‘There has been little attempt to understand the influence on children of branded products that appear in television programs and movies. A study exposed children of two different age groups (6–7 and 11–12) in classrooms to a brief film clip. They were then individually asked to demonstrate their witness skills by describing in as much detail as possible what they had seen.' Extract from the abstract from Auty and Lewis (2004)

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2020). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [2] Brand recognition is the consumer's ability to recognise a firm from its distinctive logo, motto or artistic symbol.
2. [2] 'The responses to the interviews suggest that it is not simply exposure to the film but rather previous exposure together with a reminder in the form of recent exposure that affects choice.'
3. [2] 'Age (and by implication processing skill) does not appear to be a mediating factor affecting choice, because implicit memory (mere exposure) seems to be more important than explicit recall.'
4. [1] 'Within their classes, participants were randomly assigned by their teachers to groups alphabetically by last name' [and so the teachers knew what the study involved].
5. [1] 'Prior written permission to offer children a soft drink during a brief interview was obtained from parents.'
6. [1] 'Parents and teachers were told that children would be asked questions about their observations after they viewed a film clip.'
7. [2] Psychological harm: the children might have been uncomfortable being interviewed by a strange adult;
8. [2] Right to withdraw: the children may not have understood this, or if they did, may have been afraid to exercise their right.
9. [2] Debrief: no evidence that this was done: 'Each interview took about 5 minutes after which the child was returned to the classroom and the next one called out'.
10. [1] interviews allow children to give their viewpoint of the study in full detail
11. [1] interviews can be done individually, so no embarrassment, etc.
12. [1] an interview could be unstructured, allowing free interaction; it could be structured allowing researchers to cover 'essential' questions
13. [1] the interview can be recorded providing evidence of what was said should it be needed
14. [1] children may be reluctant to be interviewed but go ahead because it is what the adult wants
15. [1] children may not tell the truth, hiding information or modifying it
16. [1] children may misunderstand questions
17. [1] any appropriate conclusion drawn from the discussion that has been presented.