The effects of a narrative audiotape on preschoolers' entertainment experience and attention

Among the various entertainment media for children, narrative audiotapes have drawn very little attention from communication researchers and media psychologists, although these tapes belong to the most popular media products for preschool children. An experiment (N = 79) examined factors that influence the particular entertainment experience and the auditory attention of 3- to 4-year-old children during exposure to I such audio cassette. Formal design elements such as music and sound effects and, to a lesser degree, the emotional attractiveness of the story's protagonist were found to influence the entertainment experience; attention was only affected by formal design elements. Research perspectives related to preschoolers' media use and entertainment experience are discussed.