Toddler's memory and media-Picture book reading and watching video content are associated with memory at 2 years of age

Memory develops across the course of the first years of life and is influenced by daily experiences, such as exposure to media like books and television. Memory as tapped by Deferred imitation (DI) requires that toddlers form a representation of the target actions that they can later use to reproduce the actions and in addition to measuring memory for real live events, it can also be used to measure memory for events viewed through media. Toddlers are frequently exposed to multiple forms of digital media in addition to more traditional forms of picture book reading. In a within-subjects design, memory was assessed with a DI task in 2-year-olds (n = 89) using the Frankfurt Imitation Test. Deferred imitation was assessed after live and video demonstrations. Parents completed a survey about children's media use. Picture book reading for less than 30 min a day predicted lower memory scores for actions demonstrated live. Watching video content for more than 1 h a day predicted lower memory scores for actions demonstrated on video. Results are interpreted in terms of individual differences in experiences of traditional and digital media and the development of symbolic understanding.

Screen media exposure and young children's vocabulary learning and development: A meta-analysis

This meta-analysis synthesizes research on media use in early childhood (0-6 years), word-learning, and vocabulary size. Multi-level analyses included 266 effect sizes from 63 studies (Ntotal  = 11,413) published between 1988-2022. Among samples with information about race/ethnicity (51%) and sex/gender (73%), most were majority White/Non-Hispanic and between 40%-60% female. Analyses revealed a small overall positive relation between screen media exposure and vocabulary (r = .23). Experimental studies yielded a small-to-medium effect (r = .30), with stronger effects for e-books than TV/video or games/apps, and non-significant effects for video chat. In correlational studies, there was no overall association between vocabulary size and naturalistic media exposure (r = .07), with the exception of naturalistic exposure to educational media (r = .17).

Searching in the sand: Protracted video deficit in U.S. preschoolers' spatial recall using a continuous search space

Young children exhibit a video deficit for spatial recall, learning less from on-screen than in-person demonstrations. Some theoretical accounts emphasize memory constraints (e.g., insufficient retrieval cues, competition between memory representations). Such accounts imply memory representations are graded, yet video deficit studies measuring spatial recall operationalize memory retrieval as dichotomous (success or failure). The current study tested a graded-representation account using a spatial recall task with a continuous search space (i.e., sandbox) rather than discrete locations. With this more sensitive task, a protracted video deficit for spatial recall was found in children 4-5 years old (n = 51). This may be due to weaker memory representations in the screen condition, evidenced by higher variability and greater perseverative bias. In general, perseverative bias decreased with repeated trials. The discussion considers how the results support a graded-representation account, potentially explaining why children might exhibit a video deficit in some tasks but not others. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: The task used a continuous search space (sandbox), making it more difficult and sensitive than spatial recall tasks used in prior video deficit research. Spatial recall among 4- and 5-year-old children was more variable after watching hiding events on screen via live video feed than through a window. Children's spatial recall from screens was more susceptible to proactive interference, evidenced by more perseverative bias in an A-not-B design. The results demonstrate memory representations blend experiences that accumulate over time and explain why the video deficit may be protracted for more difficult tasks.

Implications of video chat use for young children's learning and social-emotional development: Learning words, taking turns, and fostering familial relationships

Parents of young children use video chat differently than other screen media, paralleling expert recommendations (e.g., American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Communications and Media, 2016), which suggest that video chat, unlike other screen media, is acceptable for use by children under 18 months. Video chat is unique among screen media in that it permits contingent (time-sensitive and content-sensitive) social interactions. Contingent social interactions take place between a child and a partner (dyadic), with objects (triadic), and with multiple others (multi-party configurations), which critically underpin development in multiple domains. First, we review how contingent social interaction may underlie video chat's advantages in two domains: for learning (specifically learning new words) and for social-emotional development (specifically taking turns and fostering familial relationships). Second, we describe constraints on video chat use and how using chat with an active adult (co-viewing) may mitigate some of its limitations. Finally, we suggest future research directions that will clarify the potential advantages and impediments to the use of video chat by young children. This article is categorized under: Linguistics > Language Acquisition Psychology > Learning Cognitive Biology > Social Development.

