.... ..1.W53m=5\5.... . .. 3.55.3.1... 5.3.52.335. . ...... 5 v . 5 5 5... ...}; . ~ 5 _. ... .. . . 5...... . ... 33.. 5.55.:..~W.5.\v..,55.. ......ws...2.5..V..x~5..) .. . 55..<.V .. 5555......5 935.55.: 555531? 55%.”.‘HNflW? as 5: ....V...V.._....l.m5:. . :1... .13.. :1 a . ... .H5.5:.. .. I . 51.x. «3.5.55. 555 ..H 5 5 . . 5 h. 5.13....V5.v..._5_..... ...... {55:5 . ...5 55.5.... .... 3......55V5.._V.5..r.,uns ~15...» 53.15.55. ..55555_._..5. 5....M‘51555:9 ..55. .15... ...5x......... .31.... . . -5.... .5.:a5555 :55: 51.5.5.1. ., 7... 51.352.15.22... 1. «...... 55... 3..» .. ...... 3.553.551 .. .5 5.52.? 5.. 5 5355;595:735 ......5 7.5.1.5... . ...rs... : 1 9.9.. iaxyxz 3 5.1555555}: .... 4.? .5... _. 5... 5.5.1.5.. 5531:9355 _. .....5 3:. .3. .fl?/§.95» 55.5 vi... .5.. 5.... 5 1...!5 . 5.5.55. .5....555.5. vflr55yn¢55 ......V k $7255.95. .5 I 5... MIflfrfiv yMWIW.‘ y 5‘) 5 5?. .3 ‘)5 :5 .55. .. 5.5.... .553. .5.. V ILW l'v’hfiu.‘ 545959.55?(rt(5 5 5555, -5....fiu..,,,:-...;: j ...? . .1 a... . ...“..5...5.9...,. V .. . .....mVan. 50V .5... ...r» .5.. 351. .5555. lucrllyp. I5U11551) . . V V .. ..V... . .....V.....5....... .55 ...a.wp......,.5. .5.... .1... wind. V....V.......r.;: . 5n ...... 5:. it WW5. . 5.. at». 59555.45 . , ...4nf1..lmw.nuwz 2 . 5 . V. VI 1V6 . 5- 95.rnw.55515.55.75155..5. 55:95.5... . .V V. {55.535.55.551th 65"; 55.. twang 5 5.5.55...“ 05.55 554.17..- .5 J . .5. 55. 5.555.555 5 ”WW-5.5 ”far”- .5... fl... 5. If. .5 35‘5- 5.1.7 . . 7 5 5154.5 5 V 5555? 555.51.. 55 5.5.55. V. .5 U?! I... 55.5. 5.5.45.5) 555.5 5.155.... 5 .575 ....95555..5..¥V 5 55.55.55. 5.55.5555)! ...: 1 ... 525.5555... .52.. ... 5.5.3:. . 5.55:5:5 555......5m59r. . 55:555.) . 5 1...}...535 5.5.55... . {9.5.15.5 5,... ... .. 5 55.55.55.555 .. 55. J55lf.n557 1.55 .5 .5 5.5 5.555.! 5 ..«ézntt V775}. f o .55» 99515! ...... 5 9.75.55.52V 51 (‘75 [W55 tin 2555 5“7555!. 5 . 'iV t”; ‘I‘lr: » 5.5 [55.55 55 5.51 5.55 53.5. . 5 .. 5555.5 55.755 555,559.55 5 .5 .5...5.5. 5.55. 2.575. 3 l5 r55r955 V! 5?. 5r! 5 55755 r95!55.9. 5!: bflrnflwt 5559553155755. .5 .5 5.1 V I5!.I55Pbilni5V55Ln.5.55I5rvmnn 555 .9551? iii): 5 5.11/15. .5.V..59.V5..57.r75 75.539 .. .V...9.V9....5.5..5V . V .. 5 ..5..:..5.....55.V55v . (55.55.95. , . V55555157Ilv ...9 V... ...55.5................55.5...55V.55 5.5.V555l .5... . . 5.1.5 / ..l 55.3.»)..Il. .. 2.3.1.5.... .5....117 ...frrr $5.5. 5 ......5 5 .571. 555.555 5555 7(5 V55 1555955..) V555..5.r5.!5..5. .1 Mlmlllllflljlllllflllllllllflljflll Michigan State University This is to certify that the thesis entitled AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF THE EFFECTS OF TELEVISION IMAGE DEFINITION ON AFFECTIVE AND COGNITIVE LEARNING presented by LLYLE ,‘ R .. “CRUICKSHANK has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for Ph.D. Education degree in Major professor 7/25/73 “ Date 031639 ABSTRACT AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF THE EFFECTS OF TELEVISION IMAGE DEFINITION ON AFFECTIVE AND COGNITIVE LEARNING BY Lyle R. Cruickshank Those who use and those who produce messages and programs for the motion picture media (television, film, and their derivatives) have the choice of many types of media whose level of image resolving power or definition varies greatly. The purpose of this study was to determine if a difference in affective and cognitive learning is caused by viewing a stimulus motion picture message at varying levels of television definition. The design of the study varied only the visual portion of the message and conse- quently, any variation in results obtained by the human subjects is attributed to this main independent variable. An extensive review of the literature indicated a paucity of research in this area. Empirical research has 1 Lyle R. Cruickshank been conducted primarily by those involved with information display problems. The majority of the studies are con- cerned with the subjects' ability to recall static alpha— numeric information displayed on a television screen. The variables of primary concern which have been studied are viewer location and image legibility. No previous studies were found which had investigated the relationship between reduced image definition of a motion picture stimulus and affective and cognitive learning. The population for this experiment consisted of 72 grade eight students. The students were randomly ; chosen and randomly assigned to six experimental groups and to seats. All six groups viewed the two stimulus films preceded by the same taped introduction. The order of presentation was reversed for half the groups to allow for measurement of the presentation order effect. The stimulus films were seen at three levels of video band- width, 3.8, 1.5, and .5 megahertz, on black-and-white tele- vision, with no group seeing more than one level. Treat- ments were administered consecutively over a one day period using the same room and equipment for each group. Lyle R. Cruickshank The criterion semantic differential instrument was derived from several pre-experiment trials and consisted of ten bipolar adjective scales. All ten scales were selected from scales which have been shown by factor analysis to load heavily on the evaluative dimension. The cognitive measure was composed of ten multiple- choice questions. The questions were designed to measure visually transmitted information available only as a result of viewing the stimulus