| Abstract: | The hypothesis was tested that five-year-olds would be more easily persuaded than eight-year-olds to prefer certain toys after viewing ads for these toys. Forty kindergarteners and forty third graders viewed either a control commerical or an ad for a toy they had ranked fourth out of a group of seven toys shown to them in a preference task. After viewing, they repeated the preference task. The dependent variable was the post viewing rank of the toy that had been ranked fourth prior to viewing. Analysis of variance revealed only a significant grade by viewing condition interaction in which the older children liked the toy significantly better if they had viewed a commercial for it. Younger children showed no significant viewing effects. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for cognitive variables which may be responsible for the age differences in the effects of exposure to television commercials. |
