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The Seduction of Capitalism is a Brain Function?

Mike Dobson | 15.01.2008 10:44 | Culture | Globalisation | Other Press | World

Previous research has examined how advertising and marketing affects behaviour, but this is the first study to demonstrate the direct effect on the brain.

Hilke Plassmann, John O'Doherty, Baba Shiv, and Antonio Rangel of the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the California Institute of Technology asked 21 adult volunteers to sample identical bottles of wine presented at different prices and by using [functionalMRI] brain scans they monitored the neural activity in the medial orbitofrontal cortex - the area of the brain associated with decision-making and pleasure in terms of flavour.

They found that [for] the more "expensive" wines ......the part of the brain responsible for pleasure showed significant activity .

The authors say it has been known for some time that people's perceptions are affected by marketing, but it can now be seen that the brain itself is affected by price.

 http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/0706929105v1?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=rangel&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&resourcetype=HWCIT

 http://www.news-medical.net/?id=34284

Mike Dobson
- e-mail: michael.dob871@onetel.net

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Qualities are social

15.01.2008 19:21

The buying of products against an exchange of a symbolic value, eg money/price is a relatively recent activity. I have my doubts that there could be innate functions in the brain in this sense, and as such the evolutionay theory may be looking in the wrong direction. Capitalism is not a natural phenomen, it is a social construction. In fact would be really ridiculous to affirm that "now that we know how price can affect decision making, we will ignore it because we enjoy the wine however!!". This is what the marketers do! But not rational human beings once you have told them how to distinguish various wines! (What is more, the price in the experiment is not a product of the exchange of values and thoughts of the various individuals involved in the experiment) The cognitive faculties of humans develop and are not static. In reality this may well demonstrate the opposite: that the symbolic value given by humans in exchange for a product is not in the their brain per se associated with a particular taste, but a social construct: more expensive wine = better wine. This may be true for an individual who cannot detect differences amongst wines (try to ask to a series of well trained someliers!) The examination of a glass of wine does not start in the mounth and end in the brain as a 1 way process. It's enjoymet is also a different matter. It seems to me that it is more practical to think in terms of development and appreciation of the qualities of wines.Finally, have the individuals talked among themselves about the qualities of such wines exchanging ideas and talking about their perceptions before reaching conclusions? This may have well changed their statements and final concusions. It is all about the social experience of a product. That is where capitalism fail! (and also where I didn't make money with my research and nobody did fund it!!) . LOL

It also depends on how much labour has been put behind the wine making, not behind it's marketing that makes a lot of difference. A labour intensive, aged, safe, of particular characteristics wine, can well be so expensive and enjoyable to drink.

Salvatore Fiore
mail e-mail: salvatorefiore@hotmail.com
- Homepage: http://ucu-uncensored.blogspot.com

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Bit too fast there

15.01.2008 22:46

That's suggestive of your next experiments -- let's not try to draw conclusions before attempting to discrimiante between a whole host of possibilities.

a) See what else might trigger the same brain area. Might find out that pride in accomplishment, etc. worked (might not have an ECONOMIC connection).

b) Try positive economic rewards in negative assoicative contexts in case area then not triggered. For example, we all hate shiity jobs. So take two groups, one gets paid $10 to lick a toilet bowl clean and the other $1000 (did this brain area get triggered by the reward as they worked?)

Mike Novack
mail e-mail: stepbystpefram mtdata.ocm

Quality and price

16.01.2008 00:42

The buying of products against an exchange of a symbolic value, eg money/price is a relatively recent activity. I have my doubts that there could be innate functions in the brain in this sense, and as such the evolutionay theory may be looking in the wrong direction. Capitalism is not a natural phenomen, it is a social construction. In fact would be really ridiculous to affirm that "now that we know how price can affect decision making, we will ignore it because we enjoy the wine however!!". This is what the marketers do! But not rational human beings once you have told them how to distinguish various wines! (What is more, the price in the experiment is not a product of the exchange of values and thoughts of the various individuals involved in the experiment) The cognitive faculties of humans develop and are not static. In reality this may well demonstrate the opposite: that the symbolic value given by humans in exchange for a product is not in the their brain per se associated with a particular taste, but a social construct: more expensive wine = better wine. This may be true for an individual who cannot detect differences amongst wines (try to ask to a series of well trained someliers!) The examination of a glass of wine does not start in the mounth and end in the brain as a 1 way process. It's enjoymet is also a different matter. It seems to me that it is more practical to think in terms of development and appreciation of the qualities of wines.Finally, have the individuals talked among themselves about the qualities of such wines exchanging ideas and talking about their perceptions before reaching conclusions? This may have well changed their statements and final concusions. It is all about the social experience of a product. That is where capitalism fail! (and also where I didn't make money with my research and nobody did fund it!!) . LOL

It also depends on how much labour has been put behind the wine making, not behind it's marketing that makes a lot of difference. A labour intensive, aged, safe, of particular characteristics wine, can well be so expensive and enjoyable to drink.



Sal Fiore
mail e-mail: contact@hotmail.com
- Homepage: http://www.salvatorefiore.com

Get yer old rope here!

16.01.2008 08:50

Actually, the concept of "prestige" products is fairly common in marketing.

A prestige product basically carries a price tag that excludes most people from buying it.

Quite often even non prestige products are priced on the basis of "the most we can charge for it" and not cost. The economic delusional euphemism for this pisstake is "demand" or "market forces".

Despondent Respondent

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