Identifies situation in which consumers are likely to substitute rules of thumb for research, reviews rules of thumb often used as substitutes, and identifies teaching activities to help students learn when substitution is appropriate. (JOW)

Enrollment trends suggest a decline in interest in consumer studies. New curricular approaches include movement toward a root discipline such as economics or toward professional degree programs, such as consumer affairs in business or financial counseling and planning. (JOW)

College students (n=40) in a consumer economics course wrote letters of complaint regarding unsatisfactory products or services. Eighty percent received responses, most within three weeks; 43% of companies complied with requests; 64% of students were satisfied with responses. Those who received no response were less likely to consider doing…

Describes a faculty research project that involved undergraduate research assistants and offers recommendations to faculty considering implementing a research apprentice program. Focuses on consumer science but the process could be applied to a variety of academic disciplines. (Author/JOW)

Statistics was made more relevant and interesting to participants in a clinical psychology course by having the students go out and find instances of statistical and research applications in products advertised by different companies. The course is described. (Author/RM)

In considering consumerism in higher education, the student becomes the consumer,'' the university the corporation,'' and higher education the education industry.'' Other members of the education fraternity become investors, management, workers, direct consumers, and indirect consumers. This article proposes that it behooves the student to…

How one teacher motivated students to learn about the stock market by allowing them to actually invest money. Class discussion covered inexpensive ways to buy stock, choosing securities, and buying and selling stock. Suggestions are offered for adapting this project for use at the secondary level. (TA)

Discusses consumer researchers' and consumer practitioners' differing cultures, identifies practitioners' needs, and offers research priorities that support the improvement of consumer education. (Author)

Describes a university consumer affairs course using management tools to improve problem-solving skills. The Interaction Method teaches specific material and enables learning through participation. (SK)

Describes the experiences of Bruce D. Weinberg, an assistant professor of marketing at Boston University (Massachusetts), who is doing all his shopping via the Internet to demonstrate to students what works and what fails when selling in cyberspace. (DB)

Consumer education is breaking away from nutrition and home management courses and turning the home economist into a catalyst for social and economic change. (Author/PG)

In a course titled Computerized Consumer Responses and Information Systems, Purdue University students operate a consumer hotline for their school. They must promote its existence, answer calls, develop reports, produce training manuals, and set parameters for the computer system. (SK)

Effective strategies include (1) helping consumers see how lifestyles and consumer behavior are related; (2) limiting amount of new terminology used; (3) dispelling myths and misperceptions; (4) doing product life-cycle analysis; and (5) emphasizing long-term goals for behavior change. (JOW)

Designed for the general public and possibly suitable also for high school and college economic students, the handbook gives general information about investing in the stock market. Arranged into seven sections, the handbook discusses the typical shareholder, common and preferred stocks, buying and selling bonds, how to develop a personal…

A study was conducted to determine if brand names that begin with consonants called "plosives" (B, C, D, G, K, P, and T) are more readily recalled and recognized than names that begin with other consonants or vowels. Additionally, the study investigated the relationship between name length and memorability, ability to associate names…