Member Article

Future Thinking launches Skin Deep - a new approach to measuring subconscious response utilising Galvanic Skin Response

Business intelligence specialist Future Thinking has launched Skin Deep, a new approach for measuring consumers’ physiological responses through galvanic skin response, to understand whether what people say is consistent with how they really feel.

Used as a behavioural overlay onto traditional research methodologies, Skin Deep has been designed to bridge the gap between consumers perceived and actual behaviour; by tapping in to respondent system 1 processes rather than relying on the traditional model of claimed behaviour.

Developed by Quantum Lab, Future Thinking’s innovation think tank in partnership with Sensum, a specialist in the delivery of software solutions for multi-modal emotions insights, Skin Deep measures skin conductance through emotional arousal. This is based on the principle that the eccrine sweat glands concentrated in your hands, which are associated with physiological reactions (e.g. in response to a stressful situation), become better conductors of electricity when exposed to different stimuli.

Used qualitatively, it measures non-conscious responses (i.e. the amount people sweat) to determine whether people’s initial comments are a true indication of how they actually feel. The approach can be used across a range of areas including: advertising and marcomms effectiveness, customer experience, shopper behaviour and product/pack testing.

Dan Young, Future Thinking’s head of Quantum Lab, comments: “Everybody’s talking about behavioural economics because when it comes to everyday behaviour, like the supermarket shop, some estimate that as much as 95% of our decisions utilise our subconscious System 1 brain processes.

“Skin Deep is used qualitatively to understand whether what people say is consistent with how they really feel, whether they know it or not, by evaluating their physiological responses when exposed to different stimuli e.g. advertising, new product/pack, different customer experiences. These prompts can be used to explain the drivers of their behaviour more accurately.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Alex Sampson .