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Integrating Results from Children's Television Advertising ResearchAuthor(s): Alan J. Resnik, Bruce L. Stern and Barbara AlbertySource: Journal of Advertising, Vol. 8, No. 3 (Summer, 1979), pp. 3-12+48Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4188264.

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TABLE

1

Viewing Behavior by Time of Day

Total

Persons Women Men Teens

Children

Sat. - Sun. day 3:56 3:25 3:43 3:43 5:14

(7 a.m.-7:30 p.m.)

Prime time 9:22 10:33

9:32 7:57 7:33

(Mon.-Sun., 7:30-11 p.m.)

Early fringe

3:54 4:12 3:15 3:22 4:45

(Mon.-Fri.,

4:30-7:30 p.m.)

Late fringe

2:33 2:55 2:51 1:51

0:45

(Mon.-Sun.,

11

p.m.-l a.m.)

Mon.

-

Fri. day 4:02 6:15

2:04 3:06 3:49

(10

a.m.-4:30 p. m.)

Other* 1:42 2:02

1:25 1:12 2:01

Total 25:19 29:22 23:00 21:11 24:07

*Includes Mon.

-

Fri.

1-10

a.m.;

Sat.

-

Sun.

1-7

a.m.

Source: Broadcasting Magazine,

June

7, 1976,

p. 40.

eclectic

and

confusing,

and

lack

of substantive evidence

prevents the formulation

of definitive policies by govern-

ment agencies.

A

major

source

of

confusion

is

the lack

of a

systematic

means

of

ordering

and

presenting

the

current empirical

evidence of the impact of television advertising on

children.

Researchers

in

the area

need

to determine

the

current

state of

knowledge

and

pinpoint

important

areas

for

future

efforts.

This

article

will

attempt

to alleviate

this

confusion

by providing

the

following:

1)

A schematic model

of a

child's

processing

of

television advertising

for

organizing previous

research.

2)

A review of the

major

research

in

the area

using

the

model

for

organization

and

integration.

3) Suggestions

of issues and broad

areas

for

future research

using

the

model to

indicate

gaps

in

past research efforts.

A

SCHEMATIC

MODEL

In an

attempt

to

describe

the

possible effects

of


on

children,

the authors have con-

structed

a

simplified

model

which,

in a

normative sense,

attempts

to

depict

the

many cognitive

and

behavioral

stages

which result

from

the

influence

of

commercials

(See

Figure 1). The model is divided into seven basic areas which

are numbered as follows: 1) Viewing Behavior (labeled in

the model

as

TV Commercials ), 2) Perceptual Filter/

Cognitive Processing, 3) Values/Habits

-

Personality/Soc-

ial Development, 4) Response to Product

-

Response

to

Commercial, 5) Learning, 6) Awareness/Interest/Desire/

Preference and 7) Purchase-Related Behavior (labeled in

the model as Influence on Family Buying Behavior-Act-

ual

Purchases-Influence on

Peer Buying Behavior ).

These areas are, as the model depicts, highly interrelated.

A brief

description

of

the components and their

inter-

relationships follows. The next section, which summarizes

research findings, incorporates a more detailed

descrip-

tion.

The

model

is not intended to be a comprehensive,

theoretical model of how advertising affects children. It is,

however, designed

to

provide

a

broad

structure

to

organize

research

in the

children's advertising

area. The

model

is

in-

tentionally simplified

to

avoid confusion

in

the

presentation

of a

relatively large

volume of research.

A

Working Example

of

the Model

A child takes into the viewing

situation

his unique

background, experience, needs, personality,

and

ability

to

process information. Consider a child watching

television

when a commercial for a snack food appears. Distraction,

lack

of

interest,

or

momentary

inattention

may

cause

the

child

to not

respond

to the commercial.

If

the

child

does

become

aware

of

the

commercial,

he

may

be

selectively

at-

tending

to the

message

in a

way

similar to

his

adult

coun-

terpart. This subsequent understanding of the message con-

tent is a

function

of

his

ability

to

reason,

which is influenced

by past experience

and

psychological makeup.

This

process

may in turn be affected by the program context, the time

of

day

and with

whom

he

is

watching

television.

Even

though the child becomes aware of

a

snack

food

commercial,

there

is a chance he

will

not

respond

to

it.

However,

if

the commercial does produce a response, the

response

could be directed toward the

product,

the com-

mercial itself,

or both. ln

any

case

the

response

could be

an

emotional

one

(such

as

anger

because

his

mother

will

not

allow

him snack

foods).

It

could

also

be

evaluative

or

af-

fective

(such

as the

commercial

was

fun

or I like that kind

of

food ). Finally,

an

involuntary

or

voluntary

motor

response is possible where the child may begin

to

salivate

or

perhaps

walk to the

kitchen

to find

a similar

snack.

The

nature of the response may be remembered by the child,

which

will

later affect his willingness

to view

the commer-

cial

again,

his

overall

disposition

toward the

product,

and

intention to

purchase

or

request

the

product.

When

the

commercial

provokes

a

change

in

behavior

through

imitation or

altered

cognitive set,

then

some form

of

learning

has

taken

place.

