Neuroscience applied to the business world
Brain science: transforming how we live and work
In the not-too-distant future finding the perfect job or the ideal employee could involve a trip to the local MRI machine for a brain scan, says Professor Michael Platt, director of Wharton Neuroscience Initiative at the University of Pennsylvania.
There is nothing straightforward about the human brain.
Even seemingly simple decisions – such as determining whether an upcoming traffic light is red or amber and therefore deciding whether to accelerate or brake – require very complex processing. We have identified parts of the brain that compute evidence telling the driver the colour of the traffic light even when it is not clearly visible and others that weigh what economists call the “utility” of every decision. For a driver, that utility could include how the risk of crashing into another vehicle stacks up against the risk of being late for work— that is how much we personally value each outcome.
Neural activity continues even after you have made a decision and committed to a motor response (hitting the gas or the brakes). The brain then computes the outcome of that decision in terms of whether it was better or worse than what was expected.
Did you get through the light? Did you make it to work? Or did you run into the car that was coming the other way? That analysis is then used to update our interpretations of the state of the world and the value we place on the different possible actions.
We are now able to measure how much individuals value something by looking inside their brains, with the help of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and other techniques.
The scans have proved, for example, that there is such a thing as having “too much choice”. A plethora of options can slow down the human decision-making process and leave us less satisfied with the choices we eventually make.
The hardest choices are the ones where each option involves an element of risk (one risk versus another), while the easiest and quickest ones are between a known outcome and an unknown one (certainty versus ambiguity).
Decisions involving risk and ambiguity engage different areas of the brain in ways that predict each individual’s taste for uncertainty.
Thus by studying individuals’ responses to a range of potential options during an fMRI scan, we can determine their tolerance for ambiguity and/or risk and then potentially use that knowledge to accurately predict their behaviour.
Neuroscience also confirms that we are creatures of habit when it comes to decision making – something that is not often captured in economic models.
It can take a major disruption to people’s lives to shake them out of their routines, even when those routines are less than optimal. For example, a near shutdown of the London tube network for two days in early 2014 forced commuters to rethink their journeys. A study of the use of Oyster cards – the season tickets used by travellers on the UK capital’s public transport networks – shows that many people stuck by their new routes even after normal service resumed, having discovered the change saved them both time and money.
In the business world, such insight is particularly useful for marketers, who will soon be able to use neuroscience to create more effective campaigns. fMRI scans of a small sample of people have been used to predict individual reactions to different adverts which, astonishingly, can then be generalised to determine how a mass audience would also respond.
Recruitment and talent development is another major area that can benefit from such techniques. By scanning the pupils of potential employees, neuroscience may allow us to determine whether a person tends to be more focused on clear outcomes or is more creative and therefore what kind of jobs and employers they may be best suited to (a FTSE 100 blue chip or a start-up for example).
A in-depth study of lawyers is going even further, analysing the behaviours and characteristics of hundreds of volunteers – from first year students to seasoned professionals – to see if there is any difference in how the brains of attorneys, prosecutors and judges are wired.
We are also using this methodology to analyse teamwork to determine what kinds of people work best together and which types of teams would be best suited to different situations.
By refining and applying all this research, neuroscience may soon enable us to not only suggest a suitable career for any given individual but also to help those with particular aspirations by identifying areas which they need to work on to achieve their goals.
Finally, neuroscience not only offers potential to revolutionise business but also extends the promise to repair brain disorders that affect decision making. Building on this clinical work, research shows that exercise and mindfulness meditation improve brain health and thereby boost both happiness and productivity.
