US preschoolers’ trust of and learning from media characters

TLDR

The study situates its findings within the broader factors influencing young children's learning from curriculum‑based media. The study investigates how children's perceptions of character realism, identification, and trust predict learning from media characters. Thirty‑six preschoolers viewed a science‑educational animated clip, rated the character’s realism, identification, and trust, and then solved related problems. Character trust emerged as the strongest predictor of learning from the character.

Abstract

The current study examined the relations between children's perceptions of character social realism, identification with characters, trust of characters as knowledgeable informants, and learning from media characters. Thirty-six 3½- to 6-year-old children watched a short clip of an animated educational television program about a preschool-aged boy who enjoys learning about science. Participants provided ratings of the character's social realism, their identification with the character, and their trust in the character as a knowledgeable informant. Participants were asked to solve problems based on information in the video clip. Findings revealed character trust was the strongest indicator of learning from the character. Results are discussed in the context of the different factors that influence learning from curriculum-based media for young children.