The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the challenges of neuromarketing application in Humanistic Communication and healthcare campaign research. This is based on a personal interest in the development of healthcare campaigns and the adaption of theories. Gadamer’s notion on interdisciplinary linking, builds a (interdisciplinary) bridge between my fascination with technological and theatrical development, and the philosophy of communication research. I engage the research questions by first investigating the neuromarketing process - this through a nexus analysis deduction of two neuromarketing process descriptions one by Martin Lindstrøm and the other by McClure et al. Additionally, the question concerning adaption is investigated through Gerald Zaltman’s Metaphor-Elicitation Process and consensus maps, and Experience Economy. As a means of illustrating the complexity of the human mind and experience, the cognitive-semiotic metaphor is introduced.
My investigation showed that the information gathered through neuromarketing is limited to sensory perceptions and feelings, which means that the neuromarketing process in itself is limited and not by any means able to read the human mind. The human minds plasticity seemed almost forgotten or unknown to the neuromaketeer – the information from the subject’s brain would be a representation of the subject’s social and cultural context, contemporary only to the experiment. Complicating matters further the neuromarketing research process itself could have a negative effect on the result. Here is among other, referred to the “halo-effect” and the Stanley Milgram experiment, illustrating the effect of authority on the subject. The discovered gaps in the neuromarketing process create new complications and doubt concerning the validity of the neuromarketing research results. These gaps are located in technical challenges concerning the used technology and the human subject. In relation to the neuromarketing research, I argue that even if successful, the gathered information could only be a representation of the subject’s own social and cultural understanding of the time of the experiment. This is complicated further by the lack of demographic interest and the objectification of the individual through the process and usage of neuromarketing. The interdisciplinary linking and communication proved challenging, not only from natural science to humanities, but from one natural science to the other. This is, among other, investigated through different philosophical approaches of the theories and concepts. I conclude that some of the challenges in the interdisciplinary linking are located in the different world approaches. To engage this I investigate the ethical implications of using neuromarketing in healthcare campaigns, which includes an exploration of the health-care campaign’s context. In conclusion and to sum up, it is possible to adapt a natural science theory to humanistic research, while remaining respective of humanistic science. However, this requires a critical analytic and reflective approach which is regarded holistically. This difficult task must include a consideration for the social, cultural, and humanistic context of the research. Wherefore, neuromarketing theory and adaptation could be a viable asset in healthcare campaign research. The results however, come with a great cost, in the forms of time and economy.