messages, and were retained from a larger pool of questions based on their suitability follow- ing item analysis. The tests were given as post-tests only to avoid contamination that might have occurred had subjects re— ceived a pre-test. The data were analyzed by repeated measures analysis of variance and the following conclusions are supported: 1. In comparing the difference in evaluative meaning for presentation related concepts, no significant difference was found between subjects who received a televised motion picture message at reduced image Lyle R. Cruickshank definition and those who received the same message at normal image definition. Similarly, in comparing the difference in cognitive learning for presentation related concepts, no sig- nificant difference was found between subjects who received a televised motion picture message at re- duced image definition and those who received the same message at normal image definition. AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF THE EFFECTS OF TELEVISION IMAGE DEFINITION ON AFFECTIVE AND COGNITIVE LEARNING BY Lyle Rt‘Cruickshank A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY College of Education 1973 ,. ll ACKNOWLEDGMENTS To the members of my doctoral committee: Dr. James Page, Chairman; Dr. Erling Jorgensen, Dr. Dale Alam, and Dr. Tom Baldwin, for their cooperation in accommodating my many unannounced visits to MSU; and for their guidance, insight, and encouragement. To my colleagues at the National Film Board: Tony Vielfaure, who made my educational leave and return to the NFB possible; Gord Matsell, who designed and built the video filter; and to the many others who assisted me in conducting this study. To Walter Scott, Morna Flood, the teachers, and the stu- dents at John Rennie High School, who contributed the data for this study. To the consultants in Dr. Porter's Office of Research Con- sultation who helped me and the 6500 to analyze the data. ii To the professors and students associated with MSU's Media Institutes, who have been a constant source of information and inspiration. And most especially to my wife, Susan, and to Paula and Devon, for bearing with me and without me during these years of study. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LIST OF FIGURES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LIST OF APPENDICES . Chapter I. THE PROBLEM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Purpose and Scope of the Study . . . . . Need for the Study . . . . . . . . . . . Definition of Terms Used in the Study. . Theory and Rationale for the Study . . Television and Motion Picture Media Definition . . . . . . . . . . . . Affective Learning . . . . . . . . . Cognitive Learning . . . . . . . - . Theoretical Hypotheses . . . . Assumptions of the Study . . . . . . . . Limitations of the Study . . . . . . . . iv . 25 Page . vii . viii 20 27 28 TABLE OF CONTENTS (cont.) Chapter II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE . Learning from Motion Picture Affective Impact . . . . . . Cognitive Learning . . . . Summary. . . . . . . . . . . III. DESIGN OF THE STUDY. Introduction . . . . . . . . Overall Design and Methodology . . The Population . Stimulus Materials . Presentation Format. Equipment and Seating Arrangement. Instrumentation. . . . . Affective Measure. . . . Cognitive Measure. . . . Form of the Questionnaire. . Procedure. . . . . . . . . . Hypotheses . . . . . . . . . Scoring and Analysis . . . IV. FINDINGS . . . . . . . Introduction . . . . . . . Theoretical Hypothesis V s O O Page 30 3O 33 37 43 45 45 45 46 48 49 50 52 52 54 55 56 57 58 61 61 61 TABLE OF CONTENTS (cont.) Chapter Affective Learning . . . . Cognitive Learning . . . . Additional Findings. . . Visual Acuity. . . . . Seat Location. . . . . Reaction to the Stimulus Discussion . . . . . . . . . . Interactions . . . . . . Summary. . . . . . . . . . . V. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS. . . . . Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . Purpose of the Study . Review of the Literature . Design and Procedures. . . Conclusions. . . . . Analysis of Results. . . Discussion of the Results. . . Implications for Future Research BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . APPENDICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi Material. Page 61 62 65 65 67 67 68 70 72 74 74 74 74 75 77 77 77 83 87 93 LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance of Affective Scores from the 72 Subjects. . . . 63 2. Analysis Of Variance of Cognitive Scores from the 72 Subjects . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 3. Subjects who Reported Difficulty Seeing the Videotaped Films . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 4. Number of Subjects in Each Group who Replied "Positively" or "Liked" to Questions on Theme and Title of the Videotaped Films. . . 68 Vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Schematic Representation of the Study Design. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 2. Seating Arrangement . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 viii LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix Page A. CITIZEN HAROLD INFORMATION SHEET. . . . . . . 93 B. COLD-RODDERS INFORMATION SHEET. . . . . . . . 94 C. SCRIPT OF TASK ORIENTATION. . . . . . . . . . 95 D. SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM FOR LOW PASS FILTER . . . . 