A new study from Ohio State University suggests that exposure to television may have a negative impact on a toddler's cognitive development, as a television in their bedroom or in the background of their day-to-day routine may affectively weaken their theory of mind.
Theory of mind, or the ability to understand oneself and attribute emotions, intentions, beliefs and desires to oneself and others, typically begins to develop in children between the ages of seven and nine months. Ohio State researchers studied 107 children and parents through a series of interviews and tests that assessed whether or not the preschoolers could understand and acknowledge that other people have different beliefs and desires, "that beliefs can be wrong, and that behaviors stem from beliefs," according to a press release from the International Communication Association.
"When children achieve a theory of mind, they have reached a very important milestone in their social and cognitive development," said lead researcher Amy Nathanson. "Children with more developed theories of mind are better able to participate in social relationships. These children can engage in more sensitive, cooperative interactions with other children and are less likely to resort to aggression as a means of achieving goals."
Entitled "The Relation Between Television Exposure and Theory of Mind Among Preschoolers" and published in the Journal of Communication, the results of the latest study indicate that performance on theory of mind evaluations are poorer when children are exposed to more television in the home. Children with a weaker theory of mind may experience more disruptive social behaviors as they have a more difficult time relating to others.
The researchers accounted for age differences and parents' socioeconomic status when studying the results of the assessments, and found that children whose parents discussed television with them performed better on such cognitive tests.
