Do Animations Impair Executive Function in Young Children? Effects of Animation Types on the Executive Function of Children Aged Four to Seven Years

Liheng Fan, Meng Lu, Xiuxiu Qi and Jie Xin
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Liheng Fan: Institute of Psychology and Behavior, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
Meng Lu: Graduate School of Manga, Kyoto Seika University, Kyoto 606-8588, Japan
Xiuxiu Qi: Faculty of Education, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
Jie Xin: Faculty of Education, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 15, 1-11

Abstract: This study used a three (animation types: educational, entertainment, and control groups) × four (age group: four-, five-, six-, and seven-year-olds) between-group experimental design to investigate the short-term effects of animation type and age on each component of children’s executive function (EF) (inhibitory control [IC], cognitive flexibility [CF], and working memory [WM]). One hundred twenty-six kindergarten and first-grade elementary school students in a city in Henan Province of China were selected for the experimental study. The results showed that briefly watching animation affected children’s EF. Specifically, watching entertainment cartoons weakened children’s IC and CF, while cartoons did not affect children’s WM. The moderating effect of age in the relationship between animation type and EFs was non-significant. This study suggests that researchers should focus on the uniqueness of each component of EF in children aged four to seven years, and parents should try to limit children’s viewing of animation, especially entertainment animation.

Keywords: educational animation; entertainment animation; executive function; short-term effect; children aged four to seven years (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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