Stages of Consumer Socialization: The Development of Consumer Knowledge, Skills, and Values From Childhood to Adolescence

Scholarly research examining children’s consumer behavior dates back to the 1950s with a few publications on topics such as brand loyalty (Guest, 1955) and conspicuous consumption (Reisman & Roseborough, 1955). Further development took place in the 1960s, as the scope of inquiry expanded to include children’s understanding of marketing and retail functions (McNeal, 1964), in uence on parents in purchasing decisions (Berey & Pollay, 1968; Wells & LoSciuto, 1966), and relative in uence of parents and peers on consumption patterns (Cateora, 1963). Interest in the topic exploded in the mid 1970s amidst vocal criticisms of advertising to young children, mounted by consumer activist groups such as Action for Children’s Television (ACT) and government bodies such as the Federal Trade Commission. Emerging from this growing interest was a new eld of academic study-consumer socialization-focusing on the acquisition of skills, knowledge, and values by children and adolescents as they prepared to take their role as consumers in the marketplace.