plotline information as the program proceeds. In this study, Collins showed second-, fifth-, and eighth-grade children a detective show in which the scenes of the plot were randomly ordered or jumbled, or a version in which the scenes were in their original order. When asked questions that required causal inferences about relationships between the scenes of plot, the second graders, even when they had the central information from each discrete scene to do so, correctly answered far fewer of the inference questions than did the older children. Collins argues that the young children not only recall less information from the television shows, but also do not appear to be organizing the information in a meaningful fashion as they watch the program. The fifth and eighth graders, in contrast, appears to be trying to make sense of the programs. While they answered more inference questions than did the younger children, these older children were confused by the jumbled versions of the show and answered far fewer inference questions about the jumbled version than the ordered version--that is, they showed annoyance and poorer comprehension about the less comprehensible program. In summary, younger children's lesser ability to recognize essential plotline information, to select it, and organize the scenes in a causal fashion has been shown in various manners by several research studies (Collins, 1979; Flapan, 1968). It seems likely that children even as old as seven and eight construe different meanings from a television show than do older children and adults. The difference in meaning will arise from the different cues the younger and older children recollect from the program and piece together to derive plot understanding. Similarly, these younger children appear to view television characters in a different manner. Children's understanding of television characters. Just as there is evidence that children only gradually acquire adultlike compreh...
