AUTHOR COPY INTRODUCTION Consumer behaviour of the young is a subject of interest to both practitioners and theoreticians of marketing. Behaviour of young consumers (under-age people, students and those who depend financially on their parents) in the market is perceived as a group of activities JOURNAL OF CUSTOMER BEHAVIOUR, 2011, Vol. 10, No. 2, pp.143-160 ISSN1475-3928 print /ISSN1477-6421 online © Westburn Publishers Ltd. doi: 10.1362/147539211X589555 Social conditioning of purchasing decisions of 9-11 year-old consumers Małgorzata Budzanowska-Drzewiecka, The Jagiellonian University, Institute of Economics and Management, Poland * Abstract This study focuses on the influence of social factors (parents, siblings and peers) on the market behaviour of 9-11 year-old consumers. A replication of McLeod and Chaffee typology patterns of communication are reported in this article. The focus is intentionally put on interpersonal communications (within the family), noticing that the influence of mass communication was analysed the most frequently (mainly advertising). The influence of social factors (parents, siblings and peers) is examined in the Polish context. Information was gathered through quantitative research (questionnaires). The results of the study provide insight into how the influence of social factors may vary depending on the patterns of communication in the family and of particular social factors or type of product. Results show that children perceive parents to have the most noticeable impact on decision making. It conceptualises social conditioning in relation to young consumers’ purchasing behaviour and develops suggestions for future research. Keywords Young consumers, Consumer behaviour, Decision making, Communication in the family, Parental and peer influence. *Correspondence details and a biography for the author are located at the end of the article. JOURNAL OF CUSTOMER BEHAVIOUR