This

learning

will

affect

how

the

child reacts

to

future

snack food advertisements

and

4

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FIGURE

1

A SCHEMATICMODELOF

THE

PROCESSING

OF TELEVISION

ADVERTISING

Y CHILDREN

TV

COMMERCIALS

3

2

VALUES

PERCEPT

AL

FILTER

|

1-PERSONALITY

--PERCEPTUALF

ILTER-----------

[

nL

COGNITIVE

ROCESSING

|

SOC

AL

HAB

TS

l

X

|

t

|DEVELOPMENT

/

\ ~~~~AWARENESS

\

4

NOPINTEREST

4

RES

S

RDESINRE/

C cPREFERENCE

7~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

INFLUENCE

I

INFLUENCE

/

S ~ON

FAMILY I

ACTUAL

URCHASE

ON PEER

r

|BUYING

EHAVIOR

1

BUYING

EHAVIOR

5


7/21/2019 4188264

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possibly

which snack

looks best

on the

supermarket

shelf.

Once the

child

has been stimulated

to

the point

of want-

ing the

snack

food,

then he may

ask

his parent

for it,

point

out the product

in the store,

or

pull

the

parent

away

from another

activity

so

that he/she

may view

the commer-

cial

for

the

product.

After

the purchase

is

made,

peer

awareness

may

be created by

discussion

or

by

displaying

the purchase to others.

The child's

perceived

satisfaction

or dissatisfaction

with

the product

may

be

remembered,

eventually affecting

his

receptiveness

to commercials,

his feelings

toward

that

par-

ticular

brand

of snack

food and

snack

foods in

general,

what he tells

his

friends, and

possibly

whether

his parents

again

buy

the

product.

The child's cognitive

and

behavioral

involvement

with this product,

and

much

more

likely

an aggregation

of products

and commercials,

has

strong

potential

to affect

the child's

social

development,

values,

habits-and

perhaps

his personality.

Whether

this

influence

on the child's

social

development

is positive

or

negative

is subject

to

the factors

in

the specific

situation,

and is, in itself, an empirical question. Some of these em-

pirical

questions

have been

answered

by

the research

discussed

in the

next

section.

COMPONENT

DESCRIPTION,

RELATED

EVIDENCE,

AND

RESEARCH

RECOMMENDATIONS

Component

1: Viewing

Behavior

A

number

of

questions

need asking when

studying

children's viewing

behavior.

How much

television do

they

watch?

What programs?

During

what times

of day?

What

is

their

attention span when they watch? In addition, the

nature

and degree

of

parental

influence and guidance

in

program

selection and

commercial viewing

are

important

as well.

Research

Findings

1.

Amount

of

viewing.

American children average

ap-

proximately

200

hours a year

watching

25,000 com-

mercials.

Commercials

are

the

third

most

watched

category

of

television

stimuli

behind

movies

(32%)

and

comedy-variety

(17%),

but

ahead of action

pro-

grams

(I 3 %)

and

eight

other

categories (24).

2.

Viewing

patterns.

Ward

suggests

that children under

the

age

of 12

are

exposed

to a

higher

concentration

of

commercials

because

of

more

homogeneous

viewing

patterns

than

adults

or adolescents (30).

3.

Time

of

day.

As Table I suggests,

children's

televi-

sion

viewing

is not confined

to

traditional

children's

programming.

In

fact, approximately

one-half

of

children's

viewing

occurs

during

prime time,

late

fringe, and

week-day midmorning

to late

afternoon.

4.

Attention

to commercials.

Ward,

Levinson,

and

Wackman,

using trained mothers

as observers,

found

that the

younger

the child, the greater

the likelihood

that attention

directedat the

program

would continue

during

the commercial

(31).

Older children (9 to 12) tend to talk more during

commercials,

with full attention

to commercials

during prime

time viewing

decreasing

with age (31).

Regardless

of commercial

length,

the older child

pays

less attention

to commercials than

the

younger

child

(28).

5.

Position of

commercials. In

a survey

of advertisers,

Culley

found

that

most felt

that bunching

commer-

cials before

or

after

a

program

would significantly

lessen

the impact of the

advertiser's

message

(9).

Culley's belief

is refuted

in

a study by

Atkin which

indicated

that overall

attention to

commercials

was

higher

in a clustered presentation

(1).

Research

Recommendations

In

the

area

of

viewing behavior,

five

topics

yet

to be sat-

isfactorily

researched

warrant

attention.

First,

the

degree

of

program

choice

by

the

child

needs investigation.

If

parental

control increases,

then

advertisers

not only

have

to

worry

about

selling

their

product,

but also

in

selling

their

program

to

parents.

Second,

researchers might

con-

sider investigating

which

differences

occur

between

what

commercials

children

actually

watch and

what

parents

think the children

are exposed

to. This

might

give

research-

ers

an

understanding

of the

degree

of involvement of

the

parent

with

the

programming

and commercials.

Third,

in-

vestigation of social interaction while watching commer-

cials might

provide

insights

into the

impact

of

advertising

on

children.

