THE RESEARCH INSTRUMENT WAS A 3-PART MAILED QUESTIONNAIRE SENT TO A RANDOM SAMPLE OF 420 CONSUMERS WHO HAD PARTICIPATED IN THE RULEMAKING PROCEDURES OF THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION. TO MAKE COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS POSSIBLE, THE STATEMENTS DEALING WITH GOVERNMENT REGULATION, MARKETING, AND CONSUMERISM WERE THOSE USED IN A 1975 NATIONAL SURVEY OF CONSUMER ATTITUDES WHILE THE DEMOGRAPHIC ITEMS WERE PATTERNED AFTER THE LATEST U.S. BUREAU OF CENSUS SURVEYS. NEARLY 85 PERCENT OF THE FTC SAMPLE RETURNED COMPLETED QUESTIONNAIRES WITHIN 1 MONTH. THE DATA REVEALED THAT VIEWS OF A PARTICULAR SEGMENT OF CONSUMERS ARE BEING PRESENTED TO THE FTC. MORE THAN 50 PERCENT OF THE RESPONDENTS WERE WHITE MARRIED FEMALES LIVING IN THE NORTHEAST OR NORTH CENTRAL REGIONS OF THE U.S., AGED 45 YEARS OR OLDER, WITH AT LEAST SOME COLLEGE EDUCATION. BOTH SHE AND HER SPOUSE HAVE PROFESSIONAL OCCUPATIONS WITH A TOTAL FAMILY INCOME OF $15,000 OR MORE. THESE RESPONDENTS ALSO ACTIVELY PRESENTED THEIR VIEWS TO OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES. THE ATTITUDES QUESTIONS SHOWED THAT THESE CONSUMERS WERE HIGHLY DISSATISFIED WITH MARKETING PRACTICES, MORE SO THAN THE CONSUMERS SURVEYED IN THE 1975 NATIONAL SAMPLE. ALSO, IN COMPARISON WITH THE NATIONAL SAMPLE, THE PARTICIPANTS ADVOCATED MORE EXTENSIVE GOVERNMENT ACTIVITY AND INCREASED GOVERNMENT REGULATION. IT IS SUGGESTED THAT MORE RESEARCH BE DONE TO IDENTIFY THE CHARACTERISTICS OF CONSUMERS PARTICIPATING IN RULEMAKING AND THAT GREATER EFFORTS BE MADE TO SOLICIT THE INPUT OF A BROADER BASED REPRESENTATION. THE SURVEY INSTRUMENTS, CHARTS AND TABLES PRESENTING THE DATA, AND A BIBLIOGRAPHY ARE INCLUDED. (GLR)