Myth busted: there's no such thing as a rational consumer

This is an interesting article, but probably not written by anyone in research, marketing or advertising, because the introduction is surprising, posited as a premise that nobody shares: nobody believes that consumers are rational in their choices, their 'trade-offs': brand value, affinity with the brand, the weight of social influence, seduction, the psychological representation of the self through purchases .... Everything comes into play, which is why it's complex to investigate and why there are failures, because there is no miracle formula. IF the questioning process is rational, it will push the interviewee to over-rationalise their answers. Especially as being rational is considered to be more intelligent and 'stronger' than being irrational, which is often associated with the idea of being a fashion victim. We post-rationalise our choices to show (including to ourselves) that we're not fooled, that we're not under the influence, particularly of that famous "marketing that manipulates the masses".

No marketing research or opinion poll result should be taken at face value. The added value of analysis lies in the ability to put things into perspective, to interpret and to put things into perspective. We are often victims of the 'figure', the 'percentage', which is easy to put on the front page and which we think says it all. Simply measuring doesn't always help us to understand. It used to be that you had to understand in order to know, but nowadays we often know without understanding.

But let me reassure you (or not), politicians are no more rational than consumers. Partisan or dogmatic thinking is no match for impulse buying and buying under influence.

Nor is society, in the sense of an aggregate of men and women, any more rational. Otherwise, we'd stop walking on our heads!