Survey of Consumer Attitudes and Behavior

Piper A. Simmons Award for Social and Behavioral Research Data Contributions

The Simmons Award recipient for 2023 is the Survey of Consumer Attitudes and Behavior (also known as the Surveys of Consumers), led by Director and Chief Economist Joanne W. Hsu. The Surveys of Consumers were initiated in the late 1940s by the Survey Research Center at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research, under the direction of George Katona. These surveys have been carried out quarterly until 1977, and monthly from 1978 onward.

The surveys use a national sample of dwelling units selected by area probability sampling that is representative of the adult population of the United States. The purpose of these surveys is to measure changes in consumer attitudes and expectations, to understand why these changes occur, to evaluate how they relate to consumer decisions to save, borrow, or make discretionary purchases, and to forecast changes in aggregate consumer behavior.