96 E. QUESTIONNAIRES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 F. LETTER FROM PRINCIPAL TO TEACHERS ADVISING THEM OF THE AUDIENCE REACTION EXPERIMENT. . 111 G. STUDENT REMINDER TO ATTEND EVALUATION SESSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 ix CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM Introduction Users and producers of recorded motion picture media (television, film, and their derivatives) have a choice of many types of media. Most of them have earned their place in the commercial and educational market and there is usually one which characteristically is more effective in a given situation than others. Thirty—five millimeter (35mm) film is a generally accepted medium for use in large cinemas, while super 8 millimeter is the choice for most home movie hobbyists. Two-inch videotape is used almost exclusively for broadcast television while l/2-inch or one-inch videotape has specific characteristics of portability and lightness which suit it to other uses. Each of the media mentioned, and a host of others capable of recording and replaying moving images, have their own unique characteristics. 'Users and producers l are cognizant of these characteristics and make their choice of media based on this knowledge. Wilton R. Holm of the Association of Motion Pic- ture and Television Producers Research Center and a past- President of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) has written an article entitled "The Great Film-Tape Debate," in which he discusses the devel- oping rivalry between two of the media: film and magnetic videotape. Holm believes that the role of technology in the field of motion picture arts is twofold: (1) To provide the enormous scope of visual and audio experiences which are possible to the motion picture. (2) To do this superbly, without ever distract- ing the viewer, and thereby reminding him that what he is experiencing is only a mo— tion picture. A flickering or poorly-defined image on the screen or the TV tube, or a hum in the sound is all it takes to destroy the illusion of enhanced reality, and thus prevent the motion picture from satisfying whatever emotional wants and needs it might otherwise have fulfilled.1 Holm concludes his discussion by pointing out that the characteristics presently deemed most important by users and producers are "price, quality and service." lWilton R. Holm, "The Great Film-Tape Debate," American Cinematographer (October, 1972), pp. 1152-3. Certainly, few people would argue that the least obstrusive medium is the most desirable from the entertain- ment point of View. Most viewers will tune to the clearest picture they can receive on their home television receivers, if the choice is presented. Usually the program content dictates the channel, i.e., if the viewer wants to watch the Detroit Tigers' baseball game, he may have to watch it on a "snowy" screen, because the game is being televised on only one channel. Knowing this tendency, producers attempt to provide the clearest signal on television, or on any other medium, that cost will allow. Image definition is one characteristic or variable which is common to all motion picture media. The level of definition varies tremendously from one medium to another. Slow scan television is perhaps the lowest on the scale with a definition as low as 250 lines while definitions of 1200-1400 lines are possible with 35mm film. Definition varies within classes of media as well, although any medium can reproduce only the material which it receives. Coarse grained film gives a lower definition than fine grained film; fifth or sixth generation videotape gives a lower definition picture than original material. Slow scan television provides much lower definition than that used in the closed circuit televising of medical courses, which requires a highly defined image to carry the necessary information. In addition, there are international differences in television broadcast standards which are the result of tradition and of the standard which gained initial accep- tance in a given country. Canada and the United States use a 525-1ine system, while parts of EurOpe and the United Kingdom use a higher definition 625-1ine system. Monaco and parts of France, because they introduced new television standards when the state of the technological art was more highly developed, use the 819-line system. The W951d_ Radio-TV Handbook lists four separate line systems ranging from 405 to 819 lines presently in use. There are, as well, five different channel bandwidths ranging from 5 to 14 megahertz. Other characteristics which can affect image definition bring the world total to fourteen different broadcasting systems.2 Is it possible that viewers in all parts of the world are affected equally by messages 2J. M. Frost, ed., World Radio-TV Handbook (26th edition; New York: 1972), p. 266. which are broadcast in so many variations of the medium? The theory which is developed later in this chapter indi- cates that this is highly unlikely. Purpose and Scope of the Study The purpose of this study is to establish empiri- cally if any difference in affective and cognitive learning is caused by viewing a stimulus message at varying levels of image clarity or definition. More specifically the study undertakes to answer the following general question: If the same message is viewed through the electronic or projected