The Impact of Television on Very Young Children

电视对幼儿的影响电视对三岁以下儿童的影响我们所知甚少。然而，实地研究表明，看电视与语言和认知发展较慢有关。这项研究考虑了幼儿接触的两种电视节目的影响。第一种类型是电视作为背景，由其他人观看，孩子很少主动关注。第二种类型是电视作为前景，专门为非常年幼的孩子设计，他们积极参与。前两项研究检验了背景电视干扰玩具玩耍和亲子社会互动的假设。如果这个假设是正确的，背景电视会降低这些活动的质量，这些活动对健康的认知和社会发展至关重要。在第一项研究中，研究人员观察了年幼的儿童在有电视节目的情况下玩玩具，有给成年人看的电视节目，有给大一点的儿童看的电视节目，还有没有电视的情况下玩玩具。如果背景电视干扰了游戏，那么可以预期，在玩具游戏的定性和定量方面都会有系统的差异。在第二项研究中，父母与孩子的互动在有电视节目和没有电视的情况下被观察。如果背景电视干扰亲子互动，则会发现亲子互动的质和量差异。越来越多的电视节目是专门为非常年幼的孩子制作的。对于非常小的孩子什么时候开始理解这些节目，还没有一个坚定的决定。第三项研究旨在评估幼儿对天线宝宝的理解版本和不理解版本的区别。第四项研究评估天线宝宝是否会影响观看后玩玩具的质量。这项研究将为目前关于电子媒体对幼儿的影响的辩论提供重要的新信息。具体来说，这项研究将表明背景电视是否会扰乱非常年幼的儿童的认知和社会行为。此外，这项研究将初步确定传统电视具有教育意义的最早年龄，以及游戏行为是否受到特别为幼儿设计的著名电视节目的刺激或其他影响。这项研究还将揭示两种未来媒体趋势的影响。其中一个趋势是高清电视和宽带电视的出现，它将提供的节目在幼儿环境中作为背景影响更为显著。第二个趋势是，随着天线宝宝在经济上的成功，其他针对幼儿的节目将很快跟进。这些研究将为评估电视对现在和将来幼童的影响提供必要的基本观察结果。

AbstractThe Impact of Television on Very Young ChildrenDaniel R. Anderson Little is known about the impact of television on children younger than three years. Nevertheless, field studies indicate that exposure to television is associated with slower language and cognitive development. This research considers the impact of two types of television to which very young children are exposed. The first type is television as background, watched by others, to which the child pays little active attention. The second type is television as foreground specifically designed for very young children and to which they actively attend. The first two studies test the hypothesis that background television disrupts toy play and parent-child social interactions. If the hypothesis is correct, background television reduces the quality of these activities essential for healthy cognitive and social development. In the first study very young children's toy play is observed in the presence of a television program for adults, a television program for older children, and with no television. If background television disrupts play, it is expected that there will be systematic differences in both qualitative and quantitative aspects of toy play. In the second study parent-child interactions are observed in the presence of a television program for adults and with no television. If background television disrupts parent-child interactions, both qualitative and quantitative differences in parent-child interactions will be found. Increasingly, television programs are being developed specifically for very young children. There has been no firm determination as to when very young children begin to comprehend such programs. The third study is designed to assess the age at which very young children discriminate comprehensible and incomprehensible versions of Teletubbies. The fourth study assesses whether Teletubbies influences the quality of toy play subsequent to viewing. The research will provide significant new information relevant to the current debate concerning the impact of electronic media on very young children. Specifically, the research will indicate whether background television disrupts very young children's cognitive and social behaviors. Additionally, the research will provide an initial determination of the earliest age at which conventional television can be plausibly educational, as well as whether play behavior is stimulated or otherwise influenced by a prominent television program specifically designed for very young children. The research will also cast light on the impact of two future trends in media. One trend, the advent of high-definition and broadband television, will provide programming that is more salient as a background influence in young children's environments. The second trend is that, with the economic success of Teletubbies, other programs for very young children will soon follow. These studies will provide basic observations essential to evaluating the impact of television on very young children now and in the future.