Socialization and processing effects on comprehension of credit card advertisement disclosures.

This study examines how college students comprehend the disclosures in a credit card advertisement through two main perspectives: socialization and processing. The results reveal that socialization and processing influence college students' comprehension of the disclosures differently. In general, message involvement with the disclosures may enhance comprehension of the disclosures positively. However, college students' experiences in using a credit card, enhanced by information search and number of credit cards owned, may have an inverse and negative effect on comprehension of the disclosures. While female students tend to exhibit more experiences in using a credit card, male and female students comprehend the disclosures to the same degree. This also suggests that female students may be more susceptible to ignore the disclosures, whereas an attended and informed card user provides the best defense against costly mistakes in neglecting important disclosures in credit card solicitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]