Survey of consumer attitudes and behavior, Fall 1953
Subtitle: Purchase Decisions
By: principal investigator, Economic Behavior Program. Survey Research Center. University of Michigan
Series: Surveys of consumer attitudes and behavior; ICPSR -- 3634; ICPSR (Series) -- 3634
Publisher: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor
Published: 1960
Place of publication: Ann Arbor, Mich
Language: und
Format: [computer file] /
Subjects: Consumers; Attitudes; Consumption (Economics)
Description: In this study, data are included for the extent and kind of deliberation involved in the decision to buy one of four durable goods, contrasted with that involved in decision to buy a minor item. Consideration is made of features of item, information seeking, past experience with item, shopping behavior, and circumstances of purchase.
Notes: The Surveys of Consumer Attitudes and Behavior were initiated over 25 years ago by the Survey Research Center under the direction of George Katona and have been carried out quarterly over the past 16 years. The purpose of the surveys is to measure changes in consumer attitudes and expectations, to understand why these changes occur, and to evaluate how they relate to consumer decisions to save, borrow, or make discretionary purchases. This type of information is essential for forecasting changes in aggregate consumer behavior. Each quarterly survey contains approximately 40 questions, each of which probes a different aspect of consumer confidence. Open-ended questions are asked concerning evaluations and expectations about personal finances, employment, price changes, and the national business situation. Additional questions probe buying intentions for automobiles and the respondent's appraisals of present market conditions for purchasing houses, automobiles, and other durables. Changes in consumers' willingness to buy are best determined by making use of the answers to all questions asked in the quarterly surveys, especially the open-ended questions which probe the underlying reasons.

Nevertheless, in order to make available a summary measure of change in consumer sentiment, the Survey Research Center uses the answers to five questions to calculate an Index of Consumer Sentiment. The surveys use a national sample of dwelling units selected by area probability sampling which is representative of the adult population of the United States. For the most part, a different sample of respondents has been selected for personal interviews each quarter, in some surveys, respondents are re-interviewed by telephone. Interviewing is on a family basis, with the respondent randomly selected from among the household head, spouse, and other family members over 18 years of age. General reports of data from the Surveys of Consumer Attitudes and Behavior appear in Federal Reserve Bulletins for the years 1947-1959 and in the publications of the Institute for Social Research.

ICPSR data class: Class III

Data collected: 1953.

United States.

Data are included for 1,023 respondents, 3 cards of data per respondent.

Economic Behavior Program staff. Surveys of Consumer Finances, annual volumes 1960 through 1970, Ann Arbor, Michigan: Institute for Social Research.

Strumpel, B., C. Cowan, F.T. Juster, and J. Schmiedeskamp. Surveys of Consumers, 1972-73: Contributions to Behavioral Economics, Ann Arbor, Michigan: Institute for Social Research, 1975.

Curtin, R. Surveys of Consumers, 1974-75: Contributions to Behavioral Economics, Ann Arbor, Michigan: Institute for Social Research, 1976.

Katona, George. ''Research Design,'' in Lincoln Clark (ed.), Consumer Behavior, Vol. 1, New York: University Press, 1955.

Mueller, Eva. ''The Sample Survey,'' in Lincoln Clark (ed.), Consumer Behavior, Vol. 1, New York: University Press, 1955.