The Influence of Family Communication Patterns on Parental Reactions toward Advertising: A Cross-National Examination

Abstract The global children's market holds tremendous potential, yet little research has been conducted on international attitudes toward advertising and family communication patterns. Using consumer socialization as a theoretical foundation, the authors examine family communication patterns and general attitudes toward television advertising among mothers of children three to eight years of age in the United States and Japan. A four-category typology based on concept- and socio-orientation was used to classify mothers of both nationalities. Laissez-faire (low socio-, low concept-orientation) mothers had the most positive attitudes toward and the lowest mediation of their children's exposure to television advertising. Pluralistic (low socio-, high concept-orientation) and consensual (high on both dimensions) mothers had the highest mediation of and most negative attitudes toward advertising. The responses of protective mothers (high socio-, low concept-orientation) were between those extremes. Overall, American mothers were distributed relatively equally across categories, whereas Japanese mothers were classified primarily as either laissez-faire or protective. The results confirm and extend the findings of consumer socialization research and yield practical implications for global segmentation.