motion picture medium, will there be a change in affective and cognitive learning when the image is viewed at reduced image definition? Need for the Study Given the present state of knowledge about the relationship of clarity or sharpness of the motion picture image to affective and cognitive learning, users and pro- ducers of the motion picture image have presently no ob- jective data on which to base media choice decisions. A wide variety of motion picture recording material is avail- able ranging in image reproduction sharpness from the high level possible with 70 or 35mm film to the much lower level obtainable from 1/2 or l/4-inch videotape. The possibility that one medium may have more potential for affecting viewers is seldom considered when deciding to distribute the message via television or via film. While producers almost always choose the highest definition medium that circumstances will allow, the possibility that lower defi- nition may account for subtle affective and cognitive changes in the direction of the message is seldom consi- dered. Users and producers of recorded motion picture media need to know more about the hidden effects of these media on sociological dimensions, such as attitude chagge and learning, in order to more efficiently match medium to message. There are practical applications of this theory in all learning environments where motion picture media (television or film) are used to teach or to inform. It is first noted that some instructional messages carried on motion picture media require a high level of image clarity for comprehension; others, however, require a lesser level of definition. It is with both the affective and cogni- tive domain that this study is concerned. If through re- ducing image definition, the viewer can be forced to work harder to decode the message, it is likely that the poten- tial effect, in the direction of the message,will be in— creased. From this generalization and McLuhan's "hot" and "cool" medium notion, the theory for this experiment is derived. The theory is developed later in this chapter. Relating this idea to broadcast television, it is conceivable that the potential for attitude change and information gain in the direction of the message contained in a television commercial message may be greater when viewed on a set receiving a marginal or low signal, or on a receiver which is a great distance from the transmitter, than when viewed under conditions which produce high image detail. If this is so, perhaps television advertisers should pay higher rates for messages aimed at major markets on the fringe of their broadcast area than for markets within easy range! Albeit, the theory may apply only to messages of such high importance to the viewer that he is compelled to attend to the message despite the poor defi- nition of the picture. Finally, those responsible for setting standards in testing film and videotape viewing equipment and in de- velOping satellite communications technology need empirical evidence on which to base their standards. Is definition a crucial variable, and if so, what level of definition is acceptable under what circumstances? While this study must limit itself to investigating only a portion of that ques- tion, the results will give a fair indication of the advis- ability of further work in this area. Definitions of Terms Used in the Study The following key terms are used in this and sub- sequent chapters of the study. Before proceeding with the theory and hypotheses of the study, the following definitions are noted. 1. Image Definition The resolution of the motion picture image quan- tified in lines of horizontal resolution per screen, and varied by controlling video bandwidth with a low—pass filter constructed specifically for this study. 2. Normal Image Definition The resolution of a monochromatic television image which is correctly adjusted for "crispness"3 (sharpness of detail), "focus" (sharpness of horizontal scanning lines), "interlace" (even spacing of horizontal scanning lines), "geometric distortion" (warping or flattening of the trans- mitted image), and whose "resolution" (fineness of detail) is equal to or better than a video bandwidth of 3.8 mega- hertz. 3. Reduced Image Definition The resolution of a monochromatic television image correctly adjusted to give normal image definition as de- fined above but fed by a tape source whose horizontal 3Words in quotation marks indicate the chief cri— teria for evaluating performance of a TV set used by Con— sumer's Union of the United States, Inc., e.g. See their report on "l9-inch Black-and-White TV," Consumer Reports, March 1973, p. 157. 10 bandwidth has,by a prior transfer,been electronically fil- tered or reduced to a level of either 1.5 or .5 megahertz. 4. Affective Learning Evaluative meaning, or the discriminative judgment made by an experimental subject on a series of seven-point semantic differential scales of bipolar adjectives with re- spect to a given concept or tOpic. Direction (positive or negative) and the intensity with which the meaning is held is indicated by the location of the judgment from the neu- tral, central position. 5. Cognitive Learning The recall of factual data as measured by scores on a presentation related post-test. 6. Semantic Differential A measurement and scaling technique developed by Osgood, Suci, and Tannenbaum by which objective measure- ments of the connotative meaning of a concept to an 4Charles G. Bollmann, "The Effect of Large-Screen, Multi-Image Display on Evaluative Meaning" (Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, MSU, l970),p. 6. 