Differences

in

the type

and frequency

of

in-

teraction

between

children

and

peers,

children and

siblings,

and children

and

parents

should be noted. Fourth,

the

use of

mechanical

devices

like

pupilometers

and

eye

cameras would

be used

to

provide

convergent

validity

con-

cerning

differences

in

attention

to commercials

as

related

to

age

and

cognitive

development.

Finally,

an

important

unanswered question

remains:

does

attention

to commer-

cials

vary by

factors other

than

cognitive

development

and

age.

Possible

factors

include type

of

product,

length

and

type

of

program,

time

of

day, presence

of

others,

and

frequencyof viewing.

Component

2:

Perceptual

Filter/Cognitive

Processing

Children,

like

adults,

selectively

receive, classify,

and

at-

tach

meaning

to

program

and

commercial

stimuli.

The

perceptual

filtering process

enables the child

to

perceive

stimuli

congruent

with his needs

and past

experience.

6


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Stimuli with

sufficiently

attractive

structural elements

also

encourage

attention. Not

all stimuli

penetrate one's

awareness,

nor do

all stimuli that

command one's

atten-

tion leave

lasting

impressions.

But when

a

stimulus

does

penetrate the

child's

awareness, the

child

struggles

to

gain

an

understanding of it.

Children's levels

of

chronological

and

cognitive

development, of

course, affect their

ability

to

classify and order

stimuli.

Research

by

Piaget has

done

much to

help

marketers

gain

insight into this

developmen-

tal

process

(35).

Research

Findings

Information

processing.

Ward

and

Wackman

found

that

the

preoperational

hild

(bound

by his

limited

perceptual

capabilitiesand

experience)

exhibitsless

differentiationn

his

responses o

visualand

auditory

stimuli than

the

concrete

operational

child

(who is

able

to think

about

the

information

presented and

previous

actions only at

the

sensory-motor

level)

(32,

19).

2.

The

role of

age on

cognitive

development.

Ward

found thatas a childbecomesolder his abilityto dif-

ferentiatebetween

programming

and

commercials

increases.Little

ability

to

discriminate

between

com-

mercials

nd

program

ontent

s

found

n

5-7

yearolds

(29).

As a child

becomes

older,

his

ability

to

understand

the purposeof

commercials

ncreases

29).

The

complexityof

images

recalled

rom

a

television

commercial

lso

increases

with

age

(29).

Stern

and

Resnikfound

that 3-6

year

olds

were

not

able to

demonstrate

he

understanding

f

the

distance

that

a

toy

would

move,

even

though

the

product

was

aimedat

this

specific

age

group

26).

Donohue, Meyer, and Henke found that older

children

aged

8)

exhibit

higher

evels

of

understanding

of

television

commercials

han

younger (6

year

old)

children

I

1).

According

to

Bever,

et

al. the

lack of

cognitive

development

eaves

5-6 year

olds

vulnerable o

mis-

leading

elevision

advertising

3).

Bever,

et al.

found that

the

majority

of

7-10

year

olds were

able to

specify

clear

principles

of what

advertising

hould

and

should not

do.

Many of

the

9-10

year olds

wereable

to

articulate air

principles

of

advertising

n the

abstract,

but

admitted hat

they

could not

really

evaluate

advertising.

Their

responses

to

advertising laims

depended

argely

on

their

having

hadpersonalexperienceswithmisleadingadvertising

(3).

The

11

and 12

year olds

in

Bever, et

al.'s

study

showed

sharply

ncreased

ability

to use

impressions

for

operational

udgments.

Of all

the

children

n

the

study aged

5-12,only

this

groupcould

carefully

eval-

uate the

contentof

television

advertising3).

3. Race and

understanding

f commercials.

Donohue,

Meyer,

and Henkefound

that

white children

had

sig-

nificantly

higher evels of

understanding

f television

commercialshan

black

children

egardless

f

age (11).

4.

Age and cognitive/attitudinal

defenses to

television

advertising. Rossiter

and Robertson found that

maturational development is the most significant

determinantof children's

cognitive

and

attitudinal

defenses

to

television advertising.

This

results

n

the

greater

understanding f and a more

defensive atti-

tudetowardcommercials 23).

A study

by Meyer,Donohue, and

Henke

revealed

that as the age

of

black

children ncreases,

so

does

thedistrust

of TV

commercials 18).

After

exposure

to

a classroom instructional

unit

on TV

commercials,black children howed

increases

in their

cognitive awareness of commercials

(their

intent,

etc.).

In

addition, the instructionalunit

pro-

duced cognitive defenses

capable

of

resistingcom-

mercial

nfluences 18).

5. Effects of premium-oriented

ommercials.Accurate

recognition

of product information

is

significantly

influenced by a child's

stage

of

cognitive develop-

ment

and the relative

length

of time

devoted to

productand premium nformation

n a

commercial.

However, it

appeared that the

stage

of

cognitive

developmentwas a

much

more mportant actor(10).

Premium-orientedcommercials

which limit

the

length of premium presentation are

not likely to

interfere

with

the child's

retention

f

product-oriented

information.

6.

