CHILDRENS UNDERSTANDING OF TELEVISION PROGRAMS - 3 EXPLORATORY STUDIES

Three studies were designed to explore children's understanding of tel evision programmes. Seventy-two children from 6 to 9 years of age and attending a primary school, viewed one adult and one children's televi sion programme. They took part in procedures that examined their 1) me mory for crucial plot events immediately after viewing, 2) understandi ng of the motives of the protagonists, and 3) character evaluation of the protagonists. The results yielded age differences in these abiliti es and suggested variable recall, poor comprehension, in terms of bein g able to relate motives to consequences, and confused character evalu ation when the heroes and villains were not clearly discriminated. The results are interpreted in relation to the television literature, rea ding comprehension and children's desire to make sense of what they se e.