11 individual may be made. Subjects indicate valuative judg- ments on seven-point scales of bipolar adjectives. 7. Stimulus Message A (Film A) Film A is a videotaped print of the 16 millimeter film Citizen Harold. 8. Stimulus Message B (Film B) Film B is a videotaped print of the 16 millimeter film Cold-Rodders. Theory and Rationale for the Study This study uses the televised motion picture image at several levels of definition to stimulate affective and cognitive learning of presentation-related concepts. In the design of the experiment, the definition of the tele- vision presentation is the independent variable and the two dependent variables are affective and cognitiVe learning. In this section of the report, the theory and rationale 5Charles E. Osgood, George J. Suci, and Percy H. Tannenbaum, The Measurement of Meaning_(Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1957), pp. 25-30. 12 underlying each of these variables and their postulated relationships is discussed in turn. Television and Motion Picture Media Definition Anyone who has watched television for long (and that includes most North Americans) knows that the clarity or definition of the picture is not always the same. It varies, based on many reasons, from receiver quality and transmitter quality, to distance from the transmitter, or any of the many environmental situations that may cause signal interference. Consequently, the picture received by home viewers varies from the crystal clear definition that best exemplifies the technological state of the art, to a "snowy," low definition picture that is barely visible. From one extreme to the other, people attend to the tele- vision signal when they are interested in decoding the message for purposes of entertainment or information. The spectrum of motion picture media image defini- tion does not end at the highest quality television, but continues through the higher levels which can be obtained with fine-grain,high—definition motion picture film. 13 Throughout this study the term "definition" is used to designate what most television engineers refer to as resolution. In discussing image definition McVey says: The resolving power of a medium refers to its ability to reproduce details found in the ori- ginal scene. The finer the detail that this medium is capable of reproducing, the greater is its resolution. Film based projection systems generally mea- sure resolution in paired lines per millimeter; television specialists generally refer to the number of horizontal scanning lines per picture frame.6 McVey points out that, while North American commer- cial television operates at a standard of 525 lines, some "165 are lost due to vertical sweep, retrace and other factors." So actual broadcast quality is closer to "360 active scan lines at the center of the picture tube.“7 An abundance of literature testifies to the fact that motion picture media produce changes in affective and cognitive learning. The writer has found no media compar- ison study which attempted to control for the level of 6G. F. McVey, "Legibility and TV Display," Educa- tional Television, Vol. II, No. 11 (November, 1970), pp. 22-23. 7Ibid., p. 22. l4 definition, although he acknowledges that the definition generally remains constant within each medium. The liter- ature contains many studies which have tested the two de- pendent variables under consideration when various media were used to present the message. The conclusions usually overlook the possibility of a relationship between image definition and effect. Rather, credit is given to some intrinsic quality of the medium, such as number of cues available.8 ("Number of cues available" borders on a work- ing definition for what is referred to in this study as image definition.) The communication theorist, Marshall McLuhan, di- vides media into "hot" and “cool" categories. He refers to television as a "cool" medium while movies are "hot" because the amount of cues or data extended to a single senseis lower in the electronic medium. A hot medium is one that extends one single sense in "high definition."9 8Roger G. Croft, et a1., "Comparison of Attitude Changes Elicited by Live and Videotape Classroom Presenta- tion," AVCR, Vol. 17, No. 3 (Fall, 1969), pp. 315-321. 9Marshall McLuhan, Understanding Media (New York: 15 In his now famous remark that the "medium is the message" McLuhan intimated that the hot medium might well have a very different effect with the same message than would a cool medium. . . . hot media do not leave so much to be filled in or completed by the audience. Hot media are, therefore, low in participation, and cool media are high in participation or completion by the audience. Naturally, therefore, a hot medium like radio has very different effects on the user from a cool medium like the telephone.10 It is likely that McLuhan is right when he guesses that the effect is different. It follows that the effect will also be evident when a medium--either hot or cool--is changed to make it "hotter" or "cooler." Relating this to learning theory, we can further develop the notion that cooler media, because they demand more participation or completion by the audience, are likely to cause greater changes in affective and cognitive learning. It is a generally accepted educational theory that increased participation in the learning activity enhances effectiveness. However, that increased participation in' the learning experience is not necessarily the result of increased realism of representation has been pointed out 10Ibid., p. 23. 