1. Children’s Mixed Emotional Responses: The Developmental Trajectory of Children’s Responses to Eudaimonic Entertainment
- Author
-
Watts, Judy Marie
- Subjects
- Communication, Mass Media, Developmental Psychology, children, media effects, eudaimonia, delayed gratification
- Abstract
Guided by the mediated wisdom of experience and Fisch’s capacity model, two studies explore the developmental trajectory of children’s mixed emotional responses to eudaimonic entertainment and subsequent outcomes. Study one (n = 449) employed a retrospective survey to collect information about parents’ and children’s prior experiences watching eudaimonic media. Portrayals of death or injury and human connection were the most common eudaimonic content viewed. Parents reported that children asked questions related to plot clarification and emotional responses. Study two (n = 230) recruited parent and child (ages 8 – 12) dyads for an online experiment. Dyads were randomly assigned to view a movie clip (eudaimonic content: high vs. low) and discussion (conversation prompts: high quality vs. low quality). Children in the high eudaimonic video condition (57.1%) were more likely to experience mixed emotions than children in the low eudaimonic condition (28%). No effects were found on emotional range or delayed gratification. Although age did not interact with the eudaimonic clip on emotional responses or narrative comprehension or emotional responses, girls (68%) reported greater mixed emotions than boys (47%). Theoretical implications are discussed. more...
- Published
- 2022