Grand Opening of Berthiaume Behavioral Research Lab Highlights Isenberg’s Commitment to Excellence and Advancement

On Wednesday, September 18, the Isenberg community came together to celebrate the official grand opening and ribbon-cutting of the Berthiaume Behavioral Research Lab. The lab is the largest of its kind in an academic setting in the Northeast and features eye tracking, facial expression analysis, and galvanic skin response technology from iMotions, a global leader in human insights software. The lab will set Isenberg apart from other research universities by enabling faculty and students to produce new types of research and answer new questions with greater credibility than before.

“More and more research requires evidence that behavior has been changed, and this is one way to capture that,” says George Milne, associate dean of research and PhD programs and Edward D. Shirley ’78 Endowed Professor of Marketing. Milne spearheaded the creation of the lab and worked closely with iMotions throughout its development. “I think the lab is going to encourage new types of research and I think it's going to give Isenberg an advantage over other schools so that our research may be more favored. And it allows us to study new types of problems that we haven't been able to study before.”

New Benefits

Throughout Isenberg, there has been a sense of excitement surrounding the Berthiaume Behavioral Research Lab and all of the possibilities that it opens up. “So far everyone who I’ve met with about the lab has been very excited, and we’ve already had one full study go through in the spring, with a few more to come this fall,” says Mooney, the lab director. “It’s extremely exciting to be involved in something so new and interesting, and to be able to help everyone perform their research.” This excitement extends all the way up to Dean Anne Massey, who spoke at the opening of the lab and was another champion of its development. “Thank you to George and iMotions for all their efforts getting this up and running very quickly. After only a few months there's already a lot of activity going on and that's exactly what we were hoping for,” she said at the opening. “With this lab, Isenberg will produce better, more credible research, and our faculty will be able to collaborate with one another and teach in new and engaging ways, preparing our students to be leaders in their field.”

Several faculty members who’ve been able to access the lab prior to the grand opening have already experienced the benefits that the technologies provide firsthand. Verónica Martín Ruiz, assistant professor of marketing, is conducting research on how underrepresented minority (URM) consumers in the U.S. make healthcare decisions, with the end goal of designing interventions that reduce the likelihood of URM consumers denying the accuracy of life-threatening health diagnoses. One thing that has been difficult for Martín Ruiz in the past is that response bias tends to be high for people participating in research on this topic, meaning that people are likely to respond inaccurately for one reason or another. But this is where the Berthiaume Behavioral Research Lab can come in. “Collecting physiological data helps contrast what participants say with what they feel to obtain more accurate responses,” she says. “This is the best we can do without being in a doctor’s office when consumers receive the diagnosis.”

Wide-Ranging Possibilities

The lab will also open up new possibilities on a broader scale, beyond faculty and even beyond Isenberg. “Doctoral students will now be able to run experiments that have a behavioral outcome, which is increasingly important to getting research published,” says Milne. “The array of iMotions sensors will allow PhD researchers to collect data that will provide valuable insights and have access to important data that many other schools don’t have.” Milne also spoke about the lab’s potential applications beyond Isenberg research. “We expect that the lab will lead to many research collaborations across campus and with other universities worldwide. It also sets up many opportunities for Isenberg to connect with companies for class projects, and for also providing marketing research services.”

All of these benefits will, in turn, serve Isenberg’s long-term goals. “Increasing the volume and quality of research conducted at Isenberg helps us recruit the very best faculty and graduate students and publish in the best journals,” says Massey. “Plus, it helps our faculty to collaborate with one another and teach in new and engaging ways, preparing our students to be leaders in their fields.