In addition to our work focusing on attentional processes, media appeal and usability, content comprehension, and narrative media forms, we investigate research questions that fall outside these areas. Including both extensive literature reviews and large scale surveys, these projects often inform our research decisions and related hypotheses for other projects conducted within the lab.
Ongoing Research
Piotrowski, J.T., Linebarger, D.L. & Lapierre, M.A. (2009, October). A National Parent Survey: Measuring the Home Media Environment, Parental Behaviors, and Literacy Skills of Young Children. Research Brief 21 prepared for Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Philadelphia, PA: Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania.
In a society where children consume nearly two hours of screen media daily (Rideout & Hamel, 2006), the question is not whether children are affected by media but how they are affected by media. Just as media has been implicated for inducing a host of negative behaviors in youngsters (e.g. C. A. Anderson & Bushman, 2001; Brown et al., 2005; Cantor, 2001), media has also been implicated as a successful educational tool across several school readiness domains (D. R. Anderson, Huston, Schmitt, Linebarger, & Wright, 2001; Wright et al., 2001). This research and others like it point to the importance of considering media content, not simply time spent with media, when evaluating its impact. While vast, the body of research addressing the educational potential of media stems from studies with relatively small samples (due to study logistics and prohibitive costs) and thus is not necessarily representative of nor generalizable to the larger population. To help address this gap in the literature, the present study explores the relationship between media content and children’s language and literacy skills with a nationally representative sample of the population as well as with an oversampling of low-income and American Indian families.
Linebarger, D.L., Wainwright, D.K. & Moses, A.M. (2009, April). Television’s Impact on Children’s Vocabulary Knowledge: A Meta-analysis. Research Brief 17 prepared for Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Philadelphia, PA: Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania.
Vocabulary knowledge is critical for children’s literacy development (NRP, 2000). Having a strong vocabulary base has been linked with higher academic success (e.g., Smith, 1941) and higher reading achievement (e.g., Stahl, 1998). Children rely on many different sources to learn new words and what they mean, including interactions with their family, teachers, and even the media. In fact, one of the most researched areas related to television’s influence on children’s literacy is its impact on vocabulary. Since television may have intentional and unintentional effects on vocabulary, it is crucial to have a comprehensive understanding of how television does, and does not, benefit children’s vocabulary knowledge.
Publications
Linebarger, D.L., Chernin, A., & Kotler, J. (2008). Lazy kids watch TV. Journal of Children and Media, 2(1), 37 – 55.
Surprisingly little research has explored the association between children’s perceptions of various media and patterns of children’s media exposure (Abelman & Atkin, 2000; Beentjes, Koolstra, Marseille, & van der Voort, 2001; Bohme-Durr, 1990; Lyle & Hoffman, 1972). While such an approach is consistent with uses and gratifications theory, which views media consumers as actively selecting content that satisfies their needs and desires (Katz, Blumler, & Gurevitch, 1974; Palmgreen, 1984; Rubin, 2002), much of the uses and gratifications research conducted with children has focused on establishing typologies of motives for engaging with various media (e.g. Brown, 1976; Greenberg, Ku, & Li, 1989; Rubin, 1977; Schramm, Lyle, & Parker, 1961; Valkenburg & Soeters, 2001; von Feilitzen, 1976). Although, it is important to identify a child’s motivations or reasons for using a particular medium, knowledge of children’s media perceptions, or their beliefs about what particular media are used by whom and why, becomes much more valuable if it is used as a way to understand and explain children’s actual media use. The purposes of this exploratory study were to identify young children’s perceptions of both old and new media and to relate these perceptions to their media exposure. Results indicated that children’s media choices appear to reflect commonly held beliefs about what type of person would select various types of media. Gender and age moderated many of these relationships.
Reports
Wainwright, D.W. & Linebarger, D.L. (2008). Bedroom Television: Behaviors and Beliefs of Parents Regarding Bedroom TV for Young Children. Philadelphia, PA: Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania.
This project was funded partly in reaction to the determination by the AAP (2001) that parents should limit the time a child spends in front of screen media. It was also spurred by suggestions that screen media (television, in particular) are having detrimental effects on children’s cognitive development and academic achievement (Borzekowski & Robinson, 2005; Sharif & Sargent, 2006) and also by reports of a large, and seemingly increasing, number of children growing up with bedroom television sets (Rideout, Vandewater & Wartella, 2003). The purpose of this study was to understand the beliefs and attitudes of parents who choose to provide television access to their kids as a first step toward reversing this trend. Additionally, the results will provide a better understanding of television’s role in parenting. By closely examining screen media’s functions in child-rearing, we can offer greater strategic direction about the beneficial use of media in the lives of children including the potential that screen media possess to be a positive element in a child’s academic development.
Linebarger, D.L., Piotrowski, J.T., & Vaala, S. (2007). Supplementing television: What enhances or detracts from the power of television to teach. A literature review prepared for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Philadelphia, PA: Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania.
This review represents the third in a series of literature reviews that examine the role of television in children’s learning. Supplementing Television investigates how people (e.g., adults, competent peers, avatars), individual child characteristics (e.g., gender, poverty, disability or giftedness status, English Language Learners, perceptions, motivation/appeal), and the use of ancillary materials (e.g., teacher guides and training, manipulatives, print books) enhance or detract from television’s power to teach young children.
Linebarger, D. L. (2006). Teaching language and literacy on television. A literature review prepared for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Philadelphia, PA: Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania.
A second report in our literature review series, this report focuses upon why television can support language and literacy skills for young children. After offering a discussion on the notion of media synergy, the authors present a review of those empirical studies linking media to language and literacy achievement.
Linebarger, D.L., & Wainwright, D.K. (2006). Television can teach: Elements of effective educational television. Philadelphia, PA: Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania.
Television’s impact on viewers has been of concern since the flickering blue box began its insidious trickle into every room in our homes. For some, the seemingly passive way in which viewers interacted with the medium led to conclusions that television was a threat to intellectual development (Postman, 1982; Winn, 1985). To others, the concern was that viewing was replacing more cerebral pursuits (Dorr, 1986). And the subject matter, often violent or persuasive, was anticipated to be negatively impacting the social development of children (John, 1999; Kunkel, 2001; Smith, Wilson, Kunkel, Linz, Potter, Colvin et al., 1998). With both the intellectual and interpersonal evolution of the world’s citizens in peril, it is no surprise that research examining this dodgy, yet ever so alluring, medium has been extensive over the years. In this report, we review the research on educational television and offer producers and educators an overview of the essential elements that can support the development of language and literacy abilities in young children.
