Making the moral of the story stick − a media psychologist explains the research behind ‘Sesame Street,’ ‘Arthur’ and other children’s TV

Children’s TV shows are typically designed to improve their viewers’ cognitive, social and moral development. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Scott Saldukas/Released via Flickr by Drew Cingel, University of California, Davis; Allyson Snyder, University of California, Davis; Jane Shawcroft, University of California, Davis, and Samantha Vigil, University of California, Davis To adult viewers, educational media content for children, such as “Sesame Street” or “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood,” may seem rather simplistic. The pacing is slow, key themes are often repeated and the visual aspects tend to be plain. However, many people might be surprised to learn about the sheer amount of research that goes into the design choices many contemporary programs use. For more than a decade, I have studied just that: how to design media to support children’s learning, particularly in moral development. My research, along with the work of many others, shows that children can learn important developmental and social skills through media. History of research on children’s media Research on how to design children’s media to support learning is not new. When “Sesame Street” debuted in November 1969, it began a decadeslong practice of testing its content before airing it to ensure children learned the intended...