Screen Time and Preschoolers’ Executive Functionĭoes time spent watching non-interactive screen content affect preschoolers’ executive function? Previous evidence has not been consistent regarding the relation between children’s television or video exposure and their EF (for a review, see Kostyrka-Allchorne et al., 2017). With this acknowledgment, we turn to the relations between screen time and EF in preschoolers. By turning toward EF, these studies extended earlier findings showing that magical or impossible events in film ( Subbotsky et al., 2010 Richert and Schlesinger, 2016) and the exercise of imagination ( Bunce et al., 2017) may facilitate preschoolers’ creative thinking. Several studies have shown that engaging in active fantasy-oriented play or fantastical pretense may directly enhance preschool children’s EF development ( Thibodeau-Nielsen et al., 2016 Thibodeau-Nielsen et al., 2020). It is worth noting that a related area of psychological research has also focused on children’s understanding of fantasy, in contexts other than receptive viewing. A survey study based on nearly 20,000 phone interviews with parents suggested that children ages 2 to 5 spent on average about 2 h each day using digital screens ( Przybylski and Weinstein, 2019), half of which was devoted to non-interactive media like TV and video/DVD ( Common Sense Media, 2017), also called receptive viewing ( Anderson and Davidson, 2019). Although the American Academy of Pediatrics (2016) has recommended that screen time be limited for young children, television and other screen media increasingly dominate young children’s daily lives. The duration of young children’s screen viewing is a common concern among parents and pediatricians. One line of research has focused on the effects of viewing screen media in terms of duration, content and pace. Researchers have long been interested in factors that disrupt preschoolers’ EF. EF in preschool also lays a foundation for the development of more advanced cognition ( Garon et al., 2008) and success and well-being into adulthood ( Mischel et al., 1989). EF develops rapidly across the preschool years ( Carlson et al., 2012) and involves working memory, self-control, and flexible thinking, all of which undergird social ( Eisenberg et al., 2004) and cognitive ( Blair and Razza, 2007) function. The fundamental role of EF is to produce coordinated and purposeful behavior ( Funahashi, 2001). The findings are discussed in reference to models of limited cognitive resources.Įxecutive function (EF) refers to the advanced cognitive processes (e.g., purposely switching attention) that regulate, control, and manage lower-level unconscious cognitive processes (e.g., automatic attention) when conducting complex cognitive tasks. In Experiment 3 ( N = 20), functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) data showed that the high frequency group had a higher concentration of oxygenated hemoglobin (Coxy-Hb), an indicator of higher brain activation consistent with a greater use of cognitive resources this group also had lower scores on the behavioral EF tasks. In Experiment 2 ( N = 20), eye tracking data showed more but shorter eye fixations in the high frequency group, suggesting a higher demand on cognitive resources this group also did more poorly on behavioral measures of EF. In Experiment 1 ( N = 90), which also included a control group, there was an immediate negative effect of watching frequent fantastical events, as seen in lower scores on the behavioral EF tasks. Parents completed a questionnaire to assess preschoolers’ hyperactivity level as a potential confounding variable. In all three experiments, children were randomly assigned to watch a video with either frequent or infrequent fantastical events their EF was immediately assessed after viewing, using behavioral measures of working memory, sustained attention, and cognitive flexibility. Three experiments were conducted to test whether watching an animated show with frequent fantastical events decreased Chinese preschoolers’ post-viewing executive function (EF), and to test possible mechanisms of this effect.
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