Young children and television: the retention of emotional reactions

• Published in: Child development Vol. 63; no. 6; pp. 1423 - 1436
• Main Authors: Hayes, D.S, Casey, D.M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Malden, MA University of Chicago Press 01.12.1992; Blackwell; University of Chicago Press for the Society for Research in Child Development, etc; Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subjects: Adults; Affective Behavior; Biological and medical sciences; Cartoons; Child care; Child Development; Child, Preschool; Children; Childrens Television; Developmental psychology; Emotional Expressions; Emotional responses; Emotional states; Emotions; Fear; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Happiness; Humans; Male; Memory; Preschool Children; Protagonists; Psychology, Child; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Research Design; Retention; Retention (Psychology); Sesame Street; Short Term Memory; Social research; Television; Television programmes; Television programs; Television Viewing; Human; Preschool age; Affect affectivity; Emotionality; Retention interval; Television; Memory; Cognition; Recall; Mnemonic recognition; Child
• ISSN: 0009-3920; 1467-8624
• DOI: 10.2307/1131566

In 6 experiments, we examined preschoolers' ability to interpret or remember the affective reactions of television characters. In 2 studies, children viewed a "Sesame Street" or "Cosby Show" segment, and then retold the story. In both, mention of the protagonists' affective states was low, with less than 1% of the reactions recalled. In 3 experiments (using muppet, cartoon, or human portrayals), we examined whether this low retention was due to an inability to interpret reactions, identify their emotional labels, or remember them across a short period. For muppet and cartoon shows, children accurately recognized labels for reactions immediately after portrayal, but showed significant reductions in recognition memory by the end of the show. For human portrayals, subjects showed accurate recognition immediately after presentation, as well as after the show. In a final experiment, free descriptions of the reactions were assessed. Correct description was significantly higher for basic emotions than complex emotions.