1-054 - Emerging Perspectives on Cognitive and Social Development in Virtual Spaces

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Young children are spending an increasing amount of time engaging in and with virtual space—including manipulating virtual objects on touchscreen apps and navigating in immersive virtual reality (VR). The effects of these experiences are often debated but hardly clear. Presently, we do not know how the decades of research on how young children think about, behave in, and socially interact in the real world generalize to these new kinds of spaces and experiences. Nor is it apparent how research on children’s learning from traditional symbolic media (e.g., books, pictures) relates to learning from digital/virtual experiences. This symposium presents new empirical research comparing children’s thinking and behavior in real and virtual spaces, allowing us to ask how virtual experiences may influence development. Talk 1 examines children’s memory for stories and emotional content presented using VR, standard video, or book reading—finding that some content is remembered best from VR. Talk 2 examines the development of spatial cognition in VR, showing how VR can be used for assessment and potentially, intervention for spatial skills in young children. Talk 3 examines children’s play with virtual and real games, demonstrating reductions in parent-child interaction during digital play. Finally, Talk 4 pulls together existing and new research to consider how engaging in virtual experiences meets and stretches our definition of representational thought and contributes to symbolic development. The chairs will facilitate discussion to integrate the talks and draw conclusions about how and when virtual experiences are productive or counter-productive to children’s learning and development.

Sub Unit

• Technology, Media & Child Development

Chairs

• Jordy Kaufman, Swinburne University of Technology

• Georgene Troseth, Vanderbilt University

Individual Presentations

• Children's Memory of Story and Emotional Content Experienced in Virtual Reality and Traditional Media - Presenting Author: Paola Araiza-Alba, Swinburne University of Technology; Non-Presenting Author: Therese Keane, Swinburne University of Technology; Non-Presenting Author: Jordy Kaufman, Swinburne University of Technology

• Virtual Reality as a Potential Tool for Assessing Spatial Skills in Young Children - Presenting Author: James Negen, University of Durham; Non-Presenting Author: Linda Bou-Ali, American University of Beirut; Non-Presenting Author: Marko Nardini, University of Durham

• How Real and Virtual Toys and Games Affect Children’s Play and Parent-child Interactions - Presenting Author: Jessica Guy, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia; Non-Presenting Author: Jessica Balanzategui, Swinburne University of Technology; Non-Presenting Author: Kate Highfield, Early Childhood Australia; Non-Presenting Author: Jennifer M Zosh, Penn State University, Brandywine; Non-Presenting Author: Jordy Kaufman, Swinburne University of Technology

• When Representation Becomes Reality: Interactive Digital Media and Children’s Use of Symbols - Presenting Author: Georgene Troseth, Vanderbilt University