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Media exposure and preschoolers' social-cognitive development
1Department of Psychology, University of Bamberg, Bamberg, Germany.
The British Journal of Developmental Psychology
|February 26, 2024
Summary
Reading books and listening to audiobooks can boost children's theory-of-mind skills. Shared reading and audio-media exposure are key factors in this social-cognitive development.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Media Psychology
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Narrative exposure may enhance children's social-cognitive development by providing social world insights.
- Story comprehension often necessitates social understanding, linking narrative engagement to cognitive skills.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how different media (books, audiobooks, TV/films) influence theory-of-mind and mental verb comprehension in preschoolers.
- To determine the predictive value of various media exposure and parent-child discussion variables on these cognitive skills.
Main Methods:
- A sample of 114 preschoolers (3-6 years old) participated.
- Data collected included parental reports on media exposure (books, audiobooks, TV/films, shared reading, discussions) and child cognitive performance (theory-of-mind, mental verb comprehension).
- Statistical analyses controlled for child's gender, age, language skills, and parental education.
Main Results:
- Number of books, shared reading frequency, audio-media exposure, and audiobook usage significantly predicted theory-of-mind scores.
- TV/film exposure and parent-child discussions about media content did not show significant incremental effects on theory-of-mind.
- No media exposure or discussion variables significantly predicted mental verb comprehension beyond family and child characteristics.
Conclusions:
- Specific forms of narrative engagement, particularly book-related activities and audio-media exposure, are linked to improved theory-of-mind in young children.
- The findings suggest that the type and context of media consumption play a crucial role in early social-cognitive development.
- Mental verb comprehension appears less influenced by media exposure compared to theory-of-mind in this age group.
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