Longitudinal Associations of Children’s Hyperactivity/Inattention, Peer Relationship Problems and Mobile Device Use

Children with emotional, behavioral or relationship problems may be more inclined to use mobile touchscreen devices (MTSDs: mobiles and tablets) to regulate their emotions or compensate for the lack of social relationships, which, in turn, may affect their symptoms. Bi-directional longitudinal associations between behavioral difficulties and MTSD use were analyzed. Participants were parents of children aged 4–6 years old at first data collection (n = 173), and 7–9 years old at second data collection (n = 98). They reported on their child’s MTSD use and behavioral difficulties at two time points (T1 and T2). It was analyzed whether T1 MTSD use predicts T2 behavioral difficulties (controlling for demographics and T1 behavioral difficulties); and whether T1 behavioral difficulties predict T2 MTSD use (controlling for demographics and T1 MTSD use). Additionally, cross-sectional associations between behavioral difficulties and MTSD use were analyzed. Children’s T1 hyperactivity/inattention score positively associated with T2 MTSD use, and peer relationship problems and MTSD use positively associated in T2. Pre-schoolers with more hyperactive inattentive symptoms may use MTSDs more to regulate their emotions. The association between peer relationship problems and MTSD use in T2 is consistent with poorer socio-cognitive skills in MTSD user children and may be bi-directional.

The effect of video games, exergames and board games on executive functions in kindergarten and 2nd grade: An explorative longitudinal study

We examined the relation between different kinds of play behavior (video games, exergames, board games) in kindergarten (T1) and components of executive function (EF; inhibition, switching, verbal and visuospatial updating) in kindergarten and second grade (T1 and T2). Ninety-seven children participated in this longitudinal study. Parents were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding children's play behavior, reporting frequency, duration, and game type. The results indicate that play behavior is associated with EF development in children; however, only exergames, electronic puzzle games, and board games predicted EF at T2. Additionally, the time spent on electronic games was negatively related to visuospatial updating at T1 but did not predict EF at T2. The results support further investigation of a potential link between board game and exergame play behavior and EF development.

Can infants use video to update mental representations of absent objects?

Before their second birthday, infants can update their knowledge based on what someone tells them, but can they do so based on what a video shows them? The current study explored whether infants can update their representation of an absent object's properties after seeing a video of something happening to it, following seminal work showing that they can update their representation after being told about something happening to it (Ganea et al., 2007). It thus adapted an existing paradigm for testing infants' understanding of references to absent objects (using language) to investigate a different symbolic medium (video). Twenty-two-month-olds first played with a toy and later saw on video that the toy underwent a change in state while they were out of the room. Infants in the current study did not subsequently identify the toy based on this new information, whereas those in previous research did. Infants this age thus appear less likely to update their representation of an absent object's properties using video than using language. This result is consistent with the possibility that infants may understand the representational function of symbolic objects later in development than they understand the representational function of language. It also aligns with evidence of the video deficit in which infants learn less effectively from video than from firsthand experience.

Mobile Media and Young Children's Cognitive Skills: A Review

Though the use of mobile devices (eg, tablets, smartphones) by young children is pervasive and increasing, research relating children's use of mobile devices to their development is only beginning to emerge. Learning, language development, and self-regulation skills among children aged 0 to 5 are of particular interest to pediatric clinicians, researchers, parents, and policymakers, as these skills foreshadow important outcomes across the lifespan. Experimental research reviewed herein suggests that the interactivity allowed by mobile devices has benefits over passive viewing (for example, of television) for young children's learning and self-regulation, but studies of naturalistic use suggest increased use of mobile devices is associated with poorer language and self-regulation. Pediatric clinicians can be important sources of support for families endeavoring to navigate their children's use of mobile devices by providing advice and resources, such as communicating reasonable time limits and sharing sources of developmentally appropriate content. Future research should implement innovative, rigorous research designs and methods to clarify mechanisms underlying potential negative effects of naturalistic use of mobile devices by young children and investigate how content and context of young children's mobile-device use may influence relations between such use and children's skills.

