Striatal response to favorite brands as a function of neuroticism and extraversion

Recent research has demonstrated that the perception of favorite brands involves similar brain networks than artificially associated reward stimuli. This has been explained by the association of brands with appetitive stimuli due to marketing efforts. Thereby, strong emotional bonds between the brand and the customer may be established. Furthermore, previous studies have shown that the personality dimension extraversion can be linked with the dopaminergic system and reward-sensitive brain areas. The current study aimed to examine if personality traits are associated with the perception of brands as rewarding stimuli. In order to test this hypothesis we conducted an fMRI study in which we presented pictures of chocolate brands, which participants had to rate according to their personal attraction. The personality traits were assessed according to the Five-Factor-Model. Results revealed that favorite brands engaged reward-related brain areas (ventral striatum). This activation was significantly correlated with the degree of extraversion and neuroticism of the participants. Thus, the results demonstrate that personality traits are closely associated with the perception of brands as rewarding stimuli. We discuss the results with recent studies on the neuronal substrates of reward related processing of cultural objects and the role of personality in brand loyalty. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.