Survey of Consumer Attitudes and Behavior, Spring 1963

This survey was undertaken to assess consumersentiment and buying plans, as well as hidden unemploymentamong males aged 16-21, the extent to which youthscontinued their education, joined the armed forces, or tookpart-time work when they could not find full-time jobs, thecost and perceived importance and meaning of college educationfor males and females, and the perceived relative merits ofstate and private universities. Open-ended questions were askedconcerning evaluations and expectations about price changes,employment, retirement, recession, and the national businesssituation. Other variables probe respondents' buyingintentions for a house, automobiles, appliances, and otherconsumer durables, as well as their appraisals of presentmarket conditions for purchasing these items. Additionalvariables probe respondents' opinions on the Cold Warbetween the former Soviet Union and the West, the proposedgovernment tax reduction, and the effect of these onbusiness conditions, as well as their assessment of theirfinancial status relative to the previous year. Informationis also provided on respondents' savings, monthly billpayments, political party affiliation, club membership, andtype of house and neighborhood lived in. Demographic variablesprovide information on age, race, sex, religion, education,marital status, occupation, family size, and family income.