Original version

BBC World Service

BBC World Service Radio

World Service Radio

CrowdScience

Documentaries

Factual: Science & Nature

Factual: Science & Nature: Science & Technology

Answering your questions about life, Earth and the universe

We take your questions about life, Earth and the universe to researchers hunting for answers at the frontiers of knowledge.

BBC World Service Australasia

BBC World Service Online

BBC World Service schedule for American satellite radio and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

BBC World Service News Internet

BBC World Service East Asia

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa Schedule

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

BBC World Service South Asia

BBC World Service West and Central Africa Schedule

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

CrowdScience: Can science explain why I love shopping?

Discussion & Talk

GettyImages-200464108-001_crop.jpg

Can science explain why I love shopping?

BBC World Service - CrowdScience, Can science explain why I love shopping?

Crowdscience investigates the brain science behind our buying behaviour

Crowdscience investigates the brain science behind our buying behaviour, and hears about the “information brokers” who could share crucial public health messages.

If you've ever felt the urge to shop till you drop, then you may already know about some of the clever ways retailers convince us to consume. From flash sales to so-called unbelievable offers, there are a whole range of techniques aimed at encouraging us to flash the cash. Listener Mo works in marketing, so knows more than most about the tricks of the trade - but he wants CrowdScience to investigate how neuroscience is being used to measure our behaviour and predict what we’ll buy. Marnie Chesterton finds out how brain scans are being used to discover which specific aspect of an advertisement a person is responding to, and then she hears how this information is being used by companies who want to sell us more stuff. But there's also evidence to suggest we have less control over these decisions than we think, and that computers are getting closer to detecting our intention before we're even aware of it ourselves. And this could have huge implications for the way we shop.

Presented by: Marnie Chesterton
Produced by: Marijke Peters

(Photo:

Accessibility links

Programme Index

CrowdScience

Can science explain why I love shopping?

Genres

Formats

Brand

BBC World Service

About BBC World Service