Third in our series of those who moved into the private sector after completing their PhD in decision making psychology is Kiki Koutmeridou – a behavioural economics researcher within GfK NOP, a global market research agency based in London. She has a background in Psychology (BSc) and Neuroscience (MSc) and she completed her PhD in Cognitive Psychology at City University in 2013 focusing on memory and the strategic processing of retrieval cues. In her role as the head of the Centre for Applied Behavioural Economics, Kiki works in collaboration with City University, GfK and clients trying to explore how behavioural economics can be incorporated in the traditional market research.Since joining GfK NOP London in September 2012, Kiki has introduced behavioural economics theories to numerous research projects which focus on the application of academic findings to real-life situations.

Tell us about your work: how does decision making psychology fit in it? I’m currently the head of the Centre for Applied Behavioural Economics at GfK NoP, part of the GfK Group, an international market research organization. The Centre for Applied Behavioural Economics is a partnership between City University and GfK NoP in an effort to promote applied knowledge in the decision-making field. So, by definition, my work is all about decision-making psychology. I’ve just completed my PhD in cognitive psychology and more specifically in memory. When the opportunity presented itself to explore human decision-making behaviour in an applied setting, I didn’t think twice and have been working at GfK for two years now.

My role at GfK is two-fold. I contribute to the various client research proposals across the company by integrating the academic knowledge on decision-making into the suggested research design. I’m looking into ways in which the client’s research question can be answered via the various theories and findings from the behavioural economics field. For this purpose, I help at all stages of the project (experimental design, client meetings, field work, data analysis, presentations). In addition, I work in unison with several external (academic or not) collaborators to conduct fundamental research promoting applied knowledge of decision-making behaviour. As a consequence, we are in a position to subsequently approach suitable clients, to share our findings with them and to make a proposal that would be in their best interest.

Why you decide to go into industry instead of continuing in academia? Actually, I don’t think I’ve made such a decision. I haven’t excluded one for the other (yet!). Like I said, the Centre for Applied Behavioural Economics is in strong collaboration with City University. I spend a day per week at City University, where I finished my PhD, meeting with academics, discussing potential projects and visiting the library. Being still part of an academic institution gives you opportunities for collaborations, fruitful discussions and knowledge sharing. Being part of the industry gives you the chance to apply all this knowledge in the real world and observe the outcome. I consider I get the best of both worlds.

What do you enjoy the most in your current role? My role is not restricted to market research. On the contrary, I explore ways in which people can make better decisions in a variety of settings (consumer, health, financial etc…). What really thrills me is the opportunity to either apply the academic knowledge in the real world or derive new knowledge from the applied experiments towards this end. This is a two-way street that can change the status quo of how things function. The idea that I can be part of these changes gives meaning to what I do and great satisfaction.

Do you see any challenges to the wider adoption of decision making psychology in your field? While there is great conversational interest about the academic findings and some recognition of their benefits, it can at times be a challenge to encourage clients to move beyond tried and tested approaches. When I first joined the market research industry I was surprised that psychology wasn’t incorporated more in the everyday business. In every meeting about any project, the discussions were ringing bells about possible psychological theories that could be applied. But experimenting is often not on the table. However, Applied Decision-Making or Applied Behavioural Economics if you like, is still at its infancy. The challenge is to provide strong evidence of its benefits. It’s a matter of finding the right people, in the right places that can promote this line of research and highlight the benefits of decision-making psychology and its methods until they become part of the norm.

How do you see the relationship between academic researchers and practitioners? In a word: complementary. Academics and practitioners bring different but equally important elements into the equation. My current role is an example of just that: the academic environment provides new findings, old and new theories and innovative methodologies; businesses offer the opportunity to apply all this to the real world and they can provide large sample sizes (the nemesis of the academic world along with the funding). In addition, practitioners have hands on knowledge of the effects that academics describe. Collaboration between the two can only lead to better formulated, more accurate theories and predictions about human behaviour.

What advice would you give to young researchers who might be interested in a career in your field? The irony is that I’m in need of that advice too as a young researcher myself! However, based on my experience so far I have 3 suggestions

1. Seize every opportunity as you never know where it might lead. I started working at GfK as a part-time data analyst. If you had asked me back then I wouldn’t be able to foresee my current role.
2. Be open-minded. Nowadays, the boundaries are hazy and every field can be combined with just about any other. Do not limit your imagination about potential new applications or approaches.
3. Be confident and proactive. There isn’t one right way of doing things so always voice your opinion. You are not supposed to know everything and quite frankly no one does. Remember that we learn more from our failures than from our successes. The important thing is to keep trying to find the answers and to keep reading around your field of interest. Brain is like a muscle – keep it fit!

Also from GfK NOP: interview with Colin Strong (In The Wild series)