Teaching Preschool Children Recycling Behaviors: An Evaluation of Behavioral Components Within Public Service Announcements

Abstract

This study examines the effects of different behavioral components imbedded within public-service-announcement-style (PSA-style) videos on preschool-aged children's recycling behaviors. Nineteen children, ages 3.5 to 6 years were the participants. The dependent variable was measured using a four-level scoring system with higher scores being given to more accurate recycling behaviors. Four video independent variables were examined, each including a different behavioral component: information, instructions, modeling, and modeling-plus-feedback. Whereas certain video content (instructions and modeling-plus-feedback) produced higher but inconsistent recycling scores, a fifth independent variable, in situ prompting and feedback, was required to produce consistent recycling. Possible implications of demographic and other variables are discussed and suggestions for future research are made.