Repeated-viewing and co-viewing of an animated video : an examination of factors that impact on young children's comprehension of video content

The experiment reported here was concerned with the effect of repeat- viewing and adult co-viewing on the comprehension of an animated feature length movie. Four- to six-year-old children watched a movie on video either once or five times, and either with their mother present or on their own. The findings revealed that, after controlling for language skills and interest in the type of video watched, children who watched five times had higher comprehension scores than children who watched only once. Furthermore, children who watched the video repeatedly were also better at character identification and at identifying the good and bad qualities of one of the main characters in the movie. The presence of a mother, who was explicitly asked to co- view the movie with her child, did not facilitate comprehension. The findings are discussed in terms of the educational benefits of repeat viewing. Theoretical implications are also noted.