Children's attitudes toward products and recall of product information over time

The current investigation examined changes over time in children's attitudes toward products, recall of product information, and the relationship between attitudes and recall. Fifty-six fifth-graders were read five positive and five negative attributes of a product. The children's recall for these attributes was then assessed, in addition to their attitudes toward the product. A week later, recall and attitudes were assessed for a second time. Results indicated better recall for product attributes at immediate rather than delayed testing sessions. Although children's immediate recall showed traditional recency and primacy effects, delayed recall showed only a primacy effect. Product attributes which were recalled first at the immediate test were found to be least likely to be recalled at delayed testing. Attitudes toward the product were found to be relatively stable. Finally, intrusions were found to increase over time, in addition to being related to initial attitudes toward the product. Implications of these results in terms of the formation of product attitudes and memory processes in children are discussed.