Abstract
Product-based television refers to programming that implicitly promotes toys to children in the guise of a television show. The aim of the present study was to examine how exposure to such programs might impact on one of the most important domains of young children's development: pretend play. Thirty-six preschoolers in Australia watched 1 of 3 different types of television program (product-based with action-adventure themes; product-based with educational themes; or non-product-based) and were given a range of product-based and non-product-based toys to play with. Contrary to expectation, program type had minimal impact on the overall frequency of pretend play children engaged in. However, compared to educational product-based programs and non-product-based programs, children who watched action-adventure product-based programs exhibited significantly less acts of novel pretense and significantly more acts of imitative pretense. Findings such as this are critical to the ongoing debate surrounding the regulation of television content aimed at children.
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