Matt Johnson, PhD
Probing the Intersection of Neuroscience, Marketing, & Modern life
Hi, I’m Dr. Matt Johnson. I’m a neuroscientist, writer, and professor exploring the hidden connections between psychology and marketing.
I began my career in experimental neuroscience, earning a PhD from Princeton University, where I studied how the brain shapes perception and communication. Today, my work sits at the intersection of psychology, neuroscience, and marketing, unpacking how unseen forces influence what we buy, believe, and value. I’ve written two books:
Blindsight: The (mostly) hidden ways marketing reshapes our brains (BenBella Books, 2020) explores the unconscious drivers of consumer behavior. It’s written for curious readers but has found a strong following among marketers and business leaders.
Branding That Means Business: How to Build Enduring Bonds Between Brands, Consumers, and Markets (The Economist, 2022) is a practical guide to building meaningful brands through psychology, neuroscience, and cultural insight.
At heart, I’m a writer. I’ve published over 200 essays on my blog, Neuroscience Of, and I’m a columnist for Psychology Today. I contribute regularly to Forbes, Business Insider, and the BBC, covering topics ranging from brand loyalty and ethical persuasion to the psychology of AI-generated art.
I’ve worked with a range of organizations, including as Expert in Residence at Nike, and occasionally serve as an expert witness in legal cases involving marketing psychology and consumer perception. In 2023, I was named to the Thinkers50 Radar list of business thinkers shaping the future. I’ve also been recognized by Poets & Quants as one of the Top 50 Business School Professors in the world.
Outside the classroom and the page, I’ve delivered two TEDx talks, created two LinkedIn Learning courses, and regularly speak at conferences and corporate events across the U.S. and internationally. Across all my work, I make room for depth in a world optimized for speed. Drawing from both science and philosophy, I help marketers, creatives, and business leaders see the world - and their work - in a new light.
I currently reside in Boston, MA, where I’m a full-time professor of marketing and psychology at Hult International Business School, and an instructor at Harvard University’s Division of Professional and Executive Development. Over the years, I’ve lived and worked in San Francisco, New Jersey, Berlin, and Shanghai. The core questions that drive me stay the same: What really drives us? How do we honor the complexity of human behavior while still communicating simply? And if our assumptions shape what we see, how do we learn to see differently?
AS SEEN IN..
Writing & Media
I’ve always been drawn to writing as a way of thinking out loud - of chasing down ideas that don’t quite sit still. Alongside my books, I write regularly about psychology, marketing, and modern life, with a focus on making complex ideas accessible without dumbing them down.
I run a blog called Neuroscience Of, where I’ve published over 200 essays on everything from consumer behavior and branding ethics to cultural trends, storytelling, and attention. I also write a column for Psychology Today called Mind, Brain, and Value, which has been read by over 900,000 readers.
My writing has also appeared in Harvard Business Review, The European Business Review, and World Financial Review, and I’m frequently interviewed by podcasts and media outlets such as Forbes, BBC, and Entrepreneur looking to explore the human side of business, technology, and culture.
If you're interested in media requests, interviews, or collaborations, please reach out here
Speaking and Workshops
I regularly speak on how psychology and neuroscience shape the way we buy, brand, and experience the world. I’ve delivered talks and workshops at TEDx events, global marketing summits, and executive retreats, and created two popular courses with LinkedIn Learning. Whether I’m on stage or on screen, my focus is the same: helping audiences understand the hidden forces that drive human behavior - and how to use that insight to create more meaningful, memorable brands and experiences.
Research
My research focuses on the psychological and neural forces that shape how we think, feel, and behave as consumers. I’m especially interested in the deeper, often hidden connections between marketing, behavior, and identity - and how brands don’t just drive purchasing, but actively shape human experience.
At its best, marketing can be meaningful. At its worst, it can be manipulative. My research asks: What exactly is happening in the brain when marketing works? How does it tap into our perceptual, cognitive, and social systems? And what are the ethical implications of using that knowledge to influence choice?
To explore these questions, I draw from a range of methods - from neuroimaging tools like fMRI and EEG to behavioral experiments and conceptual frameworks rooted in psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy.
I’m also drawn to bigger-picture questions about the role of marketing in society. How does consumerism intersect with culture and technology? Can brands help shape new social norms or spark meaningful change? And if they can, should they?
