CHILDREN ARE IMPORTANT CONSUMERS of such mass media as television, motion pictures, and comic books. Like all consumers, they make selections of quantity and quality; and their selections frequently depend upon simple acts of attention. These selections may not be made, however, by individual volition alone, for the individual's choices are often based largely on the accessibility of what is consumed and on the type of attention permitted to him by external factors. The character of attention is contingent to some degree on the individual's interest, but it is also limited by the amount of social encouragement or discouragement given to it.