We help companies think differently
Irrational is a behavioural science research consultancy. We use leading edge academic approaches to help you glean new insights about your customers. By understanding new things about your customers, we help you to try new things. And think differently.
Traditional research (especially quantitative research) has tended to be very unimaginative in its approach. While most researchers know that direct questions about willingness to buy, attitudes to a brand or descriptions of behaviour rarely glean accurate results, the industry has tended to ignore this dilemma. If challenged about this issue, researchers will either change the subject, talk about a specific project that seemed to quite well, or try to defend the industry by pointing at the occasional accuracy of opinion polls.
At Irrational, we take a different view. We believe research fails because of three reasons:
- People are irrational and random, yet most research assumes that respondents are logical and consistent
- Personalities are multi-dimensional not mono-dimensional. Even if respondents are trying to be logical, their opinions and attitudes will vary depending on how they are feeling, who they are with and what they are doing.
- Research is an inherently dull and unrewarding experience for the respondent and so produces dull and uninspiring data.
We believe three things need to be considered to overcome these issues:
First, research should be conducted to access all three decision making processes of the brain, these being: System 1 thinking which is based on instinctive emotions; System 2 which is based on logic; and System 3 thinking which is based on more considered unconscious thought and can be verified by actual behaviour.
Second, research should be as context specific as possible.
Third, research should be fun and entertaining for the respondent. Not just because it makes the respondent happier, but because it inspires and excites everyone involved in the process.
By embracing these three principles in the context of the latest academic thinking, we believe we can help companies to THINK DIFFERENTLY.