Fellows Spotlight: Benjamin Voyer

Professor Ben Voyer, AFBPsS, FRSA was recently named L’Oréal Professor of Creativity Marketing’ at ESCP Europe business school. His research focuses on consumer creativity, that is, the ways in which consumers can use their creativity to generate greater value and satisfaction in consumption.

He also explores the role of emotions in consumption, looking at how emotions shape consumption and the behavior of consumers. 

This collaboration with L’Oréal will be an opportunity to offer a better understanding of beauty consumption, especially in terms of its societal aspects. Recent research looks at the role of beauty consumption in the development of a positive self-esteem, and how companies can achieve better consumer response by using realistic rather than unrealistic beauty standards. Further research in this area can thus improve our understanding of how consumers relate to the portrayal of beauty in advertising, and eventually result in a more balanced portrayal of beauty and help prevent the spread of unrealistic beauty standards. 

In addition to his academic work on the topic, resulting in conference presentations, academic publications, supervision of research students and dissemination of the findings in the media, Professor Voyer will be advising L’Oréal on issues related to behavioural science in the beauty industry.

You can find out more about his work via his personal website, LSE or ESCP profiles, or watch his 2015 TEDx talk on self perception and the psychology of power.