Word Modifiers That Jazz Our Brains
Tuesday, March 29th, 2011
Words are powerful because they activate mental models. Mental models provide context for making decisions, solving problems, learning and all sorts of cognitive tasks. Some words are much better at activating mental models than others. While it remains controversial exact which words are best, I am always on the look out for research on the cognitive power of words.
Take for example the recent post on the Neuromarketing blog about Adjective Power. The post reminds us that a wise use of adjectives transforms mundane words or phrases such as “ham” into mentally stimulating phrases such as “hardwood smoked ham”. The post also reviews research that suggests that the impact of word choice is real. It drives revenue.
Even more interesting to cognitive designers is the list of what makes for a mentally stimulating word modifier. These include terms that are vivid, sensory, emotional, specific and branded. Given what we know about how minds work, this list makes a great deal of sense.
Check out the examples in the post such as “freshly cracked eggs”. Interested to hear from readers that have examples of communication designs that use this technique in other (non-food) domains.