Recent research
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PHYGITAL MARKETING THROUGH THE LENS OF NEUROSCIENCE AND PHENOMENOLOGY: AN INTERPRETIVIST ACCOUNT (2024) Phygital marketing is distinguished by its focus on the quality of subjective first-personal consumer experiences, but few papers to date have explored how neuroscience can be used as a tool for exploring these inner landscapes. This paper addresses this lacuna by providing a novel perspective on "interpretivist neuroscience", and proposes ways that current neuroscientific models can be utilized as a practical methodology for addressing these questions. It clarifies interpretivist approaches to consumer neuroscience, wherein theoretical models of individual phenomenology can be combined with modern neuroimaging techniques to detect and interpret the first-person accounts of phygital experiences. We argue here that studying phygital experiences through neurophenomenology can yield insights not otherwise possible.
Johnson, M. and Barlow, R. (2024), Phygital Marketing Through the Lens of Neuroscience and Phenomenology: An Interpretivist Account, Journal of Qualitative Market Research
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ART AND THE MARKETING OF LUXURY FASHION: CAN A RENEWED BRAND PURPOSE BENEFIT THE ART WORLD? (2023) There’s a natural tension between art, and the incentives of commercialization. This conflict is especially pronounced in the world of luxury fashion. In seeking to resolve this tension, we argue that luxury brands ought to conceive of their artistic involvement through the lens of "brand purpose". If luxury fashion brands are to shape their brand purpose around a commitment to artistic creation and fostering a vital art world that provides the individual and social goods we have discussed, they will need to adopt a clear set of values representing their core identity. This paper proposes three: expanding access to create, view, and experience art; fostering creativity by providing respite from the immediate demands of the art market; and supplying inspiration to influence the public conversation about important social issues through art.
Johnson, M., and Barlow, R. (In Review, 2023) Art and The Marketing of Luxury Fashion: Can a Renewed Brand Purpose Benefit The Art World?
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THE ELEVATION OF LUXURY? EXPLORING THE COMMERCIAL USE OF ART AS A VEHICLE FOR SHARED VALUE (2022) Luxury brands are market-driving forces, and have the ability to be shape consumer preferences. Because of this taste-maker status, luxury brands also play an outsized role in aesthetic standards, and significantly influence the role of art in society. Here, we argue that luxury brands can harness these qualities to create shared value through art infusion and artification. And by doing so, can have an outsized impact on artistic norms and the degree to which they impact consumer psychology
Johnson, M., and Barlow, R. (2022) The Elevation of Luxury: Art Infusion and Artification as Vehicles for Creating Shared Value, Journal of Business Ethics, Academy of Management Annual Conference Proceedings
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DEFINING THE PHYGITAL ADVANTAGE: APPLYING CONSUMER NEUROSCIENCE TO DIGITAL AND PHYSICAL RETAIL (2021) We bring together findings from consumer psychology, experiential marketing, and theoretical neuroscience to provide a mechanistic account for the advantages of phygital retail experiences. In particular, we explain this in terms of two complementary features: reduced “pain of payment”, as facilitated by digital purchasing technologies, and increased psychological attachment, as generated by real or simulated product experiences prior to purchase
Johnson, M., & Barlow, R. (2021). Defining the Phygital Marketing Advantage. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research, 16(6), 2365-2385.
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PSYCHOLOGICAL MECHANISMS UNDERLYING DESIGN THINKING’S IMPACT ON GUSTATORY PERCEPTION (2021) Design thinking impacts not only the development of new cuisines and culinary experiences, but also the raw perception of food itself. In this chapter, we review current practices in design thinking approaches, and provide an account for the psychological mechanisms by which this occurs, with an emphasis on unconscious mental modeling, empathy, and storytelling
Johnson, M., Barlow, R., & Ghuman, P. (2021). Psychological Mechanisms Underlying Design Thinking’s Impact on Gustatory Perception: Implications for Food Experiences and Well-Being. In Design Thinking for Food Well-Being (pp. 83-98). Springer
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MODERN MAD MEN: MARKETING ETHICS AND THE NEUROSCIENCE OF CONSUMER AUTONOMY (2021) Modern marketing is unprecedented in its ability to shape consumer behavior, which neccessitates novel approaches to understanding it’s ethical standing. Here we draw on consumer neuroscience to develop this framework and diagnostic criteria. The argument centers on consumer autonomy, which we argue has been significantly overlooked to date. Then, drawing on decades of behavioral economics, consumer psychology, and cognitive neuroscience research, we advance a theoretical understanding of how it is diminished by modern marketing tactics, and of how such violations may be judged. Finally, we consider the implications of our analysis for regulatory practices, consumer behavior, and consumerism at large.
Barlow, R., & Johnson, M. (2021). Modern Mad Men: Marketing Ethics and the Neuroscience of Consumer Autonomy. In Academy of Management Proceedings (Vol. 2021, No. 1, p. 10056). Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510: Academy of Management.