Understanding

of

disclaimers.

Stern

and

Resnik

found that the presence of a performance-related

disclaimer

did

not

increasechildrens'

understanding

of

theexpected

performance

f

theproduct 26).

Liebert,

et

al. found

that the

child's

cognitive

de-

velopment eaves him/her

inadequatelyprepared o

interpret he meaning

of disclaimers s they are pre-

sentlyworded.The researchers ound

that a

simpler

form

of the same message without

altering

the dra-

matic content or tone

of the basic

advertisement

markedly

ncreasedchildren's

ability

to

understand

the

disclaimed

oncept

17).

7. The effect of

perceived

commercialpersuasibility.

Rossiter and

Robertson

found

that

older children

with more educated parents viewedadvertisingas

more

persuasivethan their

younger, less educated

counterparts23).

Children

who

recognized

he

persuasivenature of

commercials

ended also

to

distinguish

commercials

from

programming

nd

to cite

instanceswhereadver-

tised

products

did

not

meet

expectations23).

7


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Research

Recommendations

Although

a substantial

amount

of work has

been done

in

the area

of

perception

and

cognitive processing,

a

number

of questions

remain unanswered.

How

does the

perceptual

filtering

process

differ-if

it

does-between

children

and

adults?

How

do

children of

varying ages classify

and

at-

tach

meanings

to messages?

What are the personal

factors,

the needs and socioeconomic status, linked to the recep-

tivity

to commercial

messages?

In

addition to

these factors

within

the

child,

advertisers

surely

could

learn which

fac-

tors within the

commercial

effectively

gain

the child's

at-

tention. And what, specifically,

causes

the older

child's

detfensive behavior

toward commercials?

Finally,

does

helping

a younger

child discriminate

between

programs

and commercials

change

his/her

perception

of

the com-

mercial?

Component

3: Values,

Habits, Personality,

and

Social

I)evelopment

Parents provide

the most

significant

influence

on the

psychological

development

of young

children,

of

course.

But so do

exposures

to other

influences-particularly

tele-

vision.

An

enormous

amount

of an

American child's

con-

centration

is

taken by

television,

resulting

in undeniable

ef-

tects

on the child's

psychological

development.

Since

children

are

physically

and emotionally dependent

on

others

during

their

first five

or

six

years,

they

may

be

vulnerable

to suggestion

and

influence.

Research Findings

1.

Development

of materialism.

The frequency

of view-

ing

television

commercials

makes only

a weak con-

tribution

to the

development

of materialism

in

children.

However,

two-thirds

of the mothers inter-

viewed in the study felt that commercials did pro-

duce materialistic

orientations

in

their children (1).

2.

Effect of commercials

on

activity preferences.

Gold-

berg

and Gorn

determined

that

exposure

to a

toy

commercial

increased

the likelihood

that

children

would

prefer

to play

with the toy

rather than

with

their friends.

It also

increased

their

preference

for

playing

with a peer described

as

'not so nice'

rather

than a

'nice'

peer

presumably

so

that

they

could

play

with the former

child's

toy (14).

Research Recommendations

Little

information

is available

concerning

how

television

advertising

affects

a child's

habits,

values, personality,

and

social development-and

how these

factors,

in

turn,

affect

a child's perception

of

commercials.

How does

commercial

viewing

during

childhood

affect

the

development

of the

chiid

as a consumer

later in life? Will exposure

to cereal

ads

whose products

contain

50

percent

sugar

encourage

the

development

of

poor

eating

habits?

Another

thought-

provoking

question is

what effect

does the

demonstrable

distrust

of

ads have

on later confidence

in our

economic

system

and trust

of people,

in general?

Commercials

also

present

interpersonal

relationships,

in

unrealistic

ways,

especially

in

ads

for hygiene

products.

Does repeated

ex-

posure

to

such stimuli

affect

the way a

child learns

to

respond

in social

situations?

These areas

may necessitate

research methodologies

atypical

of those

currently

in

use.

Longitudinal studies might be one solution. Social critics

have

charged that

extended

exposure

to

television

dulls a

child's mind

and reduces

motivation.

To what extent

ad-

vertising

may foster

this process

should

be explored.

Component 4:

Response

to Product

and Commercial

If a commercial

penetrates

a child's

awareness,

there

is

likely to be

some reaction

to both

product

and commercial,

a reaction

manifesting

itself

in affective,

evaluative,

emotional,

and/or motor responses.

To illustrate

this,

a

child might

find

a

commercial

not

believable

(evaluative

response)

but

still be

intrigued

by the product

(affective

response).

The commercial

might also

provoke

a state

of

anger (emotional response) which could lead to a form of

aggressive

behavior

(motor

response).

Research Findings

-

Product

1.

Factors

related

to the

liking

and disliking

of commer-

cials.

Breen and Powell

found that

children generally

believed

in those

commercials

they

liked and

liked

those commercials

they

believed

(5).

Ward,

on the

other

hand,

found

no

relationship

between

a child's impression

of the truthfulness

of

a

commercial

and his reasons

for

liking

or

disliking

it.

