Experiencing something -- the savory taste of a pepperoni pizza, the sound of gentle waves lapping sugary white sand -- can be an utter delight to the senses.  But according to studies, the experience actually pales in comparison to the anticipation of that experience.  Here are just a few examples: 1. Planning and looking forward to a vacation vs. actually being there. 2. Planning to buy clothes, a car, or other items compared to consuming them.  3. Picturing yourself eating a hearty meal (especially on an empty stomach and/or while watching a restaurant ad) vs actually eating it.  Dopamine, commonly considered the happiness or "feel good" chemical, is more involved in the anticipation of an event or feeling than in the actual feeling of happiness. Often, the experience falls short of what we imagined, whether because it rains on the trip, the food leaves us with gas, or we get buyers' remorse for something we later discover we could have bought elsewhere for much c...

Just last Friday, my boss and I sat down for my annual review. She had great things to say, including the fact that she has seen me "grow immensely" in the last year or two. Mind you, I've been with the company for close to five years. It isn't as if she went by hard data or any accomplishment lists to arrive at such a conclusion, for I provided none. I don't work any harder than I did a couple of years ago. So why is she so certain that I've demonstrated growth on the job? I think perception  -- the state of becoming aware of something through the senses -- is at play here. What is perceived as real can be more powerful than reality itself . The lenses through which we each see the world are dissimilar. I may perceive you to be a shy, rude, or arrogant person, but perhaps your neighbor views you as warm and happy-go-lucky. You may be phoning it at your job or in your relationship, but as long as your boss or partner "thinks" you're put...

It's no secret that our five senses -- sight, touch, taste, smell, and sound -- exert a powerful influence on our everyday purchase decisions. Such is the argument made by Martin Lindstrom in "Brand Sense," which stresses that retailers that deliver a multi-sensory experience achieve greater sales and higher levels of brand awareness in the minds of customers. Here are a few findings that illustrate how important it is for companies to appeal to consumers' senses to shape their behavior: In a study published in the Journal of Consumer Research , Ronald E. Millman showed that the pace of music playing in the background of restaurants and stores had a considerable effect on spending, traffic flow, and service. The slower the music, the more people shop. The faster the music, the less money people fork over. Related studies have demonstrated that the slower the music at restaurants, the longer people stay wining and dining. In fact, the average bill for diners was 2...

I'm currently reading a book titled "Brand Sense" by Martin Lindstrom. Once I finish the book, I will post an entry highlighting the many interesting insights I gleaned from the book. In the interim, though, I wanted to share one of the most interesting findings I've come across in the book thus far, and it relates to women and cars. Did you know that women respond more to the feel and texture of a car's interior than they do to its external features? I couldn't help but compare this to the manner in which women supposedly become attracted to a man. We've all heard it time and time again: That women are mostly attracted to what's inside -- they don't get as hung up on looks as men do. (Meanwhile, men do seem to make a bigger fuss about a car's exterior features -- from rims to the grille.) As it turns out, women place a great deal of importance on how the car smells (ah, nothing like that new car scent, right?), the feel of the upho...