4 Consumer Psychology Insights for Qualitative Interviews

When Customer Conversations Go Wrong: The Reality of Qualitative Research

TL;DR: Great customer interviews are rarely smooth. They go off-script, emotions flare, and that’s where the real insights live. Neuroscience shows that stress shuts down rational thinking, so the best researchers don’t fight it, they flow with it. Practise “anticipational fluidity,” stay curious instead of clinging to your script, and use “strategic status shifts” to turn resistance into collaboration. Then structure your questioning with the GRAMS Method™ (Goals, Reality, Alternatives, Motivations, Solutions). The result: deeper, more human insights that reveal what truly drives consumer behaviour.

Picture this: You're deep into what should be a straightforward customer conversation about consumer behaviour patterns.

Your questions are lined up, your research objectives are clear, and then... BAM. Your participant goes completely off-script.

Maybe they start venting about their terrible experience with your competitor. Perhaps they dive into an emotional story about their grandmother's shopping habits. Or they suddenly question your entire research methodology.

Of course this is not what you planned, is it?

Yet somehow, these are the moments that separate good consumer psychologists from great ones.

Those annoyingly skilled researchers who seem to effortlessly navigate any conversational curveball whilst extracting pure gold insights about understanding customers.

The Common User Research Mistake

Here's the thing: most of us handle these qualitative research challenges about as gracefully as a giraffe on roller skates. We either bulldoze back to our script (alienating our participant) or get so thrown off that we completely lose control of the conversation.

But what if I told you that neuroscience has cracked the code on these moments?

The Neuroscience Behind Difficult Customer Interviews

Why Your Brain Betrays You (And Theirs Does Too)

Here's what's actually happening when customer research conversations go sideways.

When we face chronic stress, our bodies produce higher levels of cortisol, a hormone that shuts down our prefrontal cortex - the thinking centre of our brain - and activates conflict aversion and protection behaviours. This triggered reaction is not momentary - it is sustained over a half-life of 13 hours or a full life of 26 hours. (Judith Glaser, 2018)

Think of it like this: the moment your customer, client, or even stakeholder goes off-script, both your brains are essentially running on emergency backup power.

Your clever research questions?

Your ability to probe deeper into consumer psychology?

All temporarily offline.

Professional Difference - most researchers fight this biology. But the pros, well, they work with it!

Understanding this neurological reality transforms how you approach challenging customer interviews and helps you extract valuable insights even when conversations derail.

Learn more about a proven interview methodology used worldwide that will set you apart →

Master "Anticipational Fluidity" (Stop Planning Your Next Question)

“Our contribution lies in proposing the notion of anticipational fluidity, of finding ways of relating and responding to others as we orient ourselves to each other and to what might happen next within the moment of conversation.” 

(Greig, Gilmore, Patrick & Beech, 2013)

Here's the counterintuitive bit: the more rigidly you stick to your conversation guide when things go sideways, the less you'll learn about actual consumer behaviour!

Why Rigid Scripts Fail in Customer Research 

Most researchers panic when participants veer off-topic because they're desperately trying to control the conversation. But anticipation fluidity means staying genuinely curious about what might emerge next.

Next time someone derails your customer research interview, resist the urge to redirect immediately. Instead, try:

"I'm noticing we've moved into new territory. What's important about this for you?"

This transforms derailments into discoveries. Some of my best insights about different types of customers have come from these unexpected tangents.

The Key Insight for Consumer Behaviour Research

Script-followers get scheduled answers. Anticipationally fluid researchers get the truth.

When you embrace uncertainty in qualitative research, you often uncover the authentic emotions and motivations that drive real consumer behaviour patterns.

Building Your Anticipation Fluidity Skills

There are so many options to practice your anticipation fluidity skills! Like, the possibilities are endless, I'm not joking! 

To make your life easier (if you have no idea where to start), I have listed my favourite four opportunities where you can practice your anticipation fluidity skills:

• Use these techniques in casual conversations first

• Apply status shifting in team meetings and negotiations

• Practice non-reactivity during everyday frustrations

• Develop genuine curiosity about people's motivations

Strategic Status Shifts in Customer Research Conversations

“Improvisers know that there are shifts in status within each conversation, and they use them to their advantage to progress the action of the scene. In business conversations and negotiations, status shifts are very effective 'influence moves.'” 

(Daena Giardella, 2016)

When conversations with customers about consumer psychology get adversarial (and they can, especially around sensitive topics), most researchers either fight for expert status or collapse completely.

The Pro Move: Intentional Status Shifting

The pro move? Intentional status shifting.

If someone becomes defensive about their customer understanding, temporarily lower your status:

"You're right, I'm probably missing something important here. Help me understand..."

This paradoxically increases your influence because it reduces their need to defend their position. Instead of guarding information, they start sharing it. You've just turned a power struggle into a collaboration.

High status gets you resistance. Strategic low status gets you intel.

This technique works particularly well when researching sensitive topics or when participants feel judged about their consumer behaviour. By positioning yourself as the learner rather than the expert, you create psychological safety for honest responses.

The GRAMS MethodTM for Customer Research

Developed by consumer psychologist Gary van Broekhoven of What Drives Them, drawing on over 20 years of qualitative research experience, the GRAMS Method™ is a framework that transforms how you approach customer conversations by using strategic questioning across five key dimensions:

• G - Goals: What are customers truly trying to achieve?

• R - Reality: What's their actual current situation and constraints?

• A - Alternatives: What other solutions have they considered or tried?

• M - Motivations: What deeper psychological drivers influence their decisions?

• S - Solutions: What would their ideal outcome actually look like?

The GRAMS Method™ will completely change you from a reactive interviewer into a smart and insightful consumer psychologist who demonstrates exactly the kind of deep customer insight that businesses desperately need.

Learn more about a proven interview methodology used worldwide that will set you apart →

From Scripted Questions to Adaptive Customer Conversations

When you're genuinely focused on understanding their world through the GRAMS framework rather than desperately sticking to your interview guide, research conversations flow naturally. You shift from being a nervous questioner to being a curious consumer psychologist.

Next Steps: Practical Application Guide

Make interviewing feel as easy as talking to your friends whilst uncovering the deep psychological drivers that actually influence consumer behaviour through strategic GRAMS questioning.

Check out our practical digital course that will rapidly give you the skills to be able to interview anyone.

Make interviewing skills your unfair advantage in the job market!