Review of Measurement of consumer interest

Abstract

Reviews the book, Measurement of consumer interest by C. W. Churchman, R. L. Ackoff, and Murray Wax (1947). A conference on the measurement of consumer interest was called by a group of University of Pennsylvania philosophers with the coordination of research as its objective. This book presents a record of the proceedings. Sections discussing problems in practice, ways of evaluating preferences, the meaning of measurement, and the application of attitude measurements are summarized. It is concluded that the conference accomplished a number of things, some of them probably unintentionally. It established the need for greater cooperation in research. It demonstrated that the field of "the measurement of consumer interest" is loosely denned by covering a range of unrelated topics many of which would be considered irrelevant to the topic by most people. It highlighted the terrific gaps in our knowledge as far as this field is concerned. At any rate, the proceedings are well worth reading. They bring together in convenient form material from a number of fields and viewpoints, and thus they provide a many-sided sketch of this important field. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)