A child in the world of culture and economy : a developmental psychology approach in the study of the child's understanding of advertising

The paper presents a review of the literature on the child’s understanding of advertising. After defining different levels of understanding, the author moves on to present the developmental beginnings of the interest in advertising as a cultural product in infancy, the growing abilities in differentiating advertising from the context in early childhood, and finally the development of understanding of the persuasive and economical function of commercials in middle childhood. The author undertakes a detailed examination of the theoretical and methodological problems associated with the previous research. As a result the paper shows how developmental approach can explain the psychological consequences of living in the world of commercial communication that has both a cultural and an economical value