Development and testing of the advertising literacy activation task: an indirect measurement instrument for children aged 7-13 years old

Abstract

The aim of this study was to develop and test an indirect measurement instrument that is able to assess children’s advertising literacy activation. Study 1 (N = 24, age: 10–12) describes the development of the Advertising Literacy Activation Task (ALAT) in which participants sort successive words in two categories: advertising or news. Studies 2 and 3 tested the ALAT on usability, reliability, predictive, and construct validity. In study 2 (N = 38, age: 10–12), participants were primed with a story about advertising or about news. Study 3 (N = 114, age: 7–13) used a similar design but with actual television commercials and news broadcast. Frequency and speed of categorizing conceptual and attitudinal words were analyzed with Bayesian statistics investigating effects of priming, dispositional advertising literacy, and their interactions. Results indicate that the ALAT is a usable and reliable measurement instrument with good predictive validity, but with limited construct validity.