You Are What You Choose
The Habits of Mind that Really Determine How We Make Decisions
By: Scott de Marchi, James T. Hamilton
Published: November 12, 2009
Format: Hardcover, 208pp
ISBN-13: 9781591842866
ISBN-10: 1591842867
Publisher: Penguin/Portfolio
"Choice is at the crux of all social science, and it's a complicated body of research that a large number of very bright people have worked on", write Duke University political scientists and social science researchers Scott De Marchi and James T. Hamilton, in their highly accessible and research based book You Are What You Choose: The Habits of Mind that Really Determine How We Make Decisions. The authors make a compelling case that what they term their TRAITS system, derived from their very extensive and groundbreaking research, is a powerful source methodology of why people make their many decisions.
Scott De Marchi (photo left) and James T. Hamilton conducted thousands of surveys, involving test populations covering all income levels, racial groups, and regions of the United States. The resulting findings were startling to the authors, who discovered that much of previous information on how people decide what to buy, where to live, and for whom to vote, was incorrect. Instead, the authors concluded that certain personality and character traits predispose people to make their choices, even if the person believes otherwise. The six core traits or habits of mind, developed from the research surveys were:
* Time
* Risk
* Altruism
* Information
* MeToo
* Stickiness
James T. Hamilton (photo left) and Scott De Marchi recognized that the emphasis and degree of importance an individual placed on each the six TRAITS determined how they made decisions in their lives. These habits of mind, as the authors describe them, carry over into purchasing products and services, to how a person votes or even abstains from voting, to their personal health and eating choices. James T. Hamilton and Scott De Marchi tested their theory against traditional marketing concepts and segmentation tools including gender, income level, political party affiliation, and age. In each case, the TRAITS system was able to at least duplicate or exceed the decision making forecasts made by the traditional marketing techniques. The authors make the strong research proven case that using TRAITS will yield better results for marketers than standard demographic segmentation. The authors make the convincing argument that their system is especially powerful for locating and motivating early adopters of products and services.
For me, the power of the book is how Scott De Marchi and James T. Hamilton utilize actual field research as the basis for their decision forecasting system. Unlike many books on marketing and buying behavior, the authors don't depend on theory and speculation. Instead, they not only used their survey results to formulate their TRAITS methodology, but they field tested it in the real world against standard, well established demographic marketing based concepts. The authors found that TRAITS was a powerful predictor of buying behavior, and of involvement in the political process. They distilled their research into an easy to use system that can be employed by marketers and by political parties. They even supply a handy self test that readers can take to discover their own TRAITS.
I highly recommend the very powerful book You Are What You Choose: The Habits of Mind that Really Determine How We Make Decisions by Scott De Marchi and James T. Hamilton, to any marketers or other individuals seeking to understand how people's already existing habits of mind determine their decision making process. Instead of relying on abstract ideas and unproven concepts, the authors demonstrate their TRAITS system through extensive research, conducted with thousands of test subjects.
Read the important and marketing transformational book You Are What You Choose: The Habits of Mind that Really Determine How We Make Decisions by Scott De Marchi and James T. Hamilton, and discover how to put the TRAITS system to work in your own marketing programs. Instead of guessing or being misled by demographic groupings, your marketing plan can zero in on the people who share similar traits, and provide suitable products and services to fit their needs and desires. The book will change your ideas about marketing forever.
