Roy L. Moore

Decision Making among the Young: A Socialization Perspective

This article examines decision-making patterns among teen-age consumers. Variables associated with several stages in the decision-making process (information seeking, product evaluation, and purchase), as well as “anticipatory” cognitions regarding family decision making are examined within the context of general theories of socialization.

A Longitudinal Study of Television Advertising Effects

While many research questions regarding the effects of television advertising in consumer socialization require longitudinal research designs, nearly all previous research studies in the area have been cross-sectional or experimental. This article presents the results of a longitudinal study using a two-wave panel of adolescents with lag greater than a year. The study attempts to answer some questions regarding the effects of television advertising in the short run as well as in the long run.

Some Communication and Demographic Determinants of Adolescent Consumer Learning.

Differential processes associated with four measures of consumer learning—price accuracy, slogan recall, brand specification and attitudes toward advertising—are examined in a cross-sectional analysis of rural middle and high school adolescents.

Anticipatory Consumer Socialization

While most consumer socialization research has focused upon the development of consumer orientations that young people can enact, little research exists on how children and adolescents develop consumer orientations that have relevance for adult consumer behavior. This article addresses the concept of anticipatory consumer socialization by focusing on a variety of consumer cognitions and how they are acquired.

Buying from a Friend: A Content Analysis of Two Teleshopping Programs:

A preliminary study was conducted to content-analyze random samples of two teleshopping programs (The Fashion Channel and Quality Value Convenience Network), using a measure of content interactivity and a locus of control message index. QVC spent more time in high parasocial interaction as well as low interaction, while The Fashion Channel was highest on medium interaction. QVC also offered significantly more external positive and negative messages than The Fashion Channel. Based on the indications of previous research, it appears that QVC was better tailoring its message for its intended target audience than The Fashion Channel was at the time of the study.

Teenagers' Reactions to Advertising

Abstract Using self-administered questionnaires from 607 adolescents, this study focuses on the development of cognitive orientations to advertising and mass media and interpersonal influences on the acquisition of consumption motivations and behaviors. The findings indicate that such consumer learning may occur primarily in a social context with communication with parents and peers as significant predictors. Overall, the data provide little support for the idea that the mass media create desires, which in turn motivate consumers to work harder to satisfy these needs. Instead, the material value system seems to arise out of basic socialization processes.

Cartoon embellishments in informative presentations

What effect does the inclusion of cartoon embellishments have on printed and audiovisual presentations? College students read, listened to, or viewed a presentation about the library. Some presentations included cartoons. The results suggest that if comprehension is the only goal, the printed text without cartoons is just as effective as cartoons or audiovisual presentations. If enjoyment is a factor, cartoons or audiovisual presentations should be considered.

Role of Mass Media and the Family in Development of Consumption Norms.

b Although research on consumer socialization, including the impact of mass communication, proliferated during the past decade, the focus has been exclusively on the development of consumer orientations and norms among children and adolescents that can be immediately enacted. Many cognitions, however, may have little practical application at the time they are learned since direct spending by children and adolescents is rather limited.( For example, the child may see adults either directly or in the mass media, consuming various material goods, but he is too young to participate in such consumption. Merton called this type of learning “anticipatory socialization,”2 which may consist of “implicit often unconscious learning for roles which will be assumed sometime in the near future.”3 In the field of consumer behavior, Ries-

Role Perceptions in Adolescent Consumer Learning

Using the Thornton and Nardi model of role acquisition, adolescent consumer role perceptions were explored among 359 sixth through twelfth grade public school students. Demographic factors analyzed included socioeconomic status, personal spending and savings, age, sex, and consumer education, while dependent measures of consumer learning were slogan recall, product brand sa lience, consumer affairs knowledge, and consumer activism. Intervening role-related perceptions included honesty evaluations of media and personal sources and consumer attributes. Media ex posure, parent-child interaction, and peer communication were analyzed as sources of role conceptions. Results indicated consumer socialization is a complex process and lend support to the notion that middle-school adolescents are generally experiencing the anticipatory stage and high school students are primarily at the formal stage of consumer role acquisition. Younger adolescents are apparently only beginning to adopt certain group values but older students have acquired them to a signifi cantly greater degree and show other evidence of conformity to role set expectations.

Factors Affecting Readership of News and Advertising in a Small Daily Newspaper

Readers of a small daily newspaper are selective about their exposure to advertising as well as to news and entertainment content, a survey of 316 readers finds. Gender was a strong predictor of how frequently which readers read which ads, and closeness to the community was associated with reading of automobile and classified advertising.