Children's television viewing: attention and comprehension of auditory versus visual information

This study examines the relationship between children's attention and comprehension of auditory and visual information on television. 60 5-year-olds viewed a videotape of "Sesame Street" and were then asked comprehension questions. Equal numbers of children viewed the television with (a) toys available to play with (the visual attention manipulation); (b) a record playing in the room (the auditory attention manipulation); or (c) no toys or record available (the control condition). All children viewed the same television sequence, which consisted of (a) visual segments, (b) auditory segments, and (c) mixed modality segments. The major results were that the children effectively distributed their attention such that they could process auditory and visual information from television while performing other activities. Further, the children were sensitive to which segments required visual attention and which did not, and they were able to spontaneously adjust their pattern of visual attention appropriately. These results indicate that children utilize a fairly sophisticated cognitive processing strategy while watching television.