Poster #6 - The Effects of Background Television on Kindergarteners and 2nd Graders

• In Event: Poster Session 12

Abstract

Previous research has shown that distraction impedes performance and attention during the preschool (O’Toole & Kannass, 2021) and teen years (Pool et al., 2003), but little is known about how background television may affect attention in early elementary school aged children. This project investigated the effects of background television on measures of distractibility in kindergarteners and 2nd graders. Seventy-nine kindergarteners and 2nd graders worked on paper and pencil math and phonics tasks during two 4-minute trials (1 task per trial) in a classroom. Sessions were recorded via zoom. Participants were randomly assigned to either a distraction or no distraction condition. In the distraction condition (N = 38), a PBS kids television show played continuously on a laptop in front of the child. After the session, participants were asked 8 multiple choice questions about the television show and received 1 point for each correct answer. Coders recorded looking to the TV show for the distraction condition. The total looking to the TV show and the average length of individual looks to the TV show were calculated.

Preliminary analyses revealed age differences in total looking and average individual looks, but there were changes in only the average length of individual looks over the course of the session. The Grade x Gender x Block Mixed Model ANOVA on total looking revealed a main effect of grade, F(1, 34) = 4.52, p = .04, ηp2 = .12, due to 2nd graders looking less overall to the TV than did kindergarteners. The Grade x Gender x Block Mixed Model ANOVA on the average length of individual looks revealed a marginal main effect of grade, F(1, 32) = 4.04, p = .05, ηp2 = .11, and significant main effect of Block, F(1, 32) = 6.11, p = .02, ηp2 = .16. Kindergarteners’ (M = 11.28, SE = 2.10) average length of individual looks to the TV tended to be about twice as long as 2nd graders’ looks (M = 5.47, SE = 1.98), and average length of individual increased significantly from the first half of the session (M = 6.65, SE = .95) to the second (M = 10.10, SE = 2.06). Preliminary analysis on the memory scores showed that 2nd graders (M = 5.00, SE = .41) had higher scores than did kindergarteners (M = 2.80, SE = .41), F(1, 37) = 14.48, p < .001, ηp2 = .28.

In closing, background TV poses a significant distraction to grade schoolers, with kindergarteners looking longer at the background TV. Interestingly, the average length of looks increased significantly over time, suggesting that distraction increased. The current results have implications for the types of environments that best support children’s attention and have implications for everyday activities in the classroom, such a Workshop approach to learning and rotating activities where adjacent children work on different learning activities. For example, a child working on an iPad activity may pose a distraction to the adjacent children working on writing or completing worksheets.

Authors

• Kathleen Noel Kannass, Concordia University Wisconsin
  Presenting Author

• Laurie Pogorzelski, Concordia University Wisconsin

• Kristine Ann Kovack-Lesh, Ripon College