Recall,

also,

did

not

significantly

differ for liked

or

disliked commercials

(27).

Breen

and

Powell

also found that when

children

perceived advertising to be persuasive they tended to

find

it less

trustworthy

and,

therefore,

tended

to dis-

like

it. On the

other hand,

children

who

thought

that

the

purpose

of commercials

was to assist

and

inform

liked

and

trusted commercials

more

(5).

Younger

children

and those

viewing

the most

com-

mercials

tend

to have the greatest

liking

for

commer-

cials

(1).

Ward found

that

younger

children

appeared

to

like

a commercial

because they

liked the

product

being

advertised

(29).

2. Trust

of commercials.

Several

researchers

have

found that

regardless

of other

factors,

a

mistrust

of

commercials increaseswith age (4, 27, 23, 3, 22).

3.

Irritation

toward

commercials.

In

a

study

of

4th

through

7th

grade

children,

most

reported

being

irritated

by

commercial

interruptions,

although

child-

ren

were divided

on whether

or

not

to ban

Saturday

morning

commercials (1).

8


7/21/2019 4188264

8/12

Research

Findings

-

Commercials

1. Commercial

exposure

and

product

attitude.

Gold-

berg and Gorn's

study

revealed

hat

seeing

a

single

commercial or

a

valued

toy produced

a more

favor-

able

attitude oward he

toy

(13).

Gorn

and

Goldberg

ound the same to

be true

with

low incomechildren.Additionalexposureswere nec-

essary,

however,

to influence

the

children o

expend

more effort

(than

the control

group)

to

obtain

the

advertised

roduct

16).

2.

Expectation f

receiptand

product

attitude.Children

with

higher

expectationsof

receiving

what

they

saw

advertised

had more

favorable

attitudes

toward the

advertised

roduct

13).

3.

Commercial

exposure and

beliefs

surroundingpro-

duct benefits.

Atkin

discovered that

children who

viewed a

Dristan

commercial

more

often

indicated

thatthey would

take

medicine or a cold

(1).

4. Emotionalresponses o productperformance laims.

Childrenwho

playedwith

a

difficult-to-build

block

set

were

more

likely

to

display

anger and

aggression

after

seeing a

version of

a

commercial

showing

an

elaborate

construction

compared o

a version

show-

inga more

modest

construction

1).

5.

Commercialsand

product

preferences.

Goldberg,

Gorn, and Gibson

found

that

when

children

viewed

commercials or

highly

sugared oods

they

opted for

more of

these kinds of

food.

When

other

children

viewed

pro-nutrition

public

service

announcements,

they

opted

for

snack and

breakfast oods

considered

higher in

nutritive

value.

When

the

researchers

doubled the amount of exposure to the sugared

foods,

preferences or

the

advertised

oods

did

not

increase but

preferences for

other

nonadvertised

sugared oods did

increase

15).

Research

Recommendations

Thetypesof

response

o

commercials

eceiving

he least

amount of

study

are

emotional and

motor

in

nature.

We

know

very

little about

the

power

of

commercials

o evoke

fear,

joy,

desire,

anxietyand the

need for

social

approval.

Research

needs to

determinehow

many

and

whatkinds

of

commercials

trigger

emotional

reactions-and

whether

these

reactions

are in

the best

psychological

nterestof

the

child.

Also

unknown

are the

types of

motor

responses

linked to

commercial

viewing.

How

often,

for

example, s

hyperactivityatalyzedby exposure o

commercials? either

do we

know what

characteristics f

the

productor

message

relate

to the

motor

response,and

what

effect

the motor

response

has on

other

aspects

of the

child's

life. To

mea-

ure

these

forms of motor

response,

researchers

hould

consider

using

mechanical

methods

such as

G.S.R., voice

stress

analyzer,

and

pupilometer

o

name

a few.

Stress

in

our

daily

ives hasbeen

the

subject

of considerable

esearch

even

among children. The extent to which

advertising

creates intensedesire

for

products

may

be

a

contributor

to the stress evel in

children.The extent of this

contribu-

tion

is an

important

area

of

investigation.

Althoughresearch n the

area

of

(advertising-stimulated)

responses to products

has

produced

fruitful

knowledge,

researcher'sorientations should focus away from the

heavily

treaded ground of

affective

responses

to the

product.For

example,

t would

be

useful

to

know if

com-

mercialscreate

expectations

related to

product

perform-

ance

and

overall

product

satisfaction

congruent

with

evaluations of the

product

after its

purchase.

What

proportion

of

products hat

a

child

urges

his

mother o

buy

while

shopping

were

previously seen

advertised on

television?

Finally,

more research s

needed to

determine

the

relationship

between

various reactions o

commercials

and

cognitive

and

behavioral

responsesto

the advertised

product.

Component 5: Learning

Learning

occurs

when

children

add new

cognitions,

eliminate old

cognitions,

or alter

existing

cognitions

in

response o a

commercial

message.

Aside

from

reward

and

punishment,

anothermethod

by which

children earn s

by

observation

ollowed

by

imitation.

In

this

light,

television

can be

viewed as

a

teacher-a

source

of

information,

culture,

and

acceptable

normsof

behavior.

