Research Services
Behavioral Science
Unveiling the Unconscious Drivers Behind Consumer Decisions
Illuminate the Unspoken Why
Understanding what consumers say is important—but it’s only part of the story. Their decisions are complex and rarely follow a linear path. They are not driven by logic alone, but also by emotions, habits, and mental shortcuts, often referred to as System 1 thinking. These factors play a pivotal role in capturing attention, fostering connection, and inspiring action. At C+R, our toolbox of behavioral science approaches includes a myriad of methodologies designed to extend beyond traditional research to uncover the instincts, emotions, and cognitive shortcuts that drive real-world behavior.
We employ these tools and methodologies to help brands gain a deeper, more human understanding of how consumers think, feel, and make decisions—insights that inspire smarter strategies.
Move Beyond the Rational to reveal the Unconscious Why
Behavioral Science Solutions
We have developed a comprehensive toolkit rooted in neuroscience and psychology to understand consumer behavior on multiple levels. Our approaches are designed to enhance traditional research to uncover those nonconscious responses.
Methods
Ethnographic Observation
As one of our foundational offerings, C+R’s qualitative researchers have expertise in anthropology, psychology, sociology, and related fields. Their ability to observe non-verbal cues and artifacts provides a strong foundation for our behavioral science capabilities.
Unobtrusive Video Observation
When there is a need to analyze behaviors in a non-intrusive way, we offer video observation solutions that include coded analysis of behaviors, whether in-store, in-home, or anywhere.
Prediction Markets
Prediction markets are a gamified research method that leverages real-time behavioral data to forecast likely outcomes by capturing the collective wisdom of an audience. Participants rate ideas based on how they think others will feel about them, similar to political polling, and bet tokens on outcomes, with the score changing in real-time based on a proven prediction algorithm. This method measures the likelihood of each possible outcome, providing predictive metrics. By using prediction markets, companies can gain valuable insights into consumer behavior and make more informed decisions.
Tools and Tactics to Enhance Insights
We utilize innovative tools and techniques to measure and analyze consumer attention and emotional engagement:
eye tracking
Eye tracking shows exactly where people look, how long they look, and in what order. Whether it’s a product shelf, a website, or an ad, eye tracking reveals what truly grabs attention—and what gets overlooked. By using eye tracking, clients can make confident, evidence-based decisions to improve visibility, engagement, and ultimately, conversion – in-store, online, or during ad exposure.
Projective Techniques
Uncover the deeper, often subconscious thoughts, feelings and motivations that consumers may not express verbally through exercises like storytelling, love letters, obituaries, metaphor elicitation, personification, collaging, sentence completion or Mad Libs. We heavily utilize these in qualitative research but can employ them in quantitative research as well to enhance understanding and give more meaning to the numbers. Through these exercises, consumers can project their thoughts and feelings without direct questioning.
SmartPulse
SmartPulse™ is a neuroscience-based tool that measures real-time emotional engagement and attention using wearable technology – typically a smartwatch or fitness tracker. It’s powered by the Immersion platform, which combines biometric signals to quantify how deeply someone is neurologically engaged in an experience. This helps to understand what truly resonates with consumers to help optimize experiences and understand potential winning ideas/elements. Combined with eye-tracking, SmartPulse is used to power our new ShopperPulse approach.
Passive Digital Metering
Passive Digital Metering allows for the tracking of consumers’ online and mobile behaviors – like websites visited, apps used, and time spent – without relying on self-reporting. This provides a direct window into real, often unconscious digital habits to uncover patterns, triggers, and decision pathways that traditional methods might miss.
Facial Coding
Facial Coding analysis utilizes biometric and neuro tools to interpret subconscious facial expressions in real time, capturing a continuous stream of authentic emotional data as consumers interact with products or advertising. This non-intrusive method provides unparalleled insight into the unspoken reactions and underlying emotions that truly drive consumer decisions. Armed with this objective data, you can move beyond guesswork to build more effective, emotionally resonant marketing strategies that forge a powerful and lasting connection with your audience.
Implicit Association Tests
The Implicit Association Test (IAT) is a research tool used to uncover unconscious attitudes by measuring how quickly people link certain concepts—like “good” or “bad”—with different groups. Faster responses suggest stronger, often unconscious, associations, which can reveal hidden biases that influence consumer behavior and decision-making.
ShopperPulse
ShopperPulse™ is C+R Research’s latest behavioral science tool designed to decode the subconscious shopper experience by combining two powerful technologies: SmartPulse (a neuroscience-based biometric platform) and eye-tracking. This helps to reveal the full, contextual shopper journey, pinpoint action drivers, and/or validate retail media and messaging.
Receipt Tracking
Receipt tracking captures real-world purchase behavior by collecting data from scanned or uploaded receipts. This provides a reliable view into what consumers actually buy vs. what they claim. It’s valuable for identifying habits, brand loyalty, and decision patterns in natural settings.
Applications of Behavioral Science
We integrate behavioral science across qualitative and quantitative research to elevate understanding in areas like:
- Concept and Creative Testing
- Brand Equity, Tracking and Positioning
- Shopper Journey and Path to Purchase Research
- Retail and Packaging Optimization
- Innovation and Product Development
- A&U and Segmentation Studies
- Barriers Research
- And more!
Explore Behavioral Science Resources
The highest data quality standards. Expertly designed studies.
When you partner with C+R, you get a creatively and expertly designed custom study managed by a team of researchers that will never lose sight of your objectives and goals. We take data quality very seriously; with our best-in-class Sentinel procedures and processes, we assure the highest quality data.
unrivaled data quality
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