The early ontogeny of infants' imitation of on screen humans and robots

Traditionally, infants have learned how to interact with objects in their environment through direct observations of adults and peers. In recent decades these models have been available over different media, and this has introduced non-human agents to infants' learning environments. Humanoid robots are increasingly portrayed as social agents in on screen, but the degree to which infants are capable of observational learning from screen-based robots is unknown. The current study thus investigated how well 1- to 3-year-olds (N = 230) could imitate on-screen robots relative to on-screen and live humans. Participants exhibited an imitation deficit for robots that varied with age. Furthermore, the well-known video deficit did not replicate as expected, and was weak and transient relative to past research. Together, the findings documented here suggest that infants are learning from media in ways that differ from past generations, but that this new learning is nuanced when novel technologies are involved.

Infant media use: A harm reduction approach

There are a myriad of potentially harmful developmental outcomes associated with infant digital media use. Studies revealing risk associated with early media use have informed the current American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommendations that discourage most digital media use among children under 18 months of age. Recent research advances, however, suggest potential benefits of technology engagement in this age group. Additionally, surveys of parents reveal that most infants engage with digital media for at least 30 min a day, exceeding the AAP recommendations. In response to these discoveries and cultural trends, some scholars have made compelling cases to adapt the AAP guidelines for infants. A helpful model for developing infant digital media use guidelines for families may be the harm reduction approach. The intent of this review is to suggest adaptations to the AAP guidelines for infant media engagement using a harm reduction framework. This review describes the challenge of restrictive guidelines, briefly summarizes the harm reduction approach, provides a review of risks and benefits associated with infant media use in each developmental domain (physical, cognitive, and socioemotional), summarizes correlates of infant screen media use, and examines intervention strategies for reducing screen time. The paper concludes with examples of possible adaptations to current AAP infant media use recommendations using harm reduction and bioecological frameworks.

The origins of touchscreen competence: Examining infants' exploration of touchscreens

Infants' exposure to images presented on screens is increasing with the accelerating use of technology in society and at home. Touchscreen technology provides numerous interactive screen opportunities geared toward infants and toddlers. Touchscreens are unique in that they possess the 2D qualities of a picture, but a set of manipulation possibilities similar to, but distinct from, a 3D object. Research comparing infants' manual exploration of photographs, objects, and screen images has demonstrated that although 7-10-month-old infants direct different actions towards 3D objects, their exploration of screen images does not differ significantly from their exploration of 2D photographs (Ziemer & Snyder, 2016). The current investigation compares the ways in which 7-10-month-old infants and 15-18-month-old infants manually explore screen images, photographs, and objects. Infants in the older age group were shown examples of objects, photographs, and screen images presented within a well in a table with a Plexiglas® cover to create identical tactile feedback. Coders noted the presence or absence of appropriate actions displayed toward the various surfaces. Results were compared to data collected earlier (Ziemer & Snyder, 2016) to demonstrate the evolution of touchscreen competence across the first years of infant development. By 15-18 months, infants demonstrate an emerging repertoire of touchscreen-appropriate behaviors directed towards touchscreens that is not demonstrated by 7-10-month-old infants. Differences in haptic exploration suggest the beginnings of a touchscreen competence that enables infants to understand and interact with touchscreens in a new way.

Social learning from media: The need for a culturally diachronic developmental psychology

Since the proliferation of television sets into households began over half a century ago there has been widespread interest in the impact that viewing has on young children's development. Such interest has grown with the increasing availability of smart phones and tablets. In this review we examine the literature documenting human social learning and how this learning is impacted when the instructing agent appears on a screen instead of face-to-face. We then explore the shifting nature of screen-based media, with a focus on the increasingly socio-normative manner information is portrayed. We discuss how the changing nature of screen technology might be altering how children interpret what they see, and raise the possibility that this may render prevailing evidence as historical documentation, rather than setting out established developmental milestones that transcend the period in which they were documented. We contend that recognizing the significance of historically changing contexts in developmental psychology is timely when the COVID-19 climate is pushing data collection on-line for many labs, often using tasks that were developed primarily for face-to-face contexts.

