TY - JOUR
AU - Atkin, Charles K.
AB - CHARLES K. ATKIN OBSERVATION OF PARENT-CHILD INTERACTION IN SUPERMARKET DECISION-MAKING Patterns of interaction between parents and children The "direct observation" method provides a more were unobtrusively observed in supermarkets to deter­ accurate assessment of the varying modes of interaction mine the processes and effects of decision-making in than would be obtained by self-reports elicited in inter­ the selection of breakfast cereals. This exploratory in­ views or direct measurement under laboratory condi­ vestigation seeks to assess which party initiates the tions. Interview data would be subject to distortion and selection episode, how the other party responds, the memory error, while laboratory behavior would be content and tone of communication, and occurrence of artificial compared to the real-life supermarket situa­ unpleasant consequences such as arguments or unhap­ tion.' piness. In a survey by Ward and Wackman, mothers re­ To examine the key elements of the cereal purchase ported that their children requested cereals more fre­ quently than 21 other product categories. The vast decisions, observers monitored exchanges in parent­ child dyads in a natural supermarket setting. Observers majority of mothers said they usually yielded to these surreptitiously viewed the behavior of parents and chil­ requests, at a rate much higher than 
TI - Observation of Parent-Child Interaction in Supermarket Decision-Making
JF - Journal of Marketing
DO - 10.1177/002224297804200406
DA - 1978-10-01
UR - https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/sage/observation-of-parent-child-interaction-in-supermarket-decision-making-gDLQV26f0j
SP - 41
EP - 45
VL - 42
IS - 4
DP - DeepDyve
ER -