Day 065 - 09 Dec 94 - Page 69


     
     1   Q.   The question I ask is:  These questions, as a bunch of
     2        questions, are all about children and advertising and
     3        healthy balanced diets, or the converse such as "soft
     4        drinks and food I would not otherwise buy"; that is right,
     5        is it not?
     6        A.  I am still not quite clear of the question.  Excuse me.
     7
     8   Q.   The point of the question is this:  If you ask people
     9        questions like this, particularly parents of children (and
    10        that is the class that was selected to answer these
    11        questions), it is entirely predictable that you are going
    12        to get the answers that you got because, as you rightly
    13        point out, people's verbalization does not always match
    14        their behaviour?
    15        A.  But we are not trying to measure behaviour here.  We
    16        are trying to measure attitudes.
    17
    18   Q.   "I often end up buying advertised foods or drinks which
    19        I wouldn't otherwise buy, because my children ask me to" --
    20        attitude or behaviour, which is it?
    21        A.  Yes, on that point that is asking people to give their
    22        opinion of how they see their behaviour, yes.
    23
    24   Q.   You know perfectly well that the mother who answers that
    25        question is going to blame the advertising for the fact
    26        that she indulges her little Johnny by buying him
    27        sweeties.  It is human nature, is it not, if you ask a
    28        question like that?
    29        A.  I think many mothers would be quite offended by that
    30        remark.  I think mothers and fathers, for that matter, do
    31        not generally go around without due consideration of their
    32        role as parents.
    33
    34   Q.   These, you say, are largely about attitudes with one
    35        exception which is about behaviour?
    36        A.  Yes.
    37
    38   Q.   You can argue about what question 4 is, if you want to.
    39        People are not necessarily accurate in their reported
    40        assumptions and attitudes.  People report their assumptions
    41        and attitudes to pollsters in a way which is going to do
    42        two things, do they not?  There is this tendency -- I do
    43        not say it applies everywhere and to everybody -- first, to
    44        give the pollsters the answer they think he or she wants;
    45        second, to cover up for their own inadequacies of attitude
    46        and assumption; that is right, is it not?
    47        A.  I think that would be a question that somebody who
    48        conducts these surveys could best answer.  I think that
    49        both of those may occur in certain circumstances but I do
    50        not think that they are the main reason.  I think when 
    51        people are asked questions they are generally interested in 
    52        trying to give what they think is their opinion. 
    53
    54   Q.   Unless it touches upon the way in which they bring up their
    55        children.  Just imagine for a moment, how many people do
    56        you think are going to willingly admit that they themselves
    57        are responsible for feeding their children an unhealthy
    58        diet when asked by the pollsters?  Just think about it.
    59        A.  That was not a question that was asked.
    60

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