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Gaining New Insights Into Human Behavior Through Technology
The opening of the Berthiaume Behavioral Research Lab at UMass Amherst’s Isenberg School of Management will elevate industry-relevant research and provide valuable career training for students.
Irem Onder Neuhofer is fascinated by human behavior and how technology can enhance everyday experiences. An associate professor in the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst and PhD program coordinator for the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Neuhofer conducts research exploring how technology can guide people to make healthier, more sustainable choices—for example, in selecting a dish off a restaurant menu.
The recent opening of the Berthiaume Behavioral Research Lab in Isenberg expands the possibilities for her research. “The tools and technology offered by the lab are essential for the type of insights we’re looking to uncover,” Neuhofer says.
Isenberg celebrated the grand opening of the Berthiaume Behavioral Research Lab in September 2024, following a summer of training faculty and doctoral students and launching the first official study in the lab. The largest of its kind in an academic setting in the Northeast, the lab offers advanced technology—including eye tracking software, facial expression analysis (detecting up to nine different emotions), heart rate monitoring, and galvanic skin response sensors—from iMotions, a global leader in human insights software. The lab was made possible by a historic gift from Douglas ’71 and Diana Berthiaume.
As Isenberg Dean Anne Massey remarked at the grand opening, “With this lab, Isenberg will produce better, more credible research, and our faculty will be able to collaborate with one another and teach in new and engaging ways, preparing our students to be leaders in their field.”
Raising the Bar
The Berthiaume Behavioral Research Lab’s capabilities are expected to enhance the caliber and credibility of research conducted by Isenberg faculty and students, leading to more publications in top academic journals.
“More and more these days, researchers must show behavioral outcomes—moving beyond participants’ self-reported attitudes and emotions to really understand the biology of how people respond to certain forces in the marketplace,” says George Milne, Isenberg dean of research. “When researchers rely on self-reports, potential bias can creep in. Study participants may give the answers that they think you want to hear. The advanced technology in the lab is able to detect participants’ true biological and emotional reactions. It erases all that type of bias that’s present in paper and pencil studies.”
Though this type of research can be time-intensive, the new lab contains 18 stations, allowing researchers to work more efficiently. And while today the technology can only be used within the confines of the lab, broader use may be possible in the future by applying iMotions software to analyze eye tracking data captured by participants’ own computer web cams, according to Jess Mooney, the lab's learning and research technology coordinator. This will allow the size of studies to expand from a few dozen participants to hundreds or even thousands.
For Neuhofer, the technology in the lab will allow her to track physiological reactions—including eye movements, heart rate, and even sweat—as participants select dishes from a menu. She is collaborating on a study in the lab with Muzzo Uysal, a Carney Family Endowed Professor in the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, and doctoral students Jiahui Wang and Yifeng (Sandra) Liang.
“We’re curious about how certain menu designs might influence decision-making and whether technology can help improve that process,” Neuhofer says. “By analyzing participants’ biological responses, we can refine the menu design to subtly encourage more sustainable choices. It’s about blending behavioral insights with technology to promote better decisions.”
In the long run, Neuhofer and her collaborators hope to find solutions that nudge consumers toward making healthier or more environmentally sustainable choices while helping businesses optimize their operations. “Ultimately, this research could lead to more informed, efficient, and sustainable systems that benefit both individuals and society as a whole,” she says.
With this lab, Isenberg will produce better, more credible research, and our faculty will be able to collaborate with one another and teach in new and engaging ways, preparing our students to be leaders in their field.
Anne Massey, Dean of the Isenberg School of Management
Several other studies are already underway or being planned in the Berthiaume Behavioral Research Lab.
For example, Assistant Professor of Marketing Verónica Martín Ruiz will study how underrepresented minority consumers in the U.S. make health care decisions, with the end goal of designing interventions that reduce the likelihood that they are denied the accuracy of life-threatening health diagnoses.
Meanwhile, Assistant Professor of Management Feng Qiu has designed a study on how senior managers’ demonstration of hubris, overconfidence, or narcissism can impact people’s willingness to invest in a company.
Nadeesha Bandara, who earned her PhD in marketing at UMass Amherst in 2022 and today is an assistant professor of marketing at Assumption University’s Grenon School of Business, is collaborating on a research project in the lab with her former dissertation chairs, Milne and Elizabeth Miller, department chair and professor of marketing at Isenberg. They are studying the effects of color combinations, visual complexity, and vibrancy in product packaging on consumers’ arousal and behavior.
According to Bandara, this work builds on her dissertation project, which examined consumer perceptions and responses to different color combinations on product packaging—specifically, India pale ale (IPA) beer cans—primarily using self-reported measures. In the new study, the researchers will use virtual reality (VR) technology in Isenberg’s technology sandbox to simulate for participants the experience of browsing beer cans on a store shelf. The VR software allows the researchers to design cans with a variety of color combinations and examine participants’ responses to the vibrancy and visual complexity of different designs.
“In the behavioral lab, we’ll be able to use galvanic skin response, eye tracking, and facial expression analysis to objectively understand what’s going on in a consumer’s mind as they are exposed to these different color combinations,” says Bandara. “Our goal is to really dig deep and make a contribution to the field’s theoretical understanding of color combinations.”
She adds, “In the field of marketing today, there’s a high demand from the premier journals for industry-relevant research. Using the technology in the lab improves the authenticity and objectivity of this work. There’s a level of rigor and validity such that it can be better applied to industry.”
Preparing Students for the Real World
Beyond opening new possibilities for Isenberg researchers, the Berthiaume Behavioral Research Lab will expose students to some of the most advanced technology available in the field today. According to Milne, the technology from iMotions is in widespread use in the industry. Several Isenberg classes are already using the lab to explore topics ranging from the visualization of data to consumers’ reactions to different design elements. Milne also sees opportunities to use the lab for service projects, providing students with real-world experience while benefiting the surrounding community.
“By bringing students into the lab, it gives them an experience that is very real and cutting-edge, and commensurate to what's being done out in industry,” says Milne. “So when our students are hired, they won’t need to be trained in this technology. They’ll be able to hit the ground running."
This story was originally published in November 2024.