Research

Findings

1.

Imitationof

televised

behavior.

Studieshave

demon-

strated

that

preschool-aged

hildren

mitate

aggres-

sive

behavior

observed

on filmand

television

25).

2.

Television

viewing

and

language

development.

Atkin

found

that

television

exposure

generally

inhibits

language

development-with

the

most

negative

im-

pact

occuring

n

children

gedeight

through

leven

1).

3.

Learning

and type of

commercial

appeals.

Atkin

producedtwo

commercials,

one

using

rationaland

the other

using

emotional

appeals.Both

commercials

were

readily

earnedand

equally

successful

n

terms

of

recalland

desire

1).

However, n

another

study,

approximately

5%of

all

television

commercials

broadcastduring

he

week-

end

morning

contained no

useful

information

upon

which

to make

a

buying

decision.

This

suggeststhat

the

commercials n

this

part of

the day

are

largely

emotionalornon-informativen

nature 21).

Research

Recommendations

Much

evidence

exists

demonstrating that

children

imitatewhat

they

see on

television.

Little

work, however,

has

been

done on

the

effectiveness of

participation

strategies

in

the

learning of

children's ads.

Do

catchy

jingles

and

musicalthemes

encouraging

a

child to

follow

9


7/21/2019 4188264

9/12

along produce

greater

awareness of a

product or

its

benefits?

And there

are

questions

about the child's rate

of

forgetting

of commercial

content

and the

effect of

repetition (frequency)

on

the awareness

of the advertised

product.

Has

a particular

commercial enabled

a child

to

successfully discriminate

between

competing

brands

and/or

generalize feelings

from

one

product to other

com-

pany

product

offerings?

Of course the long term effects of

repeated exposure

to similar

messages

are still largely

unknown

and need investigation.

Finally,

proponents

of

children's

advertising

argue that children

learn to

be

discriminating

buyers

through

early exposure

to adver-

tising.

Research

has focused

on the

negative effects

without exploring

this potentially

positive

aspect of

learn-

ing.

Component 6:

Awareness,

Interest,

Desire and Preference

The

extent

to which children are

affected by

television

ads is

most

likely

a

function

of a number of

factors,

in-

cluding:

the child's

age,

the

frequency

of

exposure

to the

commercial, the creative nature of the commercial, and

parental

attitudes. What

is of interest

to

the advertiser,

however,

is the identification

of child,

stimulus,

or

situationally-related

factors which

have

an

effect

on

children's

awareness, interest,

desires,

and product

preference.

Research Findings

1.

Race

and awareness. Atkin

found

that both

black

and

white

children were

more

aware of commercials

showing

white

actors

when

compared

with

ads

show-

ing black

actors (1).

2. Toys

first introduced through


and

later

desired.

Frideres found

that of

the

toys

children wanted, 78%owere first introduced in tele-

vision commercials.

This

percentage

rose

with

the

number

of hours

of

television

viewing (12).

3. Media

source

and

product

awareness. Caron and

Ward found

that children

most

often

cited

television

as

a

source

of

gift

ideas,

with

older

children

more

likely

than

younger

ones to credit television

as a

source

of

such

ideas

(6).

Ward

and

Wackman found

the

same

(34).

4. Television

advertising

and desire.

Frideres

found that

a child's desire,

communicated

to

the

parent,

was

the

prevalent

reason

for a

parent

purchasing

a

toy

cost-

ing more than five dollars (12).

5.

Effect

of television

advertising featuring premiums

on

desire.

Atkin

found

that

breakfast

food

was

desired

more

when the

ad featured

a

premium

than

when no premium

was

mentioned (1).

6. Effect

of television

advertising

featuring

cartoon

characters

on desire.

Atkin found

that

the use

of

certain cartoon characters

in an

ad heightened

the

desire for the cereal

(1).

7.

Television advertising

and brand

preference. Resnik

and Stern

found that children preferred

a brand of

snack food appearing

in an experimental

commer-

cial

more than children

not exposed to the commer-

cial (20).

8.

Race

and preference.

Berry

and Hansen found

that

black

children's

stated preferences

are positively

in-

fluenced

by the presence

of a

black character in

a

commercial (2).

Research Recommendations

Whether aimed

at adults or children,

television commer-

cials attempt

to

arouse some

level

of cognitive

involvement

on the continuum

from awareness

to preference.

But do

television commercials

produce cognitive

involvement

at

the same level

for adults and

children? Might a

child's

response

be

at a

higher

level because of their lower

level

reasoning ability?

Are

children more

or

less

likely

than

adults to increasetheir positive evaluations of a stimulus as

exposures

increase? Although

some

research

has linked

characteristics

of ads

to

awareness

and desirability,

the

use

of testimonials by

animated characters

and humans needs

to be

studiedto determine

their

effect on

a child's

movement

up

the

hierarchy

of effects ladder. Research

has

shown

the

powerful

effects

of

commercials

on

product

awareness,

but

still

to be

determined

is the

relative

importance

of

alternative

sources

of information (ads,

word-of-mouth,

seeing product,

etc.)

in

moving the

child from

the

awareness

stage

to stated

preference.

