--- title: Start the year behavioural! description: A smarter way to start the year. Explore behavioural science techniques for deeper insights in Irrational Agency’s Guide to Behavioural Market Research image: https://blog.irrationalagency.com/hubfs/guiode-to-market-research-blog-image.png --- hello@irrationalagency.com | +44 (0)20 7064 6555 Follow us: [![Irrational Agency](https://blog.irrationalagency.com/hs-fs/hubfs/raw_assets/public/Irrationalagency_September2022/images/irrational-agency-logo.png?width=1000&height=1663&name=irrational-agency-logo.png "Irrational Agency")](https://irrationalagency.com/) - [About](https://irrationalagency.com/about-us/) - [Services](https://irrationalagency.com/services/) - [Narrative qual](https://irrationalagency.com/narrative-qual/) - [System 3](https://irrationalagency.com/system-3/) - [Behavioral Conjoint](https://irrationalagency.com/behavioural-conjoint/) - [Hidden Stories](https://irrationalagency.com/hidden-stories/) - [Work](https://irrationalagency.com/work/) - [Blog](https://blog.irrationalagency.com/) - [Contact](https://irrationalagency.com/contact/) - Get free insight on... - [FCA Consumer Duty Guide](https://info.irrationalagency.com/fca-consumer-duty-guide?_ga=2.35805152.1357843051.1666273171-1379455377.1659466076&_gl=1*1mjfy27*_ga*MTM3OTQ1NTM3Ny4xNjU5NDY2MDc2*_ga_DSM5WT91R8*MTY2NjI3MzE3MC41LjEuMTY2NjI3MzgxNC4wLjAuMA..) - [Hidden Stories on Sustainability](https://info.irrationalagency.com/hidden-stories-report-on-sustainability-2022-landing?_ga=2.56850410.1357843051.1666273171-1379455377.1659466076&_gl=1*1ephb79*_ga*MTM3OTQ1NTM3Ny4xNjU5NDY2MDc2*_ga_DSM5WT91R8*MTY2NjI3MzE3MC41LjEuMTY2NjI3MzgxNC4wLjAuMA..) - [Guide to Behavioral Market Research](https://info.irrationalagency.com/guide-to-behavioral-market-research-download?_ga=2.30619775.1357843051.1666273171-1379455377.1659466076&_gl=1*7dbbmj*_ga*MTM3OTQ1NTM3Ny4xNjU5NDY2MDc2*_ga_DSM5WT91R8*MTY2NjI3MzE3MC41LjEuMTY2NjI3MzgxNC4wLjAuMA..) [![Irrational Agency](https://blog.irrationalagency.com/hs-fs/hubfs/raw_assets/public/Irrationalagency_September2022/images/irrational-agency-logo.png?width=1000&height=1663&name=irrational-agency-logo.png "Irrational Agency")](https://irrationalagency.com/) [Back to All Posts](https://blog.irrationalagency.com) ![](https://blog.irrationalagency.com/hubfs/guiode-to-market-research-blog-image.png) # Start the year behavioural! [Behavioural Science](https://blog.irrationalagency.com/tag/behavioural-science), [Guides and Reports](https://blog.irrationalagency.com/tag/guides-and-reports) Published by [![Leigh Caldwell](https://blog.irrationalagency.com/hs-fs/hubfs/leigh_bw.png?width=50&height=50&name=leigh_bw.png)**Leigh Caldwell** ](https://blog.irrationalagency.com/author/leigh-caldwell) It’s a new year and likely a new calendar of research projects planned. Budgets reset, strategies are revisited, and research plans get a fresh look. It’s often the moment you ask, how can I maximise the insights and squeeze out every bit of value in each project I run this year? The answer is not more research but better techniques and approaches. Methods that can give you more depth, more accuracy and ultimately a better sense of where next. Behavioural science can answer these questions. Offering a more accurate, more human way to understand consumers, that gets past surface level insights to let you better predict the future. Behavioural science is an ever broadening field uncovering behaviours and motivations while also providing a framework for behaviour change. Methods include implicit reaction time, behavioural conjoint, emotion measurement, narrative quant and qual, and various other tools. You can run fully behavioural research projects, or make smaller behavioural adjustments to existing quant surveys to get more depth from your respondents. So, where do you start? You can start with Irrational Agency’s *Guide to Behavioural Market Research*. Written to help teams make sense of behavioural science and apply it thoughtfully in your own projects. ##### **Why now is the right moment to rethink your approach** Traditional research still plays a valuable role, but it relies heavily on conscious explanation: what