Children aged 14 and 24 months were shown television depictions of adults manipulating toys in novel ways. Infants at both ages showed imitation of television models, even after 24-hour delays. This deferred imitation has social and policy implications as it suggests that television viewing can potentially affect infant behavior and development…

Argues that, up until recently, the whole of British television (public and private) was a public service system, that the 1990 Broadcasting Act and satellite channels have introduced greater competitive pressures, and that British television is moving to a commercial system in which there remains a subordinate public service element. (SR)

Examines the visual attention of undergraduate students to the television screen. Finds that varying relatedness of episodes, for which strategic inertial processes should vary in strength, produces a corresponding difference in inertia of looks crossing boundaries. Suggests that results previously interpreted as reflecting nonstrategic processes…

Uses an information-processing perspective to illustrate how television viewing may affect social judgements. Posits heuristic processing as a mechanism that can explain why heavier television viewing results in higher first-order cultivation judgments (those requiring estimates of set size). (SR)

Studies duplication and differentiation in local television news. Finds that local producers show a preference for sensational studies that feature acts of sex and violence and are easy to explain. Shows that little differentiation in topical areas exist for these stories built of concrete fact, but that local television news tends to…

Criticizes past research on redundancy in television learning for its inconsistent definitions and ambiguous examples. Four areas of concern are considered: the meaning and use of the term; the nature of signs (iconic or digital) used in audio and visual communication; the subjectivity of interpretation; and differences in meaning between separate…

Reexamines assumptions about the displacement mechanism, which states that television displaces other activities. Considers strengths and weaknesses of various methodologies used to test the displacement hypothesis. Examines data from an eight-year panel study of the introduction of television to South Africa. Uses a variety of methodologies to…

Examines format effects on the comprehension of television news. Finds that comprehension of television news is enhanced by the use of film and by mixing up formats. Finds also that comprehension is lowest for "talking head" items in programs with unvaried format and best for film items in mixed format newscasts. (PRA)

Investigates whether memory for positive and negative television messages differs in the amount of verbal and visual-spatial information recognized and recalled by television viewers, as a function of differential activation of the brain hemispheres elicited by emotional messages. Suggests that message valence may be related to the amount of…

Analyzes 830 television spots from 8 presidential campaigns. Shows that the "negativism" charged to the 1988 campaign is actually at the same level as the two previous campaigns. Finds that what tends to differentiate negative from positive ads is not party or incumbency but a more frequent appeal to voters' fears. (PRA)

Explores the role of news teasers on memory and attention for commercials in evening newscasts. Finds that they enhance moderately the primacy-recency pattern found in visual and verbal memory scores. Finds that news teasers appear to have an effect on processing strategies employed by viewers. (SR)

Finds that use of new television technologies (cable television, videocassette recorders, and remote control devices) had an impact on receiving, pass-the-time, and companionship gratifications from television viewing. Shows that instrumental viewing motives, television exposure, and receiving informational gratifications from television viewing…

Investigates whether background television produces structural interference with aspects of cognitive processing. Finds a significant deleterious effect on a geometric analogies and completion task involving visuo-spatial processing and marginal improvement on a parallel verbal analogy test. Shows that concurrent television exposure had no…

Analyzes television news stories broadcast during the Persian Gulf War for censorship disclaimers, the censoring source, and the producing network. Discusses results in terms of both production- and viewer-based differences. Considers the question of whether censorship "works" in terms of unanticipated results related to story…

Examines adolescents' television viewing motives, activities, and satisfaction, in an attempt to integrate the audience activity construct into the uses and gratifications model. Suggests that more strongly motivated viewers engage more actively in various audience activities throughout the viewing process and receive greater viewing satisfaction…