The applicability

and

nature

of

the hierarchy

of

effects

model

has

been

a

source

of

controversy

for

many years.

Testing

its

appropriateness

for children

should be

another

area

of

research concen-

tration.

Component

7: Purchase-Related

Behavior

In certain

situations a child might

have sufficient resour-

ces to

buy

a

product

(i.e., candy)

himself.

But more

likely,

once

the child develops

a preference

for an

advertised

item,

he

will have

to

influence

someone

else

to

make

the

pur-

chase. If the

purchase

is

made,

the

child

and/or

the

product may

have

an

influence on

the

preferences

and

behavior

of

peers.

Likewise,

if

the child

loses

interest

or

is

dissatisfied

with

the

product,

then

this

might

affect future

parental

purchases

and

the child's

trust of

future

television

commercials.

Research Findings

1.

Commercials

and

parental

pressure.

Atkin found

that a

majority

of children

surveyed

said

that

they

were stimulated by

television

commercials

to ask

for

toys

and cereals

(1).

Nearly

half

of the

children

in

the

Atkin

study

ar-

gued

with

their

parents

over

denials

of their

requests

10


7/21/2019 4188264

10/12

and more than half indicated that they became angry

with their mothers when their requests were denied

(1).

2. Television advertising and intra-family behavior.

Ward and Wackman and Caron and Ward found

that younger children, more than older children,

attempt to influence purchasing (33, 6).

These same researchers found, however, that older

children

received more of what

they requested

from

their parents (33, 6).

Ward and Wackman found that mothers who

watched more television (and who had a more posi-

tive attitude toward

commercials) yielded

more often

to children's influences (33).

3. Volume of commercial exposure and influence

attempts.

Atkin

found that those children watching

the most cereal ads on Saturday morning television

are the most likely to ask parents to buy cereals (1).

4. Volume of commercial exposure and behavior.

Children who are heavy watchers of cereal ads tend

to

eat the

advertised brands

(1).

5. Television

advertising

and

peer

influence. Studies

by

Frideres and Caron and Ward show that next to

television, children learn about toys and gifts from

other children

(12, 6).

This

suggests

that a

two-step

flow of communication might be operative.

ResearchRecommendations

Much of the children's

television research has focused

on the effects of

advertising

on

processes and behavior

preceding

the

child's

formulation of an intention to

buy.

Too

little is known

about family and peer influence, ad in-

fluence

on

actual purchases, and a child's post-purchase

behavior. The primary issue still undetermined (using a

realistic field

experimental paradigm)

is whether causal

evidence exists

linking

television

commercials aimed at

children

to

family purchases.

In

addition,

the

child,

parent, product,

and situational factors associated

with

parental yielding

needs more

thorough examination.

Keeping

in mind that a number of studies

indicate that

other children are an

important

source of

product

infor-

mation, curiously

little

published

research

has dealt

with

peer

influence and other forms of

post-purchase child

behavior.

It would

benefit advertisers

to

know what kinds

of

product

information

passes through word-of-mouth,

what types

of

products

and satisfaction levels

prompt

word-of-mouth, the effect of word-of-mouth on a child's

sensitivity

to

advertising

related

to the

product

in

question,

and whether child

opinion

leaders

and innovators can be

identified

and reached.

CONCLUSION

Research

in

the area of children's

advertising

has

covered a wide area of

subjects, much of which has

significant public

policy implications.

However, a serious

caveat needs

mentioning.

No

attempt

has been made to

critically

evaluate

each

study reviewed. There

appears to be

some common

problems which

many

of

the studies

share.

One

major difficulty

lies with

sampling. First, samples

are

almost

invariably drawn from

highly

concentrated

geographic areas leaving serious questions concerning

representativeness.

Second, samples are

rarely random

within these areas

because of the problems

associated with

getting permission

to use young

subjects. In many

cases

children

bring permission

slips

home that must be

signed

by parents

before

children can

participate. Another

problem area relates

to methodological

inadequacies.

Much of the

research is done either

in

laboratory settings

or

using

various

survey procedures. The

laboratory studies

generally

involve

placing children before

television

monitors

watching

videotaped

commercials.

This

rather

unrealistic

setting presents

difficult

validity

problems

for

many

of the studies. Also there have been few

longitudinal

studies in the area making it difficult to separate temporal

or situational factors from

long-term

effects.

Finally,

there

have been few

attempts at replication or studies to establish

convergent validity

of

findings using

alternate methodolo-

gies. These

sampling and

methodological problems

have

made

it

difficult

to

support specific public

policy

decisions

in

the area.

While there

has been

considerable interest

in

children's

television

advertising

in

recent years, there remains a

tremendous challenge to gain further

insights

into

its ef-

fects. The

challenge

lies not

only

in

the volume of

research

needed, but also in

constnucting innovative paradigms for

probing

the

issues

with

greatest

social impact. The Federal

Trade

Commission

appears ready

to at least

partially

ac-

cept this challenge. Less than 24 hours after Michael Per-

tschuk took

office as FTC

chairman,

he stated that his

first

priority was children's

advertising (8).

