Turn that Thing Off! Examining Relationships between Media Consumption, Extracurricular Activities, & Academic Achievement Gibson, B. W., Stoss, Y. A., Jackson, H. M., Fox, R. T., & Dula, C. S. APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY LABORATORY East Tennessee State University Johnson City, Tennessee INTRODUCTION For more information, contact: Benjamin Gibson at or Chris S. Dula at Anand, V. (2007). A study of time management: The correlation between video game usage and academic performance markers. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 10(4), Cooper, H., Valentine, J. C., Nye, B., & Lindsay, J. J. (1999). Relationships between five after-school activities and academic achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91(2), Jaruratanasirikul, S., Wongwaitaweewong, K., & Sangsupawanich, P. (2009). Electronic game play and school performance of adolescents in Southern Thailand. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 12(5), Mössle, T., Kleimann, M., Rehbein, F., & Pfeiffer, C. (2010). Media use and school achievement – boys at risk? British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 28(3), Owaidat, A. A., & Badran, Z. (1996). The effect of TV watching habits and duration on the academic achievement of fourth, fifth, and sixth graders in Jordan. Dirasat: Educational Sciences, 23(2), Sharif, I., & Sargent, J. D. (2006). Association between television, movie, and video game exposure and school performance. Pediatrics, 118(4), Weis, R., & Cerankosky, B. C. (2010). Effects of video-game ownership on young boys’ academic and behavioral functioning: A randomized, controlled study. Psychological Science, 21(4), REFERENCES METHOD (cont’d) RESULTS Academic achievement is influenced by many factors that occur outside of the classroom, such as activities students do in their free time, including television, video games, and extracurricular activities. Mössle, Kleimann, Rehbein, & Pfeiffer (2010) found that an increase in time spent on consuming media was related with a decrease in school grades, even when controlling for factors such as family and educational background. Other research from Owaidat & Bahran (1996) has established significant differences between students’ achievement and television use. Video games appear to have a similar effect on academic achievement, with results from Anand (2007) showing an inverse relationship between video game usage and GPA. Research from Jaruratanasirikul (2009) also shows that “excessive playing of electronic games is associated with school grades below 3.00.” The benefits of extracurricular activities have been established, with Cooper et al. (1999) concluding that “Generally, more time in extracurricular activities and other structured groups and less time in jobs and television viewing were associated with higher test scores and class grades”. Weis & Cerankosky (2010) speculated that “video games may displace after-school activities that have educational value and may interfere with the development of reading and writing skills in some children. The objective of the current study was to assess relationships between television use, video game use, total extracurricular activities, and academic achievement. DISCUSSION In agreement with previous research, results showed a significant negative relationship between television use and GPA, supporting H1. Also in agreement in previous research, results showed a significant negative relationship between video game use and GPA, supporting H2. A negative, thought not significant, relationship was found between television use and total extracurricular activities, partially supporting H3. In agreement with previous research, results showed a significant negative relationship between video game use and total extracurricular activities, supporting H4. These results support previous research and reinforce the idea that excessive time spent on non-educational television and video games can take away from the educational value of extracurricular activities as well as a student’s academic achievement. Limitations Sample consisted of middle school aged students from a specific rural geographic region. Thus, results may not fully generalize to students of other ages or from other areas of the country. The data were collected from the survey using self-report measures, thus limiting validity due to common factors such as social desirability and context dependency. Future Research In the future, research should include samples with greater diversity with regard to culture, ethnicity, geographical location, and age. Research from Sariff and Sargent (2006) found that weekend television and video game use were not associated with school performance. Therefore, future research should differentiate between use of television and video game during the weekday as well as during the weekend. Future research should also attempt to differentiate between different types of video games and television programs. The Entertainment Software Rating Board, for example, has ratings from E (Everyone) to M (Mature) that could be used to categorize video games, while the TV Parental Guidelines system could be applied to television programs. A Pearson’s correlation was calculated to assess the relationship between television, video games, extracurricular activities, and academic achievement (GPA). A negative relationship was observed between television use and academic achievement. (r = -.158, p <.05). Results indicate a significant negative relationship between video game use and academic achievement. (r = -.132, p <.05). There was a negative, though not significant, relationship between television use and total extracurricular activities. (r = -.071, p =.117). A significantly negative relationship was found between video game use and total extracurricular activities (r = -.132, p <.05) Measures Television Television use was assessed by asking students “During the school year, about how many hours PER DAY do you watch TV?” Answers included “Zero,” “1 hour,” “2 hours,” “3 hours,” “4-5 hours,” and “6 or more hours.” Video Games Video game use was assessed by asking students “During the school year, about how many hours PER DAY do you play video games or computer games?” Answers included “Zero,” “1 hour,” “2 hours,” “3 hours,” “4-5 hours,” and “6 or more hours.” Extracurricular Activities Students were asked to report the total number of extracurricular activities that they participate in, with choices including sports teams/cheerleading, chorus or band, dancing/gymnastics, school clubs, and boy scouts/girl scouts. Academic Achievement (GPA) Cumulative GPA for the full academic year the student was in 8 th /9 th grade. HYPOTHESES H1: There will be a significant negative relationship between television use and academic achievement (GPA). H2: There will be a significant negative relationship between video game use and academic achievement (GPA). H3: There will be a significant negative relationship between television use and total extracurricular activities. H4: There will be a significant negative relationship between video game use and total extracurricular activities. METHOD Participants Participants included 496 8th and 9th grade students from rural middle schools in the Southeastern United States. A total of 249 were male (50.2%) and 247 were female (49.8%). A total of 231 (46.6%) were from the 8th grade, 265 (53.4%) were from the 9th grade. Procedure One week prior to data collection, student’s parents were given a packet containing information about the study and an opt-out consent form. Students who did not have opt-out forms sent back to the school by their parents/guardians were allowed to participate after gaining their assent; participation was voluntary and could be stopped any time. Participants were excused from one class period and asked to participate in a brief survey. Grades were attained directly from the schools’ offices with consent of parents and assent of students. TelevisionVideo Games Extracurricular Activities GPA Television1.20* * Video Games.20*1-.14*-.13* Extracurricular Activities *1.25* GPA-.16*-.13*.25*1 Note. * p <.05 Pearson Correlations for Television, Video Games, Extracurricular Activities, and Academic Achievement