Gong.
I'm wrong... no
There are hundreds of studies like this.
You are wrong. Deal with it.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2008
Decisions made with 10% logic, 90% emotion
As I was driving into work the other day, and idly switching stations because NPR was on a pledge break, I happened to hear a political commentator say something like: People will vote in this election 10% on the candidates policies and 90% on emotion and gut.
It was one of those screeching, who shouts the loudest type shows so I continued switching to some other station but I did wonder if this statement is true. And, if true, does this type of decision making apply to everything or just to politics?
So, this morning, I started searching around for a reference. All search roads led to a book by Drew Westen called: The Political Brain: the Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the Nation. The book is written from the Democrats perspective asking how come they keep losing to the Republicans and why are so many people voting against what they perceive to be their self interest.
Westen's thesis is that the Democrats like Dukakis, Kerry and Gore lost because they tried to appeal to the dispassionate, rational, fact-sensitive voter whereas Republicans have done a better job of tapping into emotions. "Voters don't want to be inundated with facts, they want to be awash in feelings. Voting is emotional, not cognitive," Westen said in an interview while promoting his book.
So, what about soap? Or used cars? Or computers? How important are functional benefits and competitive advantages for those products? Or are they just useful to help consumers rationalize decisions they've already emotionally made? Is logic category-specific or is emotion always more important?
Links:
1) Emotion Trumps Logic in the Voting Booth: AlterNet
2) To win, Dems must fight: tampabay.com |
