Elevating children's awareness of television advertising: The effects of a critical viewing program

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This study addresses the question of what is the most effective strategy for increasing children's awareness of the persuasive intent and production techniques of television advertising. Instructional units used a lecture approach, an audio visual discussion approach, and a role‐playing approach. The subjects were urban children in grades K‐2. Each approach was successful in raising awareness and cynicism for different aspects of commercials, but the role‐playing method of instruction was generally superior, especially with the younger children.