Effects of Television Advertising on Children

The effect of television advertising on children can be categorized according to both the intended and unintended effects that result from advertising exposure. For example, a cereal advertisement may have the intended effect of generating product purchase requests and increasing product consumption, but it may also contribute to unintended outcomes such as misperceptions about proper nutritional habits and/or parent-child conflict if a child’s attempt to get a parent to purchase the product (i. e. purchase-influence attempt) is rejected.