Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Consumer Research: A Review and Application

Martin Reimann*, Oliver Schilke, Bernd Weber, Carolin Neuhaus, Judith Zaichkowsky

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

Although the field of psychology is undergoing an immense shift toward the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the application of this methodology to consumer research is relatively new. To assist consumer researchers in understanding fMRI, this paper elaborates on the findings of prior fMRI research related to consumer behavior and highlights the features that make fMRI an attractive method for consumer and marketing research. The authors discuss advantages and limitations and illustrate the proposed procedures with an applied study, which investigates loss aversion when buying and selling a common product. Results reveal a significantly stronger activation in the amygdala while consumers estimate selling prices versus buying prices, suggesting that loss aversion is associated with the processing of negative emotion. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Original languageEnglish
JournalPsychology & Marketing
Volume28
Issue number6
Pages (from-to)608-637
Number of pages30
ISSN0742-6046
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2011

Cite this