Young children's perceptions of television reality

Determinants and developmental differences

Bibliographic Data

ID9788798
AuthorsJohn C Wright (0000-0003-3858-5967, University of Kansas, corresponding author), Aletha C Huston, Alice Leary Reitz, Suwatchara Piemyat
Year1994
Volume30
Issue2
Pages229-239
Publication date1994-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueDevelopmental Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0012-1649 • E-ISSN: 1939-0599
PublisherAmerican Psychological Association (APA) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1037/0012-1649.30.2.229
OpenAlexW2053432561
LanguageEN
Citations received35
References cited9

Five- and 7-year-old children judged factuality and social realism of favorite TV shows and test clips in pairs matched for content. In each pair one was news or documentary format, the other fictional drama. All children understood that fictional programs were not factual. Children correctly discriminated the purposes and intended audience of news from those of documentaries. Children discriminated factuality by genre of program, and genre of program by formal production features and by content. Age and vocabulary scores (Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised; PPVT-R) predicted accuracy of factuality judgments, but TV viewing history over the past 2 years did not. By contrast, judged social realism was predicted by viewing history and very little by age and PPVT-R. Older children better understood that fictional characters do not retain their roles in real life and that fictional shows are scripted and rehearsed

Adolescent development · Child development · Developmental psychology · Perception · Child Development and Digital Technology · Impact of Technology on Adolescents · Media Influence and Health · Psychology