Day 065 - 09 Dec 94 - Page 31

     
     1        advertising contributes significantly either to the
     2        initiation or maintenance of smoking.
     3
     4        "Introduction.  On 12 and 13 January" etc..  Then it sets
     5        out, it says:  "The discussion was chaired by Abraham
     6        Oppenheim of the London School of Economics, and included
     7        the following participants", all of whom, one may agree,
     8        may one not, Ms. Dibb, looking at them, are academics,
     9        apart from Michael Waterson of the ASA?  Have I got it
    10        right?
    11        A.  Yes.  I mean, it is not clear whether they made do
    12        consultancies for anybody else, but, yes, they are
    13        academics.
    14
    15   Q.   Can we then look at what Dr. Brian Young is reported to
    16        have told the group about his views?  That is on the second
    17        page under "Advertising and Children".  I will read the
    18        whole of it, though not all of it is of the same relevance:
    19          "The meeting began with a presentation by Dr. Brian Young
    20        concerning the effects of advertising on children, and in
         particular, the way children process advertising.  Young
    22        noted that most research in the area of advertising effects
    23        on children focuses on television, since this is by far the
    24        dominant medium to which children are exposed. He also
    25        noted that child development theories, especially the
    26        cognitive-stage notions of Jean Piaget, have formed the
    27        basis for much research in recent years in the area of
    28        advertising's effects on children.  The studies have
    29        generally shown stage-related differences (stages are
    30        roughly correlated with chronological age) in children's
    31        attention to advertising, and in their patterns of
    32        information-processing, including processes of selecting
    33        and evaluating information, and understanding the unique
    34        characteristics as opposed to programming.
    35
    36        Little research has specifically examined cross-cultural
    37        differences in children's responses to advertising.  The
    38        research that has been done suggests that the similarities
    39        in the ways children process advertising information are
    40        more numerous than the differences. Consistent with
         developmental theories, children's cognitive development is
    42        not culture-bound.  However, effects of advertising on
    43        children do show cultural differences, in that social norms
    44        mediate children's behaviour.  For example, Japanese
    45        children are far less likely to request that their parents
    46        purchase products for them, compared to American children.
    47
    48        Research shows qualitative differences in the ways in which
    49        younger and older children process information, including
    50        advertising information.  However, research does not show 
    51        that advertising has a uniquely 'powerful' effect on 
    52        children compared to adults.  Despite these findings, Young 
    53        believes that there are essentially two contrasting models
    54        of effects of advertising on children that are widely
    55        held.  The first model suggests that children are young
    56        innocents who understand advertising, believe it
    57        uncritically, and act upon it.  A second model is that
    58        children are 'street-wise', in that they take a cynical
    59        view concerning advertising.  Indeed, empirical data show
    60        that children as young as eight years old display hostile