Teaching emotionally disturbed children to discriminate reality from fantasy on television

This study assessed the effects of a school-based television viewing skills curriculum on the television-related knowledge and attitudes of emotionally disturbed (ED) children. Three classes (n = 21; age: M = 11.4 years) received the 12-lesson curriculum over a 4-week period and three classes (n = 21; age: M = 11.4 years) served as a control group. Analyses of covariance using the pretest as a covariate revealed that the children who received the curriculum made significantly more accurate reality-fantasy discriminations concerning television program content than those in the control group; however, the curriculum was not effective in increasing knowledge about commercials. The social and educational implications of the findings for ED children are discussed.