Toddlers Using Tablets: They Engage, Play, and Learn

Although very young children have unprecedented access to touchscreen devices, there is limited research on how successfully they operate these devices for play and learning. For infants and toddlers, whose cognitive, fine motor, and executive functions are immature, several basic questions are significant: (1) Can they operate a tablet purposefully to achieve a goal? (2) Can they acquire operating skills and learn new information from commercially available apps? (3) Do individual differences in executive functioning predict success in using and learning from the apps? Accordingly, 31 2-year-olds (M = 30.82 month, SD = 2.70; 18 female) were compared with 29 3-year-olds (M = 40.92 month, SD = 4.82; 13 female) using two commercially available apps with different task and skill requirements: (1) a shape matching app performed across 3 days, and (2) a storybook app with performance compared to that on a matched paper storybook. Children also completed (3) the Minnesota Executive Functioning Scale. An adult provided minimal scaffolding throughout. The results showed: (1) toddlers could provide simple goal-directed touch gestures and the manual interactions needed to operate the tablet (2) after controlling for prior experience with shape matching, toddlers’ increased success and efficiency, made fewer errors, decreased completion times, and required less scaffolding across trials, (3) they recognized more story content from the e-book and were less distracted than from the paper book, (4) executive functioning contributed unique variance to the outcome measures on both apps, and (5) 3-year-olds outperformed 2-year-olds on all measures. The results are discussed in terms of the potential of interactive devices to support toddlers’ learning.

Learning to learn from video? 30-month-olds benefit from continued use of supportive scaffolding

Young children struggle to learn new words presented on video, but adult co-viewers can support them by providing scaffolds that explicitly connect the video and real world. In this study, we asked whether scaffolding facilitates children's symbolic understanding of the video, such that they will subsequently transfer labels from video to real referents. Sixty-three 30-month-olds and 61 36-month-olds participated in a series of three word learning trials in one of three conditions. In the supportive condition, an in-person adult explicitly drew connections between each on-screen object and the corresponding real object in the room with the child. In the unsupportive condition, the in-person adult provided similar-length statements about the objects but did not draw connections between them. In the partial scaffold condition, the in-person adult provided the supportive scaffolds for the first two trials and the unsupportive version for the third trial. At 30 months, children selected the correct object on the third trial more often in the supportive than the unsupportive scaffold condition, and performance in the partial scaffold condition fell in between. At 36 months, performance on the third trial did not differ across conditions. The results showed that experiencing the scaffold twice was not enough to reliably support 30-month-olds in learning to think symbolically on the third trial; rather, they appeared to rely on the adult to connect the video image with its specific real-world referent. At 36 months, however, children did not rely on the adult scaffold to apply the video label to the real-world objects.

Touchscreens for Whom? Working Memory and Age Moderate the Impact of Contingency on Toddlers' Transfer From Video

Toddlers exhibit poor transfer between video and real-world contexts. Contingently responsive video such as that found in touchscreen apps appears to assist transfer for some toddlers but not others. This study investigated the extent to which toddlers' working memory moderates the impact of contingency on toddler's transfer of learning from video. Toddlers (24–36 months; N = 134) watched a hiding event on either (a) contingent video that advanced only after touch input or (b) non-contingent video that proceeded automatically. Toddlers then searched for a corresponding object on a felt board. Additionally, toddlers' working memory (WM) was assessed. Findings indicate WM and age moderated the impact of contingency on transfer: Contingency decreased transfer in younger children while increasing transfer among older children. However, this was only true for children with relatively low WM. Contingency had little impact on transfer among children with relatively high WM, regardless of age. Results from this study suggest that WM is one specific moderator that predicts whether toddlers are likely to learn from contingent vs. non-contingent video, yet WM does not operate in isolation. Together, these findings underscore the importance of considering multiple child characteristics when identifying the optimal conditions for toddlers' learning from symbolic media.

