2009 is looking to be a big year for conjoint analysis. Sawtooth will be releasing Adaptive Choice-Based Conjoint (ACBC) the first half of the year, giving market researchers yet another tool in their arsenal to answer those two FAQs, “What do consumers want?” and “How much will consumers pay?” As more information about ACBC comes out over the next several months, we’ll be sure to pass along our own thoughts on this new methodology.

Conjoint is also starting to get some play in mainstream media. The Price of Prejudice, appearing in the January 15 issue of The Economist, discusses the work of Eugene Caruso, a behavioral science professor at The University of Chicago.  He and his co-authors find that people often deceive themselves as to what they actually take into consideration when making choices. Using conjoint analysis, Caruso et al were able to conclude that it’s not what you say, but rather what you do that counts – long a tenet of conjoint researchers.  Overall, an interesting application of the methodolgy to social cognition research.