The effects of single vs multiple perspectives in film on children’s open-mindedness

Aesthetic Cognitivism claims that art can foster open-mindedness—an important epistemic virtue and educational goal. However, empirical studies testing this claim are rare, especially with film, a medium popular among children. The current study examined whether narrative films depicting multiple perspectives enhance open-mindedness in children aged 8–12 years old (N = 150), a period marked by advances in narrative understanding and perspective-taking. We compared three conditions: a multiple-perspective clip from Hoodwinked, a single-perspective version of the same film, and a no-film control. Open-mindedness was assessed via four established behavioural measures: creativity, imaginability, openness to new evidence, and cognitive flexibility. Three physiological indices (eye movement, heart rate, electrodermal activity) were also measured during viewing. None of the behavioural measures showed improvement in the film conditions versus no-film, and multiple perspectives did not yield benefits over a single perspective. However, electrodermal activity was higher in the multiple-perspective condition than the single perspective condition, suggesting greater arousal, though without corresponding behavioural gains. Unexpectedly, creativity scores were lower in both film conditions relative to the control, indicating a potential short-term depleting effect of watching the film on creativity. These results do not support the claim that film, or the presentation of multiple perspectives, promotes open-mindedness in children. Possible explanations for the null behavioural effects are discussed.