And now, let’s talk about love. But not the love we have for our favorite people — instead, let’s take a look at the love we have for our favorite brands, which, according to some fascinating studies in consumer psychology, sometimes can look eerily similar. Twenty years’ worth of research on this subject argues that people form actual relationships with brands, and when one team of German scientists recently tried to quantify this at a physiological level, things got a little weird.
To find out what happened, watch the latest episode in the new five-part Science of Us series “This Is Your Brain on Advertising.” You can also check out the previous episode to find out why sex doesn’t actually sell very well, and be sure to come back next week for more psychological insights into the world of advertising.