Effects of presentation format on adult's retention of television programs

The possible effects of presentation format on the retention of television program content was examined. Younger and older adults viewed two different types of programs in one of four formats reflecting those used in commercial and public television, and in previous research. Results showed no effects due to the manipulation for either age group; free recall, probed recall, and recognition performances were equivalent for each presentation format. These findings indicate that researchers may have a choice of equivalent formats in television research.