The magazine for alumni and friends of the UB School of Management
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8 Buffalo Business Autumn 2026 M. Kim Saxton: We rarely make rational decisions, and especially not when it comes to everyday purchases. There's a marketing theory that goes back to what's some- times called the reptilian brain: that in any situation, you're making an instantaneous decision to fight or flee. Your brain is a giant computer that uses pattern match- ing and heuristics, and it automatically has its go-tos. You have no control over this. Could you imagine how much work you would have to do if you were rational in every choice? We develop habits and routines so we can get through our day with the least cognitive load. John Hennessy: And people genuinely don't know when it's happening. When we did some virtual reality eye-tracking research, we saw that men look to the horizon at about a 96% rate, and women look within a six-to-eight-foot circle at roughly the same rate. It's literally hunter-gatherer instinct playing out in a modern retail environment. MKS: Recent research around Super Bowl advertising found that when you ask someone what ads they're going to share, they think of their favorite brands and say those. That's their genuine intent. But what actually drives sharing is emotion. They share the things that either gave them a real emotional high or was so strange or disgust- ing that they felt compelled to pass it on. JH: It shows up in packaging research too. We worked with a company that enlarged the baby's face on their boxes. Nothing else about the product changed, and sales went up. People are drawn to faces. It's deeply human. Consumers couldn't have told you that a slightly bigger face on the packaging would make them more likely to buy, but the data was clear. W e like to think we weigh options, consider the facts and choose wisely, but research tells a more complicated story. We asked two experts: M. Kim Saxton, clinical professor of marketing, and John Hennessy, clinical assistant professor of marketing, about the hidden forces that drive consumer behavior and what that means for the businesses trying to reach them. TARIFFS By Kevin Manne H e nn es s y Sa x t o n How do we actually decide what to buy, what to share and what to believe? THE UNCONSCIOUS SIDE OF DECISION-MAKING