1. Study of the Effects of 'Sesame Street' and 'Polka Dot Door' on Preschool Children.
- Author
-
Ball, Laurie A.
- Abstract
This paper presents a study designed to determine whether or not parents' attitudes and children's intelligence scores affect children's reactions to television programs. Preschool children's behavior before, during, and after the viewing of two half-hour television programs, "Sesame Street" and "Polka Dot Door," was compared. The children, ranging in age from 3 years, 6 months to 5 years, 2 months, were each randomly assigned to a "Polka Dot Door" group or a "Sesame Street" group. Questionnaires were used to obtain parents' attitudes toward five preschool television programs, and Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) scores measured the children's intelligence. Results indicated that: (1) the effect of television was significant and creates a more parallel pattern across behaviors in the case of "Sesame Street"; (2) parents' positive attitudes toward television do not correlate significantly with children's overt reactions; and (3) the theory that the more intelligent the child, the more quantitatively he will react to the television was accepted for "Sesame Street" but rejected for "Polka Dot Door." A review of the literature accompanies the report. Appendixes make up one-quarter of the document. (CS)
- Published
- 1974