Applying Psychophysiological Measures to Marketing and Advertising Research Problems

Applications of psychophysiological measures to the problem of evaluating advertising and marketing stimuli are reviewed. It is suggested that most of these applications have been simplistic and based on the erroneous concept of a unitary activation continuum. Fundamental principles of psychophysiology have routinely been ignored in such applications. Among these principles are (1) the law of initial values, (2) individual response stereotypy, (3) stimulus-response specificity, and (4) directional fractionation of response. Methodological controls which should be observed when using psychophysiological measures are reviewed. While it is concluded that psychophysiological measures are not a ready solution for problems related to the evaluation of the relative efficacy of marketing and advertising stimuli, certain applications of psychophysiological measures to marketing and advertising research appear viable.