The Relation between Selective Attention to Television Forms and Children's Comprehension of Content

CALVERT, SANDRA L.; HUSTON, ALETHA C.; WATKINS, BRUCE A.; and WRIGHT, JOHN C. The Relation between Selective Attention to Television Forms and Children's Comprehension of Content. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1982, 53, 601-610. Children's visual attention to the formal features of a television program was measured and related to their comprehension of central and incidental content. 128 children from kindergarten and thirdto fourth-grade classes viewed a prosocial cartoon in same-sex pairs. Each child's visual attention to the screen was recorded continuously and later related for co-occurrence with each of 10 formal features of the program. After viewing, children completed a multiple-choice test of 60 items assessing recall of central and incidental story information. Selective attention and inattention to certain formal features predicted comprehension, especially of incidental content. Younger children's comprehension was associated with attending during perceptually salient auditory features, like sound effects, and with not attending during abstract adult narration. Older children's comprehension was associated with attending during child dialogue and moderate character action and with not attending to camera zooms. Central story content presented with rapid and moderate action levels was well understood by both age groups, suggesting the selective use of perceptually salient features to highlight critical messages in the production of children's television programs. Salient auditory features may call attention to contiguous verbal content, while salient visual features may supplement verbal information with images of visual action appropriate for iconic representation in memory.