Knowledge that Transforms

Shoplifting is a troubling and widespread aspect of consumer behavior, particularly among adolescents, yet it has attracted little attention from consumer researchers. This article reports and interprets findings on the pervasiveness of shoplifting among adolescents, the characteristics that distinguish adolescent shoplifters from their nonshoplifting peers, and adolescents' views regarding the reasons for this behavior. Our findings contradict some popular stereotypes concerning the typical shoplifter and suggest some rethinking about adolescents' reasons for shoplifting.

Interpersonal influence in consumer behavior is moderated by the extent of consumer sensitivity to social comparison information concerning product purchase and usage behavior (cf. Calder and Burnkrant 1977). Two survey studies indicate that Lennox and Wolfe's (1984) attention-to-social-comparison-information (AT-SCI) scale has adequate convergent and discriminant validity and moderates the relative influence of normative consequences on behavioral intentions, as predicted. A quasi-experiment and an experiment in which control subjects under no social pressure are compared with high and low ATSCI subjects under pressure reveal that high ATSCI subjects are more likely to comply with normative pressures.

This research investigates the effects of consumer characteristics (e.g., familiarity and enduring motivation) and stimulus characteristics (e.g., information format and content) on the utilization of nutrition information. Results indicate that both types of characteristics influence information processing and decision quality. Moreover, stimulus characteristics, in general, were found to facilitate these activities irrespective of consumer differences. National nutrition policy . . . should insure that adequate opportunity for good nutrition and adequate knowledge about how to use available foods effectively for individual and family health is available easily and continually at the community level to people in all walks of life. [WHITE