Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
6TH INTERNATIONAL ZEUGMA CONFERENCE ON SCIENTIFIC RESEARCHES, Gaziantep, Türkiye, 19 - 20 Haziran 2021, ss.98-99
Changing economic conditions, technology and consumer expectations have brought new
perspectives to marketing. Marketers have turned to new research methods such as
“neuromarketing” that can explain the underlying reasons for purchasing decisions that cannot
be explained by traditional methods. Neuromarketing is a science that examines the
subconscious reactions of human brain’s responses to a marketing stimuli such as
advertisements, music, brand names and slogans. Neuroscience research uses brain images
obtained by connecting medical devices to the participants’ body. Based on the assumption
that individuals’ statements may be misleading, neuroscience is utilized to study the
biological responses of the brain. Most of our behaviors are governed by the brain below
humans’ level of consciousness. Consumers do not make a purchase decision about a product
simply because it is good quality or price since the brain does not always act according to
rational decisions. The neuromarketing approach mainly deals with irrational and
subconscious part helping producers to create brand value in accordance with consumer
preferences. Today, many companies benefit from neuromarketing methods especially in
politics, advertising, entertainment, logo and product design. The most important advantage of
neuromarketing research over traditional research techniques is that it demonstrates the
difference between the consumers’ declaration and what they actually think. Neuromarketing
allows to monitor what is actually going through people’s minds which leads to mutually
beneficial relationships. However, there is a disagreement about whether neuromarketing is
ethical and the medical devices used on humans are healthy or not. Some neuroscientists are
in favor but some are against using neuromarketing techniques in marketing. The techniques
are costly and violation of the privacy has been an ethical concern despite the fact that the
results are meant to be beneficial to humanity.
The aim of this study was to determine the perceptions of university students about
neuromarketing. A questionnaire was created to measure three dimensions about
neuromarketing: knowledge and awareness, interest and willingness to participation, and
ethical issues. It was applied to the university students (n=346) in 2018 in Rize/Turkey.
According to the results, students’ perspectives on neuromarketing do not differ according to
their gender or income. Majority of the participants have heard the concept of
neuromarketing, they have knowledge about it and believe it is a scientific technique. They
find the techniques very exciting but they are undecided about being a participant in such
research because of the ethical issues and possible side effects of the medical devices.