Projective Techniques for better insights
What are Projective Techniques?
Projective techniques are essential qualitative research techniques for those looking to understand how consumers think, feel and behave. Vision One is an expert in focus groups, depth, and ethnography, and this article explains some of the things you need to know about the topic and the benefits to your business.
Projective Techniques Explained
Projective techniques have their roots in clinical psychology. They are creative exercises used by qualitative researchers to simplify conversations, especially those relating to more sensitive subjects.
Implementing such enabling or projective techniques allows moderators to go beyond consumers’ immediate conscious awareness and discover their nonconscious thoughts, feelings and behaviours. The concept of nonconscious action has been underpinned by advances in brain scanning, neuroscience, and the rise of behavioural science – all of which lend validity to its existence.
Why are they necessary?
There are numerous reasons why individuals may be unable or unwilling to reveal how they feel about a subject. One reason is that people generally want to be perceived as conforming to the norms of the group or society that they are in, regardless of whether they feel that way. This is a mechanism to avoid rejection from society or groups – one of the strongest drivers of human behaviour. Many people also struggle to verbalise particular thoughts and feelings, and projective techniques are powerful for eliciting them.
Examples of Projective Techniques
When it comes to creative projective techniques, there are numerous options a moderator can employ, depending on the audience and subject matter. These techniques also add some fun to a session, making it more interactive and opening conversations across the group.
Below are just some of the techniques in the moderator’s toolbox, as well as those used in market research today. These include: Word Association Tests, Laddering, Brand Mapping, Brand Party, Blob Tree, Hierarchy Game, A Letter to, Withdrawal Technique, Imagery Associations and Personification activities.
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Brand Personification
Brand personification is really for when you want to discover more about a brand and break through rational responses.
Q, Now I would like you to imagine that if this brand X came alive and became a person, what kind of person would it be?
Pro-tip. The important thing here is the follow-up questions. Don’t stop after one; ask about 3 or 4 different scenarios, depending on your area of interest. E.g., if this brand were a celebrity, who would it be? Why? If this brand were someone at your workplace, who is he/she?
Word Association
The aim of word association is to identify top of mind associations with an activity, category or brand.
Q. “What comes to your mind when I mention the word chocolate?”
Pro-tip. Use a warm-up exercise before you ask this question. For example; What comes to your mind with the word ‘Confectionery’? Then you can proceed with your actual question after the warm-up.
Laddering
Laddering is a classic qualitative research technique that is great for gaining a deeper understanding of consumers.
The aim is to uncover emotional and functional benefits (or reasons) for a particular activity.
It’s similar to Word Association, but it doesn’t stop at asking words or ideas about ‘Chocolate’, for each word they provide, you ask a followup to understand what they associate with each word offered. For example with chocolate you might ask about ‘indulgent’, ‘treat’, milky, smooth etc.
The Rorschach Test is arguably one of the earliest examples of projective psychological tests, in which subjects’ perceptions of inkblots are recorded and then analysed using psychological interpretation, complex algorithms, or both. Some psychologists use this test to examine a person’s personality characteristics and emotional functioning.
Benefits of Projective Techniques
Its Fun
They are more fun for respondents, which means you get the most out of respondents. This can be important when the subject matter is dry and potentially less engaging.
Interactive
Projective techniques are often more interactive. They typically involve stimulus and even gamification, and always encourage respondents to react.
Creative
Projective techniques often look at problems from a different perspective. They are ideal for Ideation and Co-creation studies and are excellent for pushing creative boundaries.
New Insights
Using innovative questions often leads to new ways of thinking and fresh insights. They often prevent respondents from using pre-determined responses.
Deeper Insights
Most projective techniques are designed to allow us to go deeper into the subconscious mind by circumventing people’s defensive systems when they are shy or embarrassed.
Exploring Emotions
Often, research can become overly rational, making it difficult to assess desires and motivations. However, projective techniques can overcome this.
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