Differential effects of film on preschool children's behaviour dependent on editing pace

Aim: Evidence on how the pace of television and film editing affects children?s behaviour and attention is inconclusive. We examined whether a fast-paced film affected how preschool-aged children interacted with toys. Methods: The study comprised 70 children (36 girls) aged 2-4.5 years who attended preschools in Essex, United Kingdom. The children were paired up and tested with either a fast- or a slow-paced film of a narrator reading a children?s story. The fast-paced version had 102 camera cuts and 16 still images and the slow-paced version had 22 camera cuts and four still images. Each dyad took part in two video-recorded free-play sessions, before and after they watched one of the specially edited four-minute films. The number of toys the children played with before and and after the film sessions was recorded. Results: Before they watched the films, the children?s behaviour did not differ between the groups. However, after watching the film, the children in the fast-paced group shifted their attention between toys more frequently than the children who watched the slow-paced film. Conclusion: Even a brief exposure to differently paced films had an immediate effect on how the children interacted with their toys.