Two studies are described which were conducted at the University of Kansas Center for Research on the Influence of Television on Children to evaluate the effects of form and content independently on the social behavior of young children. In both studies, preschool children were observed during an unstructured play session in a laboratory room before and after a treatment consisting of presentation of a television sequence representing a selection from several different types of form and content. Findings suggest that arousing form can lead to an increased aggression, even without the modeling of violent content. Both form and content can influence arousal, and both can serve as models for behavior. Arousal both enhances attention to the program and enhances the likelihood that its form, content, and other situational cues present at the time of viewing will be responded to by the child viewer. It ls suggested that arousal in deliberate and moderate dosages can be put to work to facilitate the communication of educational and prosocial content and behavior. (JEG)