The impact of animated cartoons on children’s thinking has been debated for many years, often raising concerns among parents due to the rapid sequence of scenes, dazzling visual effects, and imaginative storylines.
اضافة اعلان
In the past, it was widely believed that the main risk lay in the fast pacing of these shows. However, new research challenges this assumption. Psychologists examined two separate factors: the speed of scene transitions and the level of fantasy in the storyline. They analyzed dozens of scientific studies and published their findings in the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology.
First, the study showed that editing speed has little effect; children performed equally well on tasks whether they watched fast-paced or slow-paced scenes.
However, excessive fantasy in storylines had a clear impact. Cartoons filled with magic and violations of natural laws negatively affected children’s ability to focus and control their behavior. This is because a child's brain tries to make sense of what it sees. When the storyline is realistic, comprehension is easier since the events resemble everyday life. But in fantastical scenarios, the child must exert extra mental effort to understand unfamiliar events—such as characters flying or animals talking—which consumes cognitive energy and leaves fewer resources for concentration and self-discipline.
As a result, a child’s attention and ability to inhibit unwanted reactions may decrease, such as pressing a button at the wrong time or becoming distracted by a bright visual stimulus. The researchers note that this effect is linked to the cognitive load created by unrealistic events, while the child’s age, gender, and viewing duration have almost no impact on the overall results.
Source: Naukatv.ru