The

basic research that has been done in the

area leaves

many questions to

be answered

concerning the actual ef-

fects

of

television

advertising

on

children.

Ultimately,

the

most basic

research needs

relate

to

whether

advertising

to

children has

adverse effects and if so

whether

it

can be

regulated to make it

beneficial. Many issues remain

unresolved with

regard

to both

adverse and beneficial ef-

fects as

revealed

in

the review of

previous research.

The

major

issues still

unresolved

include five interrelated

areas:

the

vulnerability

of children to

television adver-

tising, the effects on the immediate consumption patterns

of the

family,

the

child's

own

future

consumption,

the ef-

fects

on

personal

and social

development.

Finally,

and

perhaps

most

difficult to

assess,

there is the

impact

on

present

and future

culture and society.

If

we in the

adver-

tising profession

do not

become more involved in in-

vestigating these issues, we

may suffer

in

the

future.

Because the issue is so

emotionally-charged,

there

may

be

11


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7/21/2019 4188264

12/12

IntegratingResults from

Children's Television

Advertising Research

(Continued rom

Dage

12)

32.

Ward,

Scott

and Daniel B. Wackman. Children's Information

Processingof Television Advertising, New

Models

for

Mass Com-

municationResearch,BeverlyHills, Calif:Sage,

1975.

33. Ward,Scott and D. Wackman. Children'sPurchase nfluenceAt-

tempts and Parental Yielding, Journal of

Marketing Research,

Vol. 9

(August, 1972),pp. 3 16-19.

34. Ward,Scott and D. Wackman. Effects of

TelevisionAdvertising n

Consumer Socialization, Marketing Science Institute Research

Report,

Cambridge,Mass:1973.

35. Foran

excellent eviewof

Piaget's heoriesas they pertain o a child's

development

s a

consumer ee

Scott

Ward,

Consumer

Socialization,

Journal

of

Consumer

Research,

Vol.

1

September, 1974), pp. 1-14.

1974),pp. 1-14.

Replicating

the Effect

of

Advertised

Specials

at

Regular

Price

on

Food

Shopper

Price

Evaluation

(con

tinuedfrom

page 46)

These

findings

suggest

thatcareful

distinction

be made

betweenprice

perception

or

accuracy tudies

and

research

utilizing

sales data,

as did

the

Newspaper

Advertising

Bureau tudy

(4). Other

factorssuch

as

in-store

displayor

the

salesappeal of the

particular tem

advertised ould

influence the

purchase

of

a

regular-pricedtem

by

a

knowledgeablehopper.

REFERENCES

1. Anderson,

Evan E.

TheEffectiveness

f Retail

Price

Reductions:A

Comparison

or

Alternative xpressions f

Price,

Journalof

Marketing

Research,Vol. 11

August,1974),pp.

327-330.

2.

Barnes,James

G. Factors

nfluencing

ConsumerReaction

o Retail

Newspaper

'Sale'

Advertising. Marketing:

The

Challenges and the Op-

portunities,

edited by

EdwardM.

Mazze.(Chicago,

Illinois:

American

Marketing

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471-477.

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Joseph

N. and GordonH.

McDougall.

Consumer

Appraisal

f

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Price

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Marketing,

Vol. 38

(July,

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4. Is Type

Size Key

Factor in Ads?

Chain Store

Age

Executive,

(February,

977),p.

12.

5.

Keiser,

Stephen

K. and James R.

Krum. Consumer

Perceptions

f

Retail

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with

Overstated rice

Savings,

Journal

of

Retailing,

Vol.

52 (Fall,

1976),pp. 27-36.

6.

Oxenfeldt,

Alfred R. How

Housewives

Form

Price

Impressions,

Journal

of Advertising

Research,

Vol.

8:3

(1968),

pp.

9-17.

7.

Wilkinson, J.B., E.H.

Bonfield,and J.

Barry

Mason.

Subjective

Deceptionand Cue Effects in

Food

Advertisements,

The Journal

of

Advertising,

Vol. 4:4

(1975),pp.

21-26.

8.

Wilkinson,

J.B.

and

J.

Barry

Mason.

Addendum:

Are

Supermarket

Advertisements

esigned

o Deceive

Consumers,

The

Journal

of

Adver-

tising,

Vol. 7:1

(1978), pp. 56-59.

9. Wilkinson, .B. and J. BarryMason. TheGrocery hopper nd Food

Specials:A Caseof

Subjective

Deception? ournal

f Consumer

ffairs,

Vol. 8

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30-36.

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Zwieback, Elliot.

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20.

FACULTYPOSITION

AT

UNIVERSITYOF

TENNESSEE

Beginning September 1980.

Teach undergraduate and graduate adver-

tising courses In AEJ-accredited Depart-

ment of Advertising. Advanced

degree and

practical advertising experience

preferred.

EEO/Afflrmative Action/Title IX/Section

504

Employer.Applyto

Richard

Joel,

Head,

Department of Advertising, University of

Tennessee,

Knoxville

37916.

48

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