First and last impressions

Serial position effects are a phenomenon of memory, where items presented  at the beginning and ends of lists are more likely to be remembered than those in the middle of the list.  The term ‘serial position effect’ was first used by Hermann Ebbinghaus based on studies on himself and others, where he best recalled items from the end of a list (the recency effect) and more frequently among the first items than among the middle ones (the primacy effect). Read more »

Inspector Insight has written recently on the role of evolution and emotions in consumer behaviour.  Paul Ekman’s work on facial expressions is particularly useful for understanding customer reactions, but we all know that human emotions are much richer than the seven (7) which he identified as universal.  Many other scientists have developed models of human emotions, going back as far as Darwin (and ultimately to Aristotle).  The most useful I have found so far is the work of Robert Plutchik. Read more »

Simple is best

Ockham’s razor is the principle that simplicity is preferred to complexity in design, so that given the choice between functionally equivalent designs, the simplest one should always be selected.  The principle is attributed to a 14th century Franciscan friar, William of Ockham, who was also a logician and theologian, and is purported to have said, “entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity.” Read more »