Next-Gen 3, Understanding People
In the last couple of decades the emerging Cognitive Science, especially 3rd Generation 4E Cognitive Science, has finally shown us that humans are not a set of computations and utilities driven by the brain alone. In our evolving understanding of cognition and consciousness, we are moving away from reductionist neurological concepts toward a more expanded sense of self. 4E CogSci calls those 4Es: Embodied, Embedded, Enacted, and Extended. Embodied and Embedded explains how the importance of the brain for cognition is extended to the whole body and the environment the body is situated in, all three seen as one dynamical system. Enacted and Extended refer to fact that our behavioural actions are based on and closely tied to affordances the environments give us. This dependence of human development on our natural, social, and built environments clearly shows the importance of carefully setting a stage for a great experience.
“We will all rush back to the restaurants and cafes as our “third places”, since our humanity literally depends on it.”
On paper or website, a pizza capricciosa can look like the same item in a dozen listed restaurants, however experiencing that capricciosa in an intimate cozy environment, pleasant music, great service and high price(!) versus in neon-lit, utility-oriented pizza to go place, can make a huge difference in terms of how we experience that pizza - and how we value it, even though the same recipe and the same ingredients might be in it. Daniel Kahneman, Nobel laureate for economics, would say that our rational System 2 would tell us that these are the same pizzas, but our (much louder) intuitive System 1 would signal that the former is more valuable seeing as though it has been primed with the context of the intimate, more valued environment and the higher price. Other behavioural economists (which is just another name for psychologists) have done a load of work around this theme. As a small example, Columbia University research showed how Relaxation Increases Monetary Valuation by testing how much people would bid for a digital camera in different states of relaxation. Turned out that relaxed participants bid 11% higher than less-relaxed participants. So, there is a strong economic case for considering these findings, and not only from the customer perspective but also from the employee perspective.
In the midst of the current health crises, we still can't fully articulate our growing "discomfort in the comfort of our homes", whatever that is. We know it is our contribution to protect ourselves and our communities from spreading the virus. However, it is evident that as soon as we are given the green light to resume our normal lives, we will all rush back to the restaurants and cafes as our "third places", since our humanity literally depends on it.
