[The immediate impact of different types of cartoons on preschoolers' executive function]

The aim of this study was to examine whether different types of cartoons (related and unrelated shifts, cuts and other formal features) immediately influence preschool-aged children's executive function (e.g. working memory, inhibition).

Participants were 29 children aged four to five years. They were assigned to watch a fast-paced cartoon that used high concentrations of perceptually salient features or an educational cartoon or draw for 10 minutes. Preschoolers' executive function was assessed via 4 tasks (Sentence repetition, Hand game, Tower of Hanoi, Multi step commands). Parents completed questionnaires regarding demographics and the media habits and executive function of the participating child.

Using age as a covariate we found a significant main effect of intervention on the composite executive function score. The fast paced television group performed significantly worse on the executive function tasks than the drawing group. The difference between the fast-paced and the educational cartoon groups approached significance, and there was no difference between drawing and watching the slow-paced cartoon.

The effects of media consumed during early childhood are mediated not only by quantity but also by the formal features of television programming. Just one episode of viewing a fast-paced cartoon has (at least a short-term) negative effect on preschoolers' executive function.