Poster #234 - Children’s Preference for Print Versus Digital Books: Prediction of Engagement and Comprehension During Reading

• In Event: 3-003 - Poster Session 09
  In Poster Session: PS 09 Section - Technology, Media & Child Development

Integrative Statement

With the rise in children’s tablet use and digital book access, researchers continue to search for effective ways to engage young children in reading in hopes to increase their comprehension. Some researchers suggest preschoolers are more engaged and have higher comprehension scores when reading interactive digital books than when reading print books (Moody, 2010; Richter & Courage, 2017). However, certain interactive features such as games and dictionaries may distract the reader (Bus et al., 2015). Alternatively, in some studies, media’s content has been more influential than its format for predicting preschoolers’ comprehension (Neuman et al., 2017) and engagement (O’Toole, 2015). However, prior research has not considered the role of children’s preference on these outcomes.
We examined whether preschoolers’ expressed preference for print or digital books predicted their engagement with and comprehension of stories. We hypothesized engagement and comprehension would be higher during children’s preferred book medium. Further, we hypothesized that preschoolers would be more engaged during digital rather than print books.
Ninety children (ages 3-5) were read aloud one digital and print book by a researcher. Children wore an Empatica E4 wristband that collected electrodermal activity (EDA) and heart rate (HR) during each book reading. Change scores were calculated by subtracting a baseline score from each data point collected during reading. Previous research suggests a decrease in HR indicates sustained cognitive engagement (Lang, 2000). Additionally, previous research suggests increases in EDA tend to imply an increase in excitement/arousal. Children were also asked 10 multiple choice questions following each book to assess story comprehension.
Results of the HR data indicated a significant main effect of medium, with higher heart rates for print than digital books with similar results for EDA (See Table 1 and Figure 1). However, we did not find a significant interaction between children’s book preference and book medium for either measure of engagement, and there were no significant differences in comprehension scores related to medium or preference.
The positive and significantly higher HR change scores obtained during print reading suggest children did not show strong sustained cognitive engagement during print reading. However, significantly higher print EDA scores indicate children were more excited and physiologically aroused during print than digital reading. These patterns were consistent whether children expressed a preference for reading in print or digital format. Furthermore, comprehension scores did not differ by medium or expressed preference. These results are contrary to our hypotheses but are consistent with prior research in which comprehension scores did not differ between print and digital books (Lauricella et al., 2014; Neuman et al., 2017). While a multitude of digital book features can be distracting (Bus et al., 2015), a complete lack of digitally interactive features may result in lower engagement when reading digital books. These findings suggest children do not necessarily select book mediums in which they will be most attentive or learn from most. Future research should include a third digital book format with more interactive features to further assess children’s engagement and comprehension when reading across different media.

Authors

• Danielle Hertel, University of South Dakota
  Presenting Author

• Gabrielle Strouse, University of South Dakota
  Non-Presenting Author

• Daniel Mourlam, University of South Dakota
  Non-Presenting Author

• Lisa Newland, University of South Dakota
  Non-Presenting Author

• Brandon Nutting, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
  Non-Presenting Author