Preschoolers' understanding of stories from storybooks: The influence of genre, affect and language.
Item
-
Title
-
Preschoolers' understanding of stories from storybooks: The influence of genre, affect and language.
-
Identifier
-
AAI3047216
-
identifier
-
3047216
-
Creator
-
Fontaine, Robin Goldstein.
-
Contributor
-
Adviser: Katherine Nelson
-
Date
-
2002
-
Language
-
English
-
Publisher
-
City University of New York.
-
Subject
-
Psychology, Developmental | Psychology, Cognitive | Education, Early Childhood
-
Abstract
-
How and when do young children come to understand that the stories in storybooks are "not real", but are imaginary products with imaginary characters? Previous research on the distinction between the real and imaginary has focused on objects. These studies show that children as young as 3 years can distinguish between mental entities and solid physical objects (Estes, Wellman, & Woolley, 1989). Four-year-olds differentiate real objects from both ordinary imagined objects and supernatural items (monsters), although they may be unsure as to whether the supernatural may become real (Harris, et. al, 1991). Applebee's (1978) studies of story understanding, however, found that children as old as 6 years may understand a story and its characters to be imaginary, but still believe one character to be real.;To explore further what might be happening with children and their understanding of the real (existing externally as part of the material world) and the imaginary (that which is created in the minds of individuals) in the story world, sixty-seven 4- and 5-year-olds listened to two stories and were then questioned about the them, the representational nature of the story's events, and the real or imaginary categorization of the characters. Children were randomly assigned to either the reality-based or the fantasy-based genre conditions. The theme and characters of one story listened to was neutral in affect, while the other story had at least one character who was affectively salient.;Story understanding was significantly influenced by affective salience, while genre had no significant effect. Representational understanding was significantly influenced by an interaction between story genre and story affect. Categorization of character was significantly affected by genre after the representational understanding score for the salient score was entered into the analysis as a covariate. Qualitative analyses revealed that children's explanations for their discrimination is developmental, progressing from affective explanations to cognitive ones, with experiential knowledge as a major force bringing about change. Results of this study suggest that children's interactions with a story, and their understanding of its imaginary status, depends on the story's genre, and the child's emotional engagement with its theme, events and characters.
-
Type
-
dissertation
-
Source
-
PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
-
degree
-
Ph.D.
