Examining Children's Snack Choices
Post #1
Originally published in the journal Appetite, a study examined why children choose to spend money on certain snacks. The study followed 119 children ages 8-11 in Boston with their own disposable income (allowances from their parents) to buy snacks. Researchers presented the children with photos of various brands and prices. The photos were of cookies, apple slices, and tubes of yogurt. The children were presented two photos at a time, 10 different times, and were asked to pick one of the two choices or neither. After the children were presented with pairs of items 10 different times, they were told one of the 10 chosen items would be picked for them at random and the child would be obligated to purchase the item. The children were all given $2 for participating in the study. The prices for snacks all ranged between $0.30 and $0.70. One group of snacks was from McDonald's so that the researchers could test branding significance as well.
One result found that children were more likely to choose cookies over apple slices or yogurt, regardless of packaging or brand. They found that brand awareness did not necessarily influence children's choices, but their like or dislike of that specific brand did influence their choices. Children who received an allowance from their parents every week were more cautious about the money they spent on snacks than those who didn't have an allowance. It was found that children without an allowance did not have much experience with handling money and thus were less cautious about spending the money that was give to them. The researchers deduced that experience with handling cash is an important part of understanding what prices mean. Researchers suggest more research needs to be conducted on this population. They state their limitations were that the study sample was small, regionally biased, and with limited choices of snacks to offer
http://www.todaysdietitian.com/news/092517_news.shtml
DU
Originally published in the journal Appetite, a study examined why children choose to spend money on certain snacks. The study followed 119 children ages 8-11 in Boston with their own disposable income (allowances from their parents) to buy snacks. Researchers presented the children with photos of various brands and prices. The photos were of cookies, apple slices, and tubes of yogurt. The children were presented two photos at a time, 10 different times, and were asked to pick one of the two choices or neither. After the children were presented with pairs of items 10 different times, they were told one of the 10 chosen items would be picked for them at random and the child would be obligated to purchase the item. The children were all given $2 for participating in the study. The prices for snacks all ranged between $0.30 and $0.70. One group of snacks was from McDonald's so that the researchers could test branding significance as well.
One result found that children were more likely to choose cookies over apple slices or yogurt, regardless of packaging or brand. They found that brand awareness did not necessarily influence children's choices, but their like or dislike of that specific brand did influence their choices. Children who received an allowance from their parents every week were more cautious about the money they spent on snacks than those who didn't have an allowance. It was found that children without an allowance did not have much experience with handling money and thus were less cautious about spending the money that was give to them. The researchers deduced that experience with handling cash is an important part of understanding what prices mean. Researchers suggest more research needs to be conducted on this population. They state their limitations were that the study sample was small, regionally biased, and with limited choices of snacks to offer
http://www.todaysdietitian.com/news/092517_news.shtml
DU
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