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K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Name brands

http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/sci_update.cfm?DocID=285

A lesson plan for grades 6–8 Science

Provider: American Association for the Advancement of Science


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In this Science Update, students explore how name brands often influence consumer purchases more than research. Consumer psychologist Miguel Brendl of the INSEAD Social Science Research Center in France and his colleagues asked people to choose between two kinds of tea. They found that consumers preferred the brands that shared three letters with their own name. However, when asked why they selected that brand, the participants all mentioned taste, color, strength of brew, etc. According to Brendl, this is not a new phenomenon; people have a small, but consistent bias toward the letters in their own names. Science NetLinks provides a link to the audio file, a written transcript, and questions to engage students in discussion about the name letter effect, the conditions under which it applied in this experiment, and the results of the study. This activity also contains links to NPR and the New York Times Learning Network, which provide information on name brands and marketing.

North Carolina Curriculum Alignment

Science (2005)

Grade 6

  • Goal 1: The learner will design and conduct investigations to demonstrate an understanding of scientific inquiry.
    • Objective 1.01: Identify and create questions and hypotheses that can be answered through scientific investigations.
    • Objective 1.05: Analyze evidence to:
      • Explain observations.
      • Make inferences and predictions.
      • Develop the relationship between evidence and explanation.
    • Objective 1.08: Use oral and written language to:
      • Communicate findings.
      • Defend conclusions of scientific investigations.
    • Objective 1.09: Use technologies and information systems to:
      • Research.
      • Gather and analyze data
      • Visualize data.
      • Disseminate findings to others.
    • Objective 1.10: Analyze and evaluate information from a scientifically literate viewpoint by reading, hearing, and/or viewing:
      • Scientific text.
      • Articles.
      • Events in the popular press.

Grade 7

  • Goal 1: The learner will design and conduct investigations to demonstrate an understanding of scientific inquiry.
    • Objective 1.01: Identify and create questions and hypotheses that can be answered through scientific investigations.
    • Objective 1.05: Analyze evidence to:
      • Explain observations.
      • Make inferences and predictions.
      • Develop the relationship between evidence and explanation.
    • Objective 1.08: Use oral and written language to:
      • Communicate findings.
      • Defend conclusions of scientific investigations.
    • Objective 1.09: Use technologies and information systems to:
      • Research.
      • Gather and analyze data.
      • Visualize data.
      • Disseminate findings to others.
    • Objective 1.10: Analyze and evaluate information from a scientifically literate viewpoint by reading, hearing, and/or viewing:
      • Scientific text.
      • Articles.
      • Events in the popular press.

Grade 8

  • Goal 1: The learner will design and conduct investigations to demonstrate an understanding of scientific inquiry.
    • Objective 1.01: Identify and create questions and hypotheses that can be answered through scientific investigations.
    • Objective 1.05: Analyze evidence to:
      • explain observations.
      • make inferences and predictions.
      • develop the relationship between evidence and explanation.
    • Objective 1.08: Use oral and written language to:
      • Communicate findings.
      • Defend conclusions of scientific investigations.
      • Describe strengths and weaknesses of claims, arguments, and/or data.
    • Objective 1.09: Use technologies and information systems to:
      • Research.
      • Gather and analyze data.
      • Visualize data.
      • Disseminate findings to others.
    • Objective 1.10: Analyze and evaluate information from a scientifically literate viewpoint by reading, hearing, and/or viewing:
      • Scientific text.
      • Articles.
      • Events in the popular press.