DO YOUNG-CHILDREN THINK OF TELEVISION IMAGES AS PICTURES OR REAL OBJECTS

Three studies investigated whether 3- and 4-year-olds interpret television images as mere pictorial representations of objects or as real, physically-present objects. Four-year-olds gave clear evidence of making the former interpretation whereas 3-year-olds seemed to make the latter one. However, the data suggest that the younger children's errors reflect a failure to differentiate conceptually between television images and their referent objects rather than a conviction that real objects populate television sets. © 1990, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All rights reserved.