Although R-rated movies cannot be viewed by anyone under the age of 17 unless accompanied by a parent, movie studios survey children as young as 9 to gauge their reaction to R-rated movies. The interest in this age group is due to the fact that many under-17 year olds actually view these movies. The Motion Picture Association of America has indicated that while the 12 to 17 age group is only 10% of the population, they make up 17% of the movie audience. Another reason for the interest in youngsters is the tie-in with toys that can aim for children as young as 4 years. Merchandise marketed by Universal for their movie "Mummy" is aimed at the 4 to 14 age group.
Before movies appear on the screen, studios run preliminary tests. People are recruited out of movie lines or malls to participate in the preliminary screening in return for free movie tickets. The results of these tests can affect advertising, promotions and future sequels. People who saw the original movie are often surveyed during the planning phase of sequels to determine "...who are the most intense fans of the movie by age, gender, ethnicity, et cetera, and what drives their zeal." This information helps to guide the sequel.
Recently Columbia Tristar
interviewed 800 people who had seen the original thriller "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer". Five hundred of these moviegoers were in the 12 to 24 age group, with 100 in the 9 to 11 group. An additional 200 African-Americans and Latinos were included in the sample, 150 between 12 and 24 years and 50 in the 9 to 11 group. Questions about the original movie pertained to their favorite character, other liked characters, most memorable scene, favorite scene and scariest scene.
Before releasing "Disturbing Behavior", MGM/United Artists
previewed 30-second commercials among 438 people age 12 to 20. They found that viewers ranked the standout scene as a woman bashing her head into a mirror and they found that these commercials were the most effective among the 15 to 17 year olds.
Do you see sampling error playing any significant role in terms of make inference, statistically speaking from a researcher's perspective?
