Am I Really Turning into My Mother/Father?

Here's an interesting thought, How much influence do parental buying habits have on their children?

I have heard studies from the PEW research group that talk about how our beliefs are almost completely formed by the time we graduate high school. Whatever beliefs aren't completely solidified by the time of graduation are formed during college (or the next 3-5 years for people who don't go to college). After that time it is very difficult to change someone's beliefs.

This means that the majority of all of our beliefs are formed for life while we are still living with our parents. Does this same principle apply at all to our purchasing habits and brand preferences? While some consumption is based out of our various belief's in life others are separate from that. Are those areas influenced by our parents as well?

The only way for me to dive into this is to look at my own personal experience. What brands or buying habits do my parents have?

• My Mom is southern so she introduced me to certain southern dishes that I still love.
• My Dad is a potato farmer so eating potatoes is almost like a religion to me, it is one food I could never do without.
• My Parents both love Basic 4 cereal and Honey Bunches of Oats, those are my favorite cereals and I always tend to purchase those above all others.
• My Dad is a Chevy/Dodge person and NOT a Ford person, I hold to the same beliefs. I have had two cars. One was a Chevy. My current is a Dodge. I don't think I could ever buy a Ford.
• My parents always listen to oldies on the radio. While I do listen to other music that I personally like and prefer (even some that my parents do not like) oldies will always have a soft spot in my heart and a place in my musical library.
• My Mom and I have very similar tastes in fashion and whenever she falls in love with a particular brand I tend to follow along with her on most of them, there are a few I have not joined her in loving.

While this is just a list made off of the top of my head I can see how my parents lifestyles and brand choices have been passed on to me. I would make the hypothesis that parents do influence their children's consumption habits long into their adult lives if not throughout them. While there are certain things that we will change on I think that those brands that our parents love make a big impact on our long term lives.

What are your thoughts?