16 by Dwyer.ll In reviewing the literature pertaining to realism theories Dwyer refers to studies conducted by Morris (1946), Carpenter (1953), and Dale (1946) which suggested that learning is facilitated by increased real- ism. Further studies by Finn (1953), Gibson (1954), Os- good (1953), and Knowlton (1964) substantiated that the more life-like the stimulus the greater the possibility of learning. Dwyer goes on to show that subsequent studies disagree with this assessment. The studies of Miller et a1. (1957), Travers et a1. (1964), Broadbent (1958, 1965), Jacobson (1950, 1951), Livingston (1958, 1959, 1962), and Attneave (1954), according to Dwyer,12 suggest that ". excesses of realism may actually interfere with the effec- tiveness of visual materials."13 Based on his own exten- sive research, Dwyer specifically concludes that The realism continuum for visual illustrations is not an effective predictor of learning 11Francis M. Dwyer, A Guide for Improving Visual- ized Instruction (State College, Pa.: Learning Services, 1972). 2Author's name with publication date in paren— theses indicates study reviewed by Dwyer. 13Ibid., p. 7. 17 efficiency for all types of educational ob- jectives when the visualized instruction is presented via television, slides, programmed instruction, and textbook formats. An in- crease in the amount of realistic detail contained in an illustration will not pro- duce a corresponding increase in the amount of information a student will assimilate from it.14 In a similar, but less sophisticated, way, Harry J. Skornia, writing in the NAEB Journal, remarked that a prob- lem worthy of attention is how complete and finished to make a given presentation. An old Austrian professor, whom I respect, used to tell us that the best teacher is the one who is best at "leaving out." If nothing is left for him to do, the student's active learning effort is partly frustrated. This is the basis of the philosophy cf one of the most original thinkers of our generation, Canadian Mar- shall McLuhan, who uses the term "high defi- nition" to describe what leaves little for the viewer to do-—making for good relaxed entertainment-~and "low definition" which challenges the viewer or hearer to complete it. Educators would do well to emphasize low definition even though this . . . [is] counter to the slick and enjoyable commer- cial TV and Hollywood-type approaches we are inclined to identify with pleasure and excellence.15 l4Ibid., p. 90. 5Harry J. Skornia, "What We Know from New Media Research," NAEB Journal, Vol. 25, No. 2 (March-April, 1966), pp. 26, 31, 37. 18 That the medium affects the message is generally accepted by,among others,persuasion theorists. Channel and setting as factors in the persua- sion process affect the results of the per- suasion process directly as well as interact- ing with other elements.16 Anderson acknowledges the basic difference between media channels as being one of definition or cues presented. A given channel may transmit only a portion of the available stimuli. Radio does not transmit as many stimuli as television or color, sound motion pictures. Even listeners seated at comparatively great distances from a speaker do not receive the same cues as receivers seated in the front row. The writer emphasizes the following points by Rasnow and Robinson and Lumsdaine. There is an inherent weakness in the idea that one entire channel of communication can be compared with another, as for ex- ample, radio with television, or newspapers with television.18 ‘ Conclusions from an evaluative study of a single instrument apply only to that Kenneth E. Anderson, Persuasion Theory and Prac- tice (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, Inc., 1971), p. 267. ‘l7Ibid., p. 196. 18Ralph L. Rasnow and Edward J. Robinson, eds., Experiments in Persuasion (New York: Academic Press, 1967), pp. 372-373. ' 19 particular instrument, and that the generali- zation of the results to other instruments of the media it represents have,-at most, the status of untested hypotheses.19 The suggestion in this study is that all motion picture media share common characteristics. One of these characteristics is picture clarity or definition. This variable may be tested in an experimental setting with one medium to establish the possible effect on two arbitrarily selected dependent variables: affective and cognitive learning. \\ Learning theory, and in some instances, persuasion “ theory, suggest that the greater the participation of the learner or persuader, the greater the change in the direc- tion of the persuasive message. Low definition visual media allow the individual more possibility for involve— ment or "participation," asMcLuhan terms it. Personal experience and some of the pilot tests indicate that an increase in affective and cognitive learn- ing is likely to occur with the initial step of image 19 .. . A. A. Lumsdaine, "Instruments and Media of In- struction," in M. L. Gage (ed.), Handbook of Research on Teaching (Chicago: Rand McNally and Co., 1963), p. 596. 