Key points about this research on the psychology of the brand-consumer relationship:

• The formation of the brand-consumer relationship is typified by three important psychological and neurophysiological mechanisms: decreases in emotional arousal, an increase in self-inclusion within the brand, and a high SCR response associated with heightened insula activity  

• Research suggests that companies can adopt these psychological and neuroscientific techniques to investigate what marketing strategies aid the creation of close consumer-brand relationships.

• In particular, the higher the usage frequency, the more the consumer feels included with the brand; hence firms should aim for strategies that encourage more frequent brand consumption.

Every year thousands of people queue for hours in front of an Apple store to buy the new iPhone, even if they already own a perfectly functioning one. That’s a hell of a commitment! So what makes them form such a loyal relationship with Apple? What drives this consumer behavior? 

Researchers at the University of Southern California, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Copenhagen Business School, and Mcgill University used social-psychological theories as well as psychological and neurophysiological metrics to analyze consumer-brand relationships and the consumer psychology behind their formation.

While used in the past to describe human relationships, self-expansion theory is applied here to consumer-brand relationships. The theory suggests that, initially, intimate relationships are more fulfilling because there is a drive to grow and expand (rapid-expansion phase) associated with high emotional arousal levels. In the latter stages of the relationship, individuals increasingly consider the other person as part of themselves, included  in their sense of “self.”

Methodology: The Consumer Psychology of Consumer-Brand Relationships

Experiment 1: To investigate the applications of self-expansion theory, the researchers used self-reporting psychological tests to analyze different consumer-brand relationships. Specifically, they used the “affect grid,” which allows people to express their affective state on a nine-by-nine matrix that varies along arousal dimensions (arousal-sleepiness) and valence (pleasure-displeasure). The researchers also created a brand inclusion diagram that uses inclusion measures for interpersonal relationships to indicate the extent to which the participants include their “self” with the brand. 

Here, participants performed the questionnaires at the first encounter (T1) and after six months (T2) and were in either one of the following conditions: 

• Close relationships = 107 participants identified a brand they formed a close relationship with in the last month 

• Neutral relationships = 95 participants selected a brand they felt neutral about (neither loved nor hated)

The results indicated a statistically significant decrease in emotional arousal from T1 to T2 in close relationships but not in neutral relationships. Moreover, the participants felt their sense of “self” more included in the brand after six months in the close relationship group but not in neutral relationships. Furthermore, the more often the participant used the brand, the more the individual became self-included with the brand over time. These results suggest that for intimate consumer-brand relationships, emotional arousal decreases with time (as the rapid-expansion phase passes), while the feeling of self-inclusion to the brand rises. 

Experiment 2: To remove the potential bias of cognitive and emotional states of self-reporting, the researchers decided to investigate the results from the prior experiment using neurophysiological testing. Here, a technique named skin conductance response (SCR) which measures temporary increases in the electrical conductivity of the skin as well as the increased activity of sweat glands, was used. The reactions measured with SCR are typically associated with emotional arousal and can occur from a conscious expectancy of something or nonconscious emotional processes that still play a role in decision-making.

The researchers recorded the SCR of 25 participants after showing them images of brands in the three following conditions:

• Recent close relationships 

• Established close relationships (after six months)

• Neutral relationships 

The findings indicated significantly higher SCR values in the first condition vis-à-vis other conditions, suggesting higher emotional arousal levels and validating the results of experiment 1. 

Experiment 3: The final experiment investigated the neurophysiological underpinnings of consumer behavior further, specifically, the activity of a particular brain region called the insula. Past research has shown how the insula incorporates and converts bodily information into motivational and emotional functions, essential for decision-making. To measure the activity of the insula, the researchers used a brain-imaging technique called fMRI. This technique measures momentary blood flow and so allows for the measurement and localization of transient brain activity.

Here, the 16 participants did the brain-imaging in two conditions:

• Close relationship (well established, after six months)

• Neutral relationship

The researchers found that activation in the insula was significantly higher for close relationships, suggesting the insula plays a pivotal role in the motivational-emotional processing necessary for close consumer-brand relationships. Moreover, investigating the whole brain, researchers detected other interesting patterns of activity.

For example, there was higher activity in the caudate, which has a known role in automatic processing, and lower activity in the frontal lobe, which has a known role in self-control, in the close relationship condition compared to the neutral one. These results suggest that forming an intimate consumer-brand relationship could result in more automatic decision-making and reduced self-control towards the brand.

Results and Implications of The Consumer-Brand Relationship

Overall this research provides novel insights into the underlying mechanisms of consumer psychology. It can drive the formation of close consumer-brand relationships, while galvanizing branding psychology. Their research suggests three important psychological and neurophysiological mechanisms:

• Emotional arousal decreases over time 

• Self-inclusion within the brand increases over time

• These psychological mechanisms result in a high SCR response and heightened insula activity  

These findings have important implications for marketing strategies aimed at developing stronger attachments between brands and their customers. You may not be able to get people to camp outside your shop like Apple, but by using this neuroscientific approach, you can get pretty close. 

Citation for original research: Reimann, M., Castaño, R., Zaichkowsky, J., & Bechara, A. (2012). How we relate to brands: Psychological and neurophysiological insights into consumer–brand relationships. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 22(1), 128-142.

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References for Neuroscience and The Consumer-Brand Relationship

Reimann, M., Castaño, R., Zaichkowsky, J., & Bechara, A. (2012). How we relate to brands: Psychological and neurophysiological insights into consumer–brand relationships. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 22(1), 128-142.