Discovering the world of viruses: Testing the influence of anthropomorphic representations on children’s learning about COVID-19

Having a robust understanding of viruses is critical for children to understand the COVID-19 pandemic and the protective measures recommended to promote their safety. However, viral transmission is not part of current educational standards in the United States, so children likely must learn about it through informal means, such as media and conversations with caregivers—contexts that often animate and anthropomorphize viruses. In this registered report, we developed an at-home educational intervention to teach children about viruses by creating a picture storybook about COVID-19. We tested children ages 5–8 on their understanding of viruses before and after reading the book at home with their caregivers. Critically, we manipulated which of three books children received: realistic (that detailed the microscopic processes involved in COVID-19 transmission), anthropomorphic (that depicted all the same information but using anthropomorphic language and images for COVID-19), or control (that only showed the visible aspects of illness). Bayesian analyses revealed that children learned about COVID-19 by reading the picture books with their parents at home and extended this knowledge to other viruses and that learning was substantially higher for those reading the realistic and anthropomorphic books than the control books. We also found that learning did not differ as a function of whether the book used anthropomorphic depictions or not although children reading the anthropomorphic book reported being less afraid of viruses. Altogether, these results demonstrate that carefully constructed picture books can help children learn about complex scientific topics at home. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)