This! We find focus groups nearly useless; folks are so eager to please. You get nothing but "Yes this is great. Maybe change the color to yellow". But you learn nothing about what would really appeal or sell.
I'm thinking focus groups should change to some sort of psychological test situation. "You can take only one of these home for free. Which one do you want?" I.e. perceived scarcity (cost) would elicit honest responses.
Yeah, I have never found focus groups of any value. I don't understand how one separates social effects from actual effects. And many user researchers agree. E.g.:
User focus groups may not be useful, but user testing can be. I'm thinking of studies where you give users some tasks to do, and watch how they interact with the UI to accomplish that.
I'm thinking focus groups should change to some sort of psychological test situation. "You can take only one of these home for free. Which one do you want?" I.e. perceived scarcity (cost) would elicit honest responses.