dangerous for children
By KEVIN SCHUMM
News Writer
While commonly believed to influence only the events leading up to and including the purchase of an item, advertising impacts children's post-purchase experience as well, according to a recent study conducted by Mendoza College of Business Marketing Professor Elizabeth Moore.
"We discovered that exposure to advertising can still have an impact not only after a product is purchased, but that it can actually alter the experience kids have with the product itself," said Moore.
In addition to the post-purchase effect of advertising, Moore also found that advertising was more influential with older children. This finding at first seems slightly counterintuitive because "the prevailing wisdom is that children become less susceptible to advertising as they mature," said Moore.
However, the greater cognitive abilities of older children may in fact be the very reason for their increased receptiveness to advertising.
"[With] older kids there are multiple routes to persuasion available. Ultimately, they have more ways to connect the ad to their own experience," she said.
Co-authored by University of Florida Professor Richard Lutz, the study focused on two age groups of Florida elementary school children. According to Moore, at or shortly after age 8, most children recognize the "persuasion intent" of advertising; to cover both stages of development, the study focused on children from age 7 to 8 as well as children age 10 to 11.
In order to accurately measure the effects of advertising on children, Moore and Lutz employed the research technique of triangulation. This technique lead to the utilization of both a hypothesis study as well as a discovery-oriented study where Moore and Lutz gained both quantitative and qualitative support for their argument. If the older children were not entertained by current advertising about the product, they were less inclined to enjoy their consumption of the product; however, the post-purchase effect of advertising on the younger children was much less significant.
In a society constantly inundated with limitless information exchange, Moore feels that this study should raise society's exercise of caution with regard to children.
"Children [lack] the cognitive sophistication and greater experience of adults," Moore said. "[We] need to recognize that children are a vulnerable audience."
All News Stories for Monday, February 12, 2001