2-Year-Olds Learning From 2D Media With and Without Parental Support: Comparing Two Forms of Joint Media Engagement With Passive Viewing and Learning From 3D

The study investigates to what degree two different joint media engagement (JME) strategies affect children’s learning from two-dimensional (2D)-media. More specifically, we expected an instructed JME strategy to be more effective than a spontaneous, non-instructed, JME strategy. Thirty-five 2-year old children saw a short video on a tablet demonstrating memory tasks together with a parent. The parents were randomized into two groups: One group (N = 17) was instructed to help their child by describing the actions they saw on the video while the other group (N = 18) received no specific instruction besides “do as you usually do.” The parents in the instructed group used significantly more words and verbs when supporting their child but both groups of children did equally well on the memory test. In a second step, we compared the performance of the two JME groups with an opportunistic comparison group (N = 95) tested with half of the memory tasks live and half of the tasks on 2D without any JME support. Results showed that the JME intervention groups received significantly higher recall scores than the no JME 2D comparison group. In contrast, the three-dimensional (3D) comparison group outperformed both JME groups. In sum, our findings suggest that JME as implemented here is more effective in promoting learning than a no JME 2D demonstration but less so than the standard 3D presentation of the tasks.

Engaging Children’s Reading with Reflective Augmented Reality

This study explored the integration of mobile augmented reality (AR) into reading in elementary schools. With the reflective messages designed using AR (termed as reflective AR), children were guided to process the story content through preview, reading, and review of the content. The study focused on the enhancement of children’s reading comprehension using reflective AR and the implementation processes of reading with reflective AR experienced by teachers and children. A blended research approach was used for data collection. Via the quantitative approach, the reading comprehension scores of the children in the reflective AR and control group (without reflective AR) were compared. Via the qualitative approach, observations and interviews with the teachers from four elementary schools were conducted. It was observed that students achieved better reading scores when using the reflective AR approach (p < 0.001). Both teachers and students enjoyed the AR reading exploration. Teachers were devoted to planning the settings required in the reading exploration. Reading via the AR approach of preview–reading–review engaged children in the reading content. From the study, the implementation of AR reflective reading provides a model to guide children’s reading. However, the research is preliminary and might have sampling limitations for generalization. Future research on diverse learning settings is needed.

Symbolic Understanding and Word-Picture-Referent Mapping from iPads in Autism Spectrum Condition: The Roles of Iconicity and Engagement

We investigated symbolic understanding, word-picture-referent mapping, and engagement in children with autism spectrum condition (ASC) and ability-matched typically developing children. Participants viewed coloured pictorial symbols of a novel object (given a novel name) on an iPad in one of three conditions: static 2D images and either automatically or manually rotating images (providing a three-dimensional context). We found no significant difference in word-picture-referent mapping between groups and conditions, however, children who manually rotated the picture had greater on-screen looking time compared to other conditions. Greater visual attention related to more successful word-picture-referent mapping only for the children with ASC. Interactive iPad tasks may increase visual attention in both typical and atypical populations and greater visual attention may benefit word-picture-referent mapping in ASC.

Environmental and Cognitive Enrichment in Childhood as Protective Factors in the Adult and Aging Brain

Some recent studies have highlighted a link between a favorable childhood environment and the strengthening of neuronal resilience against the changes that occur in natural aging neurodegenerative disease. Many works have assessed the factors – both internal and external – that can contribute to delay the phenotype of an ongoing neurodegenerative brain pathology. At the crossroads of genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors, these relationships are unified by the concept of cognitive reserve (CR). This review focuses on the protective effects of maintaining this CR through the cognitive aging process, and emphasizes the most essential time in life for the development and strengthening of this CR. The in-depth study of this research shows that early stimulation with regard to social and sensory interactions, contributes to the proper development of cognitive, affective and psychosocial capacities. Childhood thus appears to be the most active phase in the development of CR, and as such we hypothesize that this constitutes the first essential period of primary prevention of pathological aging and loss of cognitive capacities. If this hypothesis is correct, early stimulation of the environment would therefore be considered as a true primary prevention and a public health issue. The earlier identification of neurodevelopmental disorders, which can affect personal and professional development across the lifespan, could therefore have longer-term impacts and provide better protection against aging.

