Effects of peer presence on preschool children's television-viewing behavior.

Observed 299 3- and 5-yr-olds watching TV in the presence of an audiovisual slide distractor in groups of 1, 2, or 3 viewers. Peers viewing the TV together influenced each other's behavior in a synchronized fashion: When one looked at the TV, looked at the distractor, or demonstrated overt involvement with the TV, the other tended to do the same thing. This peer influence occurred above and beyond the dynamic common organizing influence of the TV program itself. There was little evidence that a given S consistently "led" another, nor were there effects of same-sex vs cross-sex pairings of viewers. The watching of TV by young children is interpreted in the results as an active transactional process among the viewer, the TV, and the TV-viewing environment. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)