20 definition degradation. As the image quality continues to decrease, learning in both domains also decreases. Affective Learning Affective learning, one of the dependent variables of this study, was operationally defined earlier in this chapter. It is the discriminative judgment made by the experimental subjects on an evaluation form of the semantic differential. The semantic differential was developed by Osgood, Suci, and Tannenbaum as an objective method for measuring the connotative meaning of a concept or object to an individual. Of the many methods of attitude measurement extant, the following three have received the most attention and use: the method of equal appearing intervals (Thurstone and Chave, 1929); the method of summated ratings (Likert, 1932); and the semantic differential teche nique.20 The semantic differential is the only technique of the above mentioned three which permits the testing of attitudes toward several concepts in a comparatively brief 20Phillip Emmert and William D. Brooks, eds-r Methods of Research in Communication (Boston:m Houghton- Mifflin, 1970), P. 197. 21 period of time. The present study requires evaluative judgments on four topics. Thurstone and Likert techniques require approximately 20 scales per concept, while the semantic differential can accomplish the same task with 5 or 6 scales.21 Hence the choice of the semantic differ— ential technique for this study. Meaning, or affective learning, as measured by the semantic differential, in this study, is derived from the theory presented by Osgood, Suci, and Tannenbaum in Th9 Measurement of Meaning. Three dimensions or dominant factors of meaning emerge in the studies conducted by Osgood and his asso— ciates: evaluation, potency, and activity.22 Of the three major dimensions, "evaluation" is the most dominant. A persuasive evaluative factor in human judg- ment regularly appears first and accounts for approximately half to three quarters of the extractable variance. Thus the attitudinal variable in human thinking . . . appears to be primary . . . .23 1 . ' . Interv1ew With Dr. B. Greenberg, Oct. 3/72. Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan. 22Osgood, Suci, and Tannenbaum, op..cit., p. 72. 23Ibid. 22 An evaluative factor which we identify as the attitudinal component of meaning, is charac- terized by scales like good-bad, pleasant- unpleasant and positive-negative; what we call a potency factor, orthogonal to evalua- tion, is characterized by scales like strong- weak, heavy-light, and hard—soft; what we call the activity factor, independent of both evaluation and potency, is characterized by scales like fast-slow, active-passive, and excitable-calm.24 The bipolar adjectives are separated by seven-unit rating scales which border a "semantic space” A region of some unknown dimensionality and Euclidian in character. Each semantic scale . . . is assumed to represent a straight line function that passes through the origin of this space, and a sample of such scales then represents a multi—dimensional space.25 In discussing their theory of connotative meaning, Osgood et a1. use the three psychological terms which are defined below:26 24Charles E. Osgood, "Studies on the Generality of Affective Meaning Systems," in Alfred G. Smith (ed.), 993- munication and Culture (Chicago: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1966), PP. 460-461. ‘ 25 . . Osgood, Suc1, and Tannenbaum, op..c1t., p. 25. 26Charles G. Bollmann, "The Effect of Large-Screen Multi-Image Display on Evaluative Meaning," Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis (Michigan State University, 1970), p. 13, as paraphrased from pages 5-8, The.Measurement of Meaning. 23 Significate: any stimulus which, in a given situation, regularly and reliably produces a predictable pattern of behavior. Sign: a stimulus other than a significate which evokes in an organism the same reac- tions evoked by a significate. Assign: a sign whose meaning has been as- signed" via association with other signs rather than via direct association with sig— nificates of those signs. A sign comes to elicit a response formerly elicited by a significate through a process of internal mediation within the organism. Whenever some stimulus other than the significate is contiguous with the significate, it will acquire an increment of association with some portion of the total behavior elicited by the significate as a representational mediation process.27 "Representational mediation process" refers to the internalized association of a sign with a significate and is thus the individual's learned meaning for that sign. When learning occurs-through association between signs without association with significates, meaning is "assigned? Consequently Variation in meaning should be particularly characteristic of assigns since their 27Osgood, Suci, and Tannenbaum, Op..cit., p. 6. 