Big Media on Little Minds: The Impact of Tablets, Smartphones, and Books on Learning!

For 4-to-6 year olds

In this two-session study, we are interested in how children think about and learn from media devices. In session 1, your child will play a game with the experimenter over a video call where they will answer questions regarding how they think about five different media devices (TV, Laptop, Smartphone, Tablet, and Book). For instance, the experimenter will ask your child whether each device is useful for learning and/or just for fun. Then they will answer a set of age-appropriate science questions about the day and night cycle. After session 1, your child will return for Session 2, one day later. In session 2, they will watch an educational video about the day and night cycle and answer memory and learning questions. Each session should take about 25 minutes. In addition, parents will be asked to complete a 10-minute media belief survey. Clicking on the “Schedule a time to participate” button will send you to an online calendar where you can select a date and time that works for you for the first session.

Children use their expectations about the world to guide their exploration and learning. However, it remains unclear whether children have specific expectations about digital media devices and whether these expectations impact later learning. This study explores whether children hold specific expectations about media devices (e.g., to learn) and whether these expectations impact subsequent memory and learning outcomes.

60 minutes total (two scheduled 25-minute sessions and a 10-minute parent survey)

Participants will be compensated with a $15 USD Amazon.com gift card for their time, five dollars for each completed session (session 1 and session 2), and the parental survey. Child participants need to be in the specified age range in order to participate and receive compensation. Each participant can receive one gift card. Gift cards will be distributed 1-7 business days after the completion of the study.