A Reader Asks: Will Right Brain Approaches Work in Younger Markets?

A reader, Karyn Froseth, raised some interesting questions in commenting on my last post. I thought I would respond to Karyn here rather than in a comment format. To see what I’m responding to see Karyn’s comments.

Marketing messages that connect with the right brain work at all ages because the right brain is the seat of primary information processing (PIP). Because the right brain is where incoming information is first processed in the upper level or cortex of the brain, it serves as a kind of gatekeeper to the left brain. If your message fails to activate the right brain, it’s not going to get much attention in the left brain.

Incoming information is first run through the mills of emotions. They play a critical role in assessing the relevance of new information to a person's interests. The first emotional responses take place in the midbrain, specifically in the amygdalae, which mediates fight or flight responses (among other functions). Information then moves into cortical sites surrounding the midbrain. This is where secondary emotions operate to provide a more refined insight into the meaning of incoming information. From this point, left brain processes (secondary information processing or SIP) kick in to further deal with the new information in abstract terms of symbols and language.

That's something of an oversimplification, but in essence it accurately depicts how incoming information initially moves through the brain.

And yes, Karyn, in my judgment young people today reflect greater influence of the right brain in their worldviews, values and perceptions than in the past. This, I believe, is in large part the result of unconscious influences exerted by the numerically dominant 40+ population on society’s zeitgeist. In the second half of life, the developmentally driven shift in lateralization that increases the right brain’s influence on worldviews, values and perceptions takes place.

For example, ever since the dawn of modern science in the 16^th century, subjectivity (which has origins in the right brain) has been discouraged in favor of the scientifically more acceptable state of objectivity, which is home-based in the left brain. However, as we age we tend to more and more favor subjectively wrought renditions of reality that we recognize as intuitions.

Take the issue of intuition, a primarily right brain facitlity. For a long time intuition was put down as an unworthy approach to determining truth. It was widely lampooned as "a woman's way of seeing things" throughout the 20th century. Comic strips, movies, comedy show first on radio, then on TV mad light of intuition. Now, books and articles are regularly appearing to champion the value of intuition. Malcolm Gladwell’s recent book Blink is one example.

In my opinion, intuition has become more highly valued – starting around 1990 – because people in the years when faith often replaces reason and intuition often trumps analysis in sizing up something now far outnumber younger adults by 135 million to 86 million.

To get a better insight into how the right brain plays a larger role in later life read Gene Cohen’s Mature Mind. It is an excellent work on the older mind that I will review here in this space within the week.

Karyn, I hope this ad3equately answers the issues you raised. Thanks for doing so.

Comments

[joared]

I find the increasing recognition and acceptance of intuition of some value. I, also, question whether or not for some, intuition melds into magical thinking.