The Role of Television Viewing in the Development of Reading Comprehension 1

Television occupies a large portion of American children's time. Starting in preschool, children spend more time watching television than participating in any other activity except sleeping (D. Anderson, Field, P. Collins, Lorch, & Nathan, 1985; Huston, Wright, Rice, Kerkman, & St. Peters, 1987). Children also have extensive experience with television before they are exposed to many socializing agents, such as schools, peers, and religious institutions (Huston, Watkins, & Kunkel, 1989). Given the central role of this medium in most children's lives, it is important to understand its potential positive and negative effects on a variety of cognitive, academic, social, behavioral, and attitudinal outcomes.