science

Zaltman metaphor elicitation technique

Zaltman metaphor elicitation technique is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Zaltman metaphor elicitation technique rather than just read about it. In short: The Zaltman metaphor elicitation technique (ZMET) is a market research tool. ZMET is a technique that elicits both conscious and especially unconscious thoughts by exploring people's non-literal or metaphoric expressions.

Key takeaways

Zaltman metaphor elicitation technique belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Zaltman metaphor elicitation technique to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Zaltman metaphor elicitation technique from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Zaltman metaphor elicitation technique (ZMET) is a market research tool. ZMET is a technique that elicits both conscious and especially unconscious thoughts by exploring people's non-literal or metaphoric expressions. It was developed by Gerald Zaltman at the Harvard Business School in the early 1990s. As Zaltman described it, "A lot goes on in our minds that we're not aware of. Most of what influences what we say and do occurs below the level of awareness. That's why we need new techniques: to get at hidden knowledge-to get at what people don't know they know." The technique has been used by academic researchers and for marketing purposes to study a variety of topics related to both marketing and the social sciences.

Origins of ZMET Zaltman began thinking about the power of using imagery in research while on vacation in Nepal in 1990. Zaltman initially planned to bring his camera but at the last minute opted to chronicle the trip by giving local residents disposable cameras and asking them to take pictures that would explain what life was like in their villages. After developing the pictures, Zaltman returned to the village to ask residents to explain, through an interpreter, the meaning of the photographs. The imagery tended to reveal ideas that would have been difficult or unacceptable to put into words. For example, the photographers often cut off people’s feet in the photographs. This was intentional. In Nepal, bare feet are a sign of poverty. Zaltman believed that because of the stigma associated with poverty, the topic likely would not have surfaced had the villages been asked to describe life in their villages using just words. ZMET was patented in 1995 and the original patent expired in 2015.

The ZMET research process Research study participants are usually asked to collect a set of pictures that represent their thoughts and feelings about the topic of interest. Zaltman cites prominent researchers like Steven Pinker and Antonio Damasio to support his claim that humans think in images – often in the form of visual images – rather than in words. The pictures that participants collect are important non-literal devices for uncovering deeply held, often unconscious, thoughts and feelings. The goal of the ZMET interviews and analysis is to uncover the relevant fundamental structures that guide people’s thinking about a topic. These deep structures are unconscious, basic orienting frames of human thought that affect how people process and react to information or a stimulus. They manifest themselves in surface metaphors used in everyday language and conversation; when grouped they point to the deeper frames or structures a person is using to understand a topic (see framing). These frames can be used in a marketing context to help marketers communicate more effectively to consumers about a brand, product, or topic.

Applications of ZMET Oticon, a Danish manufacturer of hearing aids, applied ZMET to understand the negative connotations that people associated with hearing aids. They felt, although many people used cost as a reason to postpone the purchase of a hearing aid, there were deeper factors at work. Hearing aids were described as a symbol of being seen as old and flawed. Oticon responded by creating a hearing aid with a new, fashionable styling in an attempt to counter this stereotype. In a study for Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, ZMET discovered that the metaphors of “transformation” and “control” were critical to the experience of patients and their families within the hospital. The architectural firm Astorino translated this into a "Transformation Corridor" that connects the main parking garage to the central lobby. Along the walls of the 260-foot corridor is a butterfly motif, which, along with terrazzo floor pattern, changes to represent the changing of the seasons. The hospital also incorporated a modular patient room design, intended to give patients and their families the ability to customize their living space. ZMET research was critical to the launch of the odor-removing spray, Febreze by Procter & Gamble. ZMET has been used in academic and not-for-profit environments to study a range of topics including perceptions of climate change, the experience of attending a county fair, mountain biking, how women recover from substance abuse, the relationship between video game players and their avatars, how Americans were dealing with the economic crisis, and the value of an insight in the workplace.

Books that reference ZMET Marketing Insights from A to Z: 80 Concepts Every Manager Needs to Know by Philip Kotler (Hardcover – Mar 3, 2003) Advertising and Integrated Brand Promotion by Thomas O'Guinn, Chris Allen, and Richard J. Semenik (Hardcover – April 18, 2008) Clued In: How to Keep Customers Coming Back Again and Again by Lewis Carbone (Hardcover – May 24, 2004) Brand Aid: An Easy Reference Guide to Solving Your Toughest Branding Problems and Strengthening Your Market Position by Brad VanAuken (Hardcover – Jul 7, 2003) Assessment of Couples and Families: Contemporary and Cutting Edge Strategies (The Family Therapy and Counseling Series) by Len Sperry (Hardcover – Jul 21, 2004) Habenwollen: Wie funktioniert die Konsumkultur? von Wolfgang Ullrich (Broschiert – 1 January 2008) I is an Other: The Secret Life of Metaphor and How It Shapes the Way We See the World by James Geary Marketing Metaphoria: What Deep Metaphors Reveal About The Minds of Consumers by Gerald Zaltman and Lindsay Zaltman (Hardcover 2008)

See also Gerald Zaltman Conceptual blending Conceptual metaphor

References

External links OZA Homepage Video of Gerald Zaltman talking about Deep Metaphors and ZMET Q & A with Gerald Zaltman Archived 2009-06-06 at the Wayback Machine Article on ZMET research with professional tradespeople in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel ZMET study on corporate social responsibility for the World Bank Archived 2011-06-11 at the Wayback Machine “Astorino Incorporates Human Architecture Into its Designs” German-language article about using ZMET to study the meaning of Coca-Cola German language interview with Gerald Zaltman

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Zaltman metaphor elicitation technique

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Zaltman metaphor elicitation technique claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Zaltman metaphor elicitation technique before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Zaltman metaphor elicitation technique ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Zaltman metaphor elicitation technique

In research: Zaltman metaphor elicitation technique appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Zaltman metaphor elicitation technique in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Zaltman metaphor elicitation technique is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Cognitive psychology, Learning theory (education), so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Zaltman metaphor elicitation technique outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Zaltman metaphor elicitation technique in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Zaltman metaphor elicitation technique means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Zaltman metaphor elicitation technique out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Zaltman metaphor elicitation technique in simple terms?

Why does Zaltman metaphor elicitation technique matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Zaltman metaphor elicitation technique?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Zaltman metaphor elicitation technique.