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The Survey of Consumer Attitudes and Behavior series (also known as the Surveys of Consumers) was undertaken to measure changes in consumer attitudes and expectations, to understand why such changes occur, and to evaluate how they relate to consumer decisions to save, borrow, or make discretionary purchases. The data regularly include the Index of Consumer Sentiment, the Index of Current Economic Conditions, and the Index of Consumer Expectations.

This survey was undertaken to assess consumer sentiment and buying plans. Open-ended questions were asked concerning evaluations and expectations about personal finances, employment, recession, price changes, and the national business situation. Additional variables probe respondents' buying intentions for a house, automobiles, appliances, and other consumer durables, and the respondents' appraisals of present market conditions for purchasing houses and other durables. Other variables probe respondents' opinions of the United States government's help to the South Vietnamese government, the seriousness of Arab nations' intentions regarding peace with Israel, women's right to abortion, voting for a woman or a Jew as a presidential candidate, gun permit law, causes of crime and lawlessness, chances of Russian adherence to a nuclear weapons limitation agreement with the United States, and communism in the United States and free speech. Additional topics covered include the proposed government tax returns, a solution to the energy crisis, the relative merits of buying a new or used car and the relative value of small foreign cars and the small American cars, job pay satisfaction, penalties for smoking marijuana, freedom to make uncomplimentary public speeches, monetary drive of lawyers and doctors and the state of the public good, satisfaction with life in the United States, government's expected role in racial integration and relations between white and Black people, vacation plans, and respondents' assessment of their financial status relative to the previous year. Information is also provided on respondents' car ownership and the make and use of it, political party self-identification and party candidate vote preference, self-identified ideological position, the neighborhood and house structure respondents live in, and spending plans for their income tax refunds. Demographic variables provide information on respondents' age, sex, race, marital status, occupation, employment status, religion, and family income.