Contingent experience with touchscreens promotes parent-child conversations

Abstract

Touchscreen devices are characterized as contingent interactive media because they respond synchronously to touch behaviors. This study examined the quantity of parent-child conversations in which 2-year-olds (24–26 months) and their mothers played a game application on a touchscreen. Both mothers and children talked more often when the touchscreen provided contingency for their touches. Furthermore, the numbers of maternal and child utterances were related when playing with contingent touches but not with non-contingent touches or when viewing the screen without touching it. These findings suggest that contingent experiences with touchscreen devices improve the quantity of mother-child conversations. Our study envisions the potential of touchscreens in a communication tool for parent-child interactions.