Narrative comprehension and engagement with e-books vs. paper-books in autism spectrum condition

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Children with autism spectrum condition often have specific difficulties with narrative comprehension, a skill which has a strong association with both concurrent and longitudinal reading comprehension. A better understanding of narrative comprehension skills in autism spectrum condition has the potential to provide insight into potential later reading comprehension difficulties and inform early targeted intervention. In the current study, the main objective was to investigate how differences in the medium of story presentation (paper-book vs. e-book) and differences in story narration (adult narration vs. in-app narration) would influence narrative comprehension in general, and between groups (autism spectrum condition and a receptive language-matched control group). We were also interested in how task engagement (visual attention and communication) differed between group and conditions and whether task engagement was related to narrative comprehension.

METHOD

Forty-two children with autism spectrum condition and 42 typically developing children were read a story either via a paper-book or an e-book with interactive and multimedia features. The e-book was either narrated by the experimenter (adult narrated iPad condition) or narrated by an in-app voiceover (e-book narrated iPad condition). Children's behaviour during storybook reading was video recorded and coded for engagement (visual attention and communication). They then completed two measures of narrative comprehension: multiple-choice questions (measuring recall of literal information) and a picture ordering task (measuring global story structure).

RESULTS

Contrary to predictions, we did not find any significant group or condition differences on either measure of narrative comprehension, and both groups demonstrated a similar level of narrative comprehension across the three conditions. We found differences in engagement between conditions for both groups, with greater visual attention in the e-book conditions compared to the paper-book condition. However, visual attention only significantly correlated with narrative comprehension for the typically developing group.

CONCLUSION

Overall, this study suggests that children with autism spectrum condition are just as able as language-matched peers to comprehend a narrative from storybooks. Presenting a story on an iPad e-book compared to a paper-book does not influence narrative comprehension, nor does adult narration of the story compared to in-app narration. However, on-task engagement is linked to narrative comprehension in typically developing children.Implications: Taken together, our findings suggest that e-books may be more successful than paper-based mediums at encouraging visual attention towards the story, but no better at supporting narrative comprehension and eliciting communication.

Growing up in the digital age: Early learning and family media ecology

Media is so pervasive that it should no longer be considered a nuisance variable that could affect development but rather, a fundamental part of the context in which development occurs. Despite the rapid growth in access to digital media, there is a scarcity of research examining changes in the family media ecology and the subsequent effects of early media exposure on socio-cognitive development. Early research erroneously focused on the absolute amount of exposure by the child. Current research now considers the entire household, including both intentional exposure to child-directed content and unintended exposure to background media sources. Such research demonstrates that young children can and do learn from well-designed media particularly when they engage with others during digital play.

When Representation Becomes Reality: Interactive Digital Media and Symbolic Development

One challenge of using an interesting object such as a scale model as a symbol for something else is children's deep interest in the object itself. Attending to the model (the symbol) as a toy, children do not use information about where in the model a tiny dog is hiding to mentally represent where a larger dog is hiding in the full-sized room (the referent). Young children use pictures in this way because they are relatively uninteresting as objects. Today, interactive images on touchscreens function as virtual objects on which to act and which respond to the user's actions. In this chapter, we examine how interactive symbolic media (e.g., touchscreens, video chat, augmented reality) might affect children's symbolic development and the way that psychologists think about representational objects. Young children's learning about and from interactive media may depend upon adults scaffolding children's use of these new cultural tools.