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How the brain creates the ‘buzz’ that helps ideas spread

By Guest PostJuly 21, 2013Sciencebrain, buzz, capitol hill, emily falk, Facebook, fictitious pilots, fmri brain scans, go viral, karl dambacher, locke welbourn, matthew lieberman, radio djs, salesperson effect, spread of ideas, sylvia morelli, teenage vampires, temporoparietal junction, tpj, Twitter, ucla psychologists, werewolves, wired to connect

How do ideas spread? What messages will go viral on social media, and can this be predicted?

UCLA psychologists have taken a significant step toward answering these questions, identifying for the first time the brain regions associated with the successful spread of ideas, often called “buzz.”

The research has a broad range of implications, the study authors say, and could lead to more effective public health campaigns, more persuasive advertisements and better ways for teachers to communicate with students. (more…)

Which Ads Are Winners? Your Brain Knows Better Than You Do

By Guest PostApril 26, 2012Scienceadvertisement, advertiser, advertising dollar, ann arbor, anti smoking, behavior, brain, brain activity, brain data, brain scan, campaign, catalyst, elliot berkman, emily falk, eyebrows, fmri, john wanamaker, matthew lieberman, medial prefrontal cortex, neural focus group, psychology, public health, quit now, television commercial, university of michigan, wisdom

Study on smokers’ brains may mark dawn of a new age in advertising

Advertisers and public health officials may be able to access hidden wisdom in the brain to more effectively sell their products and promote health and safety, UCLA neuroscientists report in the first study to use brain data to predict how large populations will respond to advertisements.

Thirty smokers who were trying to quit watched television commercials from three advertising campaigns, which all ended by showing the phone number of the National Cancer Institute’s smoking-cessation hotline. They were asked which commercials they thought would be most effective; they responded that advertising campaigns “A” and “B” would be the best and “C” would be the worst. (more…)

Resolved to Quit Smoking? Brain Scans Predict Likely Success

By Guest PostJanuary 31, 2011Health, Sciencebrain activity, brain scans, carbon monoxide, cigarette, co, danielle whalen, elliot berkman, emily falk, fmri, functional magnetic resonance imaging, heavy smokers, matthew lieberman, medial prefrontal cortex, neural reactions, particular brain region, predict, predict behavior change, quit smoking, resolution, smokers, television ads

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Brain scans showing neural reactions to pro-health messages can predict if you’ll keep that resolution to quit smoking more accurately than you yourself can. That’s according to a new study forthcoming in Health Psychology, a peer-reviewed journal.

“We targeted smokers who were already taking action to quit,” said Emily Falk, the lead author of the study and director of the Communication Neuroscience Laboratory at the U-M Institute for Social Research and Department of Communication Studies. “And we found that neural activity can predict behavior change, above and beyond people’s own assessment of how likely they are to succeed. (more…)

Tag Archives: emily falk

How the brain creates the ‘buzz’ that helps ideas spread

Which Ads Are Winners? Your Brain Knows Better Than You Do

Resolved to Quit Smoking? Brain Scans Predict Likely Success