Knowledge that Transforms

This article examines decision-making patterns among teen-age consumers. Variables associated with several stages in the decision-making process (information seeking, product evaluation, and purchase), as well as “anticipatory” cognitions regarding family decision making are examined within the context of general theories of socialization.

A model of consumer socialization is developed and tested. The development of the model is guided by theoretical notions and empirical findings drawn from various disciplinary areas, and the model is tested using two-stage least squares. The empirical results presented contribute to the understanding of the influence of television, family, and peers on adolescent consumer learning.

A synthesis of research on consumers' prepurchase behavior suggests that a substantial proportion of purchases does not involve decision making, not even on the first purchase. The heavy emphasis in current research on decision making may discourage investigation of other important kinds of consumer behavior.