an emotional attachment to brands?
• How does the subconscious mind of the consumer contribute to purchase decisions?
• Is it possible to predict consumer decision-making through the utilisation of neuroscientific techniques?
• How does psychophysiological responses of consumers impact purchase decisions?
• Is it possible to identify flaws in current theoretical marketing models of purchasing behaviour by utilising neuroscientific techniques?

Master’s in Consumer Neuroscience

We offer only a full, research-based Master's degree by dissertation. Students register for either a Master of Business Science degree [CM009] or a Master of Commerce degree [CM010] by dissertation only unless otherwise specified.

Admission requirements

We are privileged to say that our selection process is very competitive, and the minimum entrance requirements are detailed below:

• An honours degree or NQF 8 equivalent marketing qualification (with an average mark of at least 65% for all the subjects);
• An honours level (NQF 8 - minimum of 30 credits) Marketing Research course (65% minimum final mark); and
• An undergraduate degree specialising in the Marketing discipline or an NQF 7 equivalent.

Application process

If this is an avenue you are interested in following, you can apply online under the "full-time studies" tab, even though you can do your master's part-time.

You will need the following for your application (please also refer to UCT’s Directions for Postgraduate Applicants for a complete list of compulsory documents/requirements):

• Certified academic transcripts.
• Evidence of previous academic writing (e.g., honours research project or a peer-reviewed conference paper, etc.).
• A research proposal in the topic/area that you are interested in pursuing, including the following sections (maximum of 10 pages from Introduction to Conclusion): Introduction, Problem Statement, Research Question, Objectives and Hypotheses, Rationale and Motivation, Literature Review, Research Methodology, Conclusion, and Bibliography (Note that the proposal document might change or be refined depending on the supervisor that you are assigned to upon successful application).
• International students might be required to provide additional documents, for example, proof of language proficiency. Please refer to UCT’s Directions for Postgraduate Applicants for details.
• A motivation letter.
• A statement on how you plan to fund your studies.

Questions students usually ask us include whether they can complete the Master's degree part-time and whether they must be based in Cape Town to undertake it at UCT.

A student can do the degree part-time, and you do not have to be based in Cape Town if you are happy to meet with your supervisor via Skype/telecom, etc. It is, however, compulsory to be present at UCT (in person) at the beginning of your degree for registration and to present and defend your proposal to a panel of academics. Still, the remainder of your contact time is up to you and your supervisor to finalise.

Master’s scholarship options

The Marketing Section in the School of Management Studies has partnered with Neural Sense™ to offer a fully paid two-year Master’s Scholarship Programme specialising in Consumer Neuroscience.

If you would like to apply, please watch the video below and kindly take note of the important information relating to the entrance requirements and application process for this exciting scholarship programme, which closes on 30 November.

Please note that only two candidates will qualify for the scholarship programme. If your application for the scholarship programme is unsuccessful, it does not affect your application from being considered for admittance into the Master's in Marketing specialising in Consumer Neuroscience (at your own cost) if you successfully complete the application process and meet the entrance requirements. Spaces on the Consumer Neuroscience Master’s programme are highly competitive and are limited due to capacity constraints.

Watch: Consumer Neuroscience Master’s Scholarship Programme video

PhD in Consumer Neuroscience

The Marketing Section in the School of Management Studies, in collaboration with Groote Schuur Hospital and Neural Sense™ (a Neuromarketing company), seeks PhD candidates who are hard-working, innovative and interested in multidisciplinary research. The research study will be conducted using cutting-edge consumer neuroscience methods. This will include neurophysiological research using brain-monitoring and/or brain-imaging technologies, such as electroencephalography (EEG) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). The study will focus on the brain's reward circuitry in relation to either negative advertising (in public health campaigns) or the effects various forms of fake media/news or false advertisements may have on consumer decision-making processes.

Your supervisory team will include experts in psychological, medical and consumer behaviour research. If you are interested in pursuing this challenging and pioneering field of research, please get in touch with the convenor for further assistance.

Programme Convenor
Dr Pragasen Pillay

For more information, please refer to the Commerce Postgraduate Handbook.