24 representational processes depend entirely upon the samgles of other signs with which they occur.2 This theory of meaning would explain the purpose of the present study as an attempt to measure the difference in assigned meaning caused by altering the definition of a visual stimulus. Specifically, the experiment attempts to produce and/or alter the assigned meaning of several con- cepts held by human subjects, by presenting them with a series of signs--motion picture films, displayed via the electronic medium of television. Osgood speculates that this meaning system is intimately related to the non-specific projection systems from the hypothalamic, reticular, or limbic systems and their cortical connections in the frontal lobes--both are gross, nonfdiscriminative, but highly generalizable systems, and both are associated with the affective, purposive and motivational dynamics of the organism. Be this as it may, to discuss such neurological implications is beyond the scope of the present study. It is a generally accepted fact that the semantic differ- ential may be used whenever an investigator wishes to 28Ibid., p. 9. 29Osgood, op. cit., p. 463. 25 obtain a measurement of the connotative meaning of an ob- ject or concept to an individual or group of human sub- jects. Responses obtained on the Semantic Differen- tial may be used to compare an individual's attitudes toward different concepts, for example, a lecture on history versus a film. Similarly, one may compare two individual's ratings of a given concept. Ratings given by groups of people can be arranged in order to assess differences in attitudes between groups, or toward various concepts within the group.30 Cognitive Learning Learning is generally defined as a change in response or behavior (such as inno- vation, elimination, or modification of re- sponses, involving some degree of permanence), caused partly or wholly by experience, such "experience" being in the main conscious, but sometimes including significant unconscious components.31 Over the years learning has been grossly divided into three areas or domains: cognitive, affective, and 30Allen L. Edwards, and Bette C. Porter, "Attitude Measurement," in Barber, William H., et a1., The Affective Domain (Washington, D.C.: Gryphon House, 1972), pp. 124- 125. lCarter B. Good, ed., Dictionary of Education (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., 1959), p. 313. 26 psychomotor. With the publication of a Taxonomy of Educa- tional Objectives Handbook 1: Cognitive Domain32 by Bloom in 1956, the general acceptance of this trichotomy became yet more widespread. The Dictionary of Education defines cognition as (1) the faculty of knowing, especially as distinguished from feeling and willing; (2) the act of gaining knowledge or becoming acquainted with an object through per- sonal experience; knowledge that extends beyond mere awareness.33 Bloom's book deals With educational objectives which fall in the cognitive domain . . . those which deal with "the recall or recognition of knowledge and the de- velopment of intellectual abilities and skills."34 The experience being offered in the present study is audio-visual in nature. The stimulus messages contain factual or cognitive information which is measurable. The effect of the messages on the cognitive domain will be verified through an instrument designed to test the 2Benjamin S. Bloom, Taxonomy of Educational Objec- tives (New York: David McKay Company Inc., 1956). 33Good, op. cit., p. 313. 34Bloom, op. cit., p. 7. 27 "recall or recognition of knowledge" contained in the visual channel of the stimulus films. Theoretical Hypotheses Based on the theory which has been developed in the previous section of this report, we may now postulate on the relationship between the variables of concern in this study. Given the same message viewed through the elec- tronic or projected motion picture medium, it is likely that there will be a greater change in affective and cog- nitive learning in the direction of the message when the image is viewed at a reduced level of image definition. In order to avoid the effect of variables which operate between media, such as film and television, we shall test the hypothesis in one medium only. The theoretical statement of the hypothesis then becomes: on television a filmed message will elicit a greater change in affective and cognitive learning in the attempted direction when viewed at reduced image defini- tion than when viewed at normal image definition. 28 The greater change in affective and cognitive learning is due to the involvement or additional effort which subjects are required to expend to decode or com- plete the lesser defined message. Assumptions of the Study Several assumptions of this study have been dis- cussed in the previous sections: that learning is con- veyed, in part, through the visual channel of audio-visual presentations; that the affective and cognitive domains of learning can be measured individually; and that the "temp- erature" of a medium can be "cooled" by degrading image definition thus reducing visual information. A fourth assumption of this study is that shifts in affective and cognitive learning can be detected through the use of a paper and pencil test. Fifthly, it is assumed that evaluative meaning, as explained by Osgood et a1. and as tested by the semantic differential technique, is a valid indicator of affective learning. 29 The final assumption is that the experimental pop- ulation represents those target populations to which the findings will be generalized. Limitations of the Study There are specific limitations to this study im- posed by the investigator and by the research methodology. Only two independent variables are to be examined from the many which may be affected by manipulation of the dependent variable. Other independent variables such as those within the psychomotor domