Teaching Inclusiveness via TV Narratives in the US

Abstract

The central hypothesis was that children's interpretations of pro-tolerance TV content explain why such content may be ineffective or counterproductive. The goal was to examine whether comprehension and ensuing attitudes could be improved by adding short explanatory inserts. A total of 128 children aged 4–6 were randomly assigned to watch one of two episodes depicting initial hostility followed by friendliness (either with or without inserts), or to watch a control episode unrelated to tolerance. There were significant effects of the inserts, but also of the episodes. For one of the episodes, there were no significant differences in inclusiveness relative to the control group unless the inserts were included; for the other, there were significant negative effects on inclusiveness unless the inserts were included. Children's interpretations of the content mediated the effects of inserts and episode on levels of inclusiveness.