SOCIALIZATION, GENDER, AND ADOLESCENTS SELF-REPORTS OF THEIR GENERALIZED USE OF PRODUCT LABELS

This study examines how various aspects of the consumer socialization process affect male and female teenagers' tendencies to use product la bels in general. In contrast to the traditional information-processing perspective used in many studies of gender differences and studies of labeling, this research focuses more on sociological explanations for gender differences in teens' tendencies to read product labels. Speci fically, because males and females are likely to receive differential consumer socialization, differences are expected in the genders' use o f product labels, Male and female teenagers may be differentially taug ht about the importance and use of product labels through differences in exposure to marketplace-related communication from parents, peers, and mass media, Exposure to marketplace-related communication, in turn , is likely to have positive effects on teens' tendencies to use produ ct labels in general, With the exception of exposure to mass media, re sults based on data from a sample of high school students generally su pported this mediational model.