people *say* they think, feel, or intend to do. Behavioural science starts from a different assumption—that much of decision-making happens automatically, quickly, and often without conscious awareness. This distinction matters when you’re planning the year ahead. Questions about pricing, innovation, pack design, advertising, or long-term strategy often hinge on nonconscious processes: emotional reactions, mental shortcuts, imagined futures, and contextual cues. If you’re not measuring those processes, you’re missing part of the picture. Behavioural research doesn’t replace surveys or qualitative work. It strengthens them by uncovering the hidden drivers that traditional methods tend to smooth over. ##### **Innovative methods, explained clearly** The guide also provides a practical overview of the most widely used behavioural research tools today, from fast and scalable techniques to deeper, more immersive approaches. These include implicit reaction time measures, behavioural conjoint, emotion measurement, narrative research, experiments, and simulated real-world decision environments. Rather than presenting these as “cutting-edge” for their own sake, we focus on what they are genuinely good at, where they can mislead, and how they can be combined with traditional methods to answer bigger strategic questions. This is especially useful when planning projects for the year ahead. Knowing which tools are best suited for early-stage exploration, optimization, validation, or forecasting can save time, budget, and frustration. ##### **A practical starting point** We created the *Guide to Behavioural Market Research* as a practical resource for marketers, researchers, and strategists who want to make smarter choices about how they study people.  If you’re looking to refresh your thinking, explore innovative techniques, and set your research projects up for stronger results this year, behavioural market research is a good place to start.  [You can download the *Guide to Behavioural Market Research* here](https://info.irrationalagency.com/guide-to-behavioral-market-research-download?_gl=1*1wuygmw*_ga*MTU5ODgxMjU3Mi4xNzY3NzgxODcw*_ga_DSM5WT91R8*czE3Njc4MDA4MTUkbzIkZzAkdDE3Njc4MDA4MTUkajYwJGwwJGgw)   ###### Share this article on [Follow us on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com) [Follow us on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com) [Follow us on Twitter](https://www.twitter.com) [Follow us on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com) ## Related Posts ## [Unlock the power of behavioural science with an Irrational Agency workshop](https://blog.irrationalagency.com/unlock-the-power-of-behavioural-science-with-an-irrational-agency-workshop) Unlock the Power of Behavioural Science with Tailored Workshops from Irrational Agency [Read More](https://blog.irrationalagency.com/unlock-the-power-of-behavioural-science-with-an-irrational-agency-workshop) ## [How to solve a problem like claimed vs actual?](https://blog.irrationalagency.com/how-to-solve-a-problem-like-claimed-vs-actual) A man sits in the boardroom of a global packaged food company. “We need to encourage recycling” he... [Read More](https://blog.irrationalagency.com/how-to-solve-a-problem-like-claimed-vs-actual) ## [How To Solve the Problem of Claimed vs Actual](https://blog.irrationalagency.com/how-to-solve-the-problem-of-claimed-vs-actual) Behaviorual science by its nature goes beyond the conscious to understand the behaviours and... [Read More](https://blog.irrationalagency.com/how-to-solve-the-problem-of-claimed-vs-actual) [Back to All Posts](https://blog.irrationalagency.com) **Our offices** **United Kingdom** Paddington Works 8 Hermitage Street London W2 1BE **​Netherlands** Keizersgracht 391 A1016 EJ Amsterdam **Site map** - [Home](https://irrationalagency.com/) - [About](https://irrationalagency.com/about-us/) - [Services](https://irrationalagency.com/services/) - [Work](https://irrationalagency.com/work/) - [Blog](https://blog.irrationalagency.com/) - [Publications](https://irrationalagency.com/publications/) - [Contact](https://irrationalagency.com/contact/) **Keep up to date** Sign up for irrational insights **Follow us** Follow us: