French government & ‘neuropolicy’ ABC Radio National’s Life Matters covers the surprising news that France has created a brain and behavioural research unit specifically to form public policy. The public policy in question is not just to do with the mind and brain and the director of the unit describes a ‘neuromarketing’ approach where the programme seems set to advise on how, for example, anti-smoking messages can be formulated. As we’ve discussed several times, the ‘neuro’ of ‘neuromarketing’ is an interesting research focus but as an applied science it is completely premature and can currently tell us nothing about how best to appeal to the public that standard psychology can’t do already.
Rather worringly, unit director Olivier Oullier seems to think that ‘neuroscience’ and ‘neuroimaging’ allows access to unconscious and emotional responses that aren’t available to established behavioural research. Link to Life Matters on ‘Neuroscience and public policy’. Le Monde - le neuromarketing est-il l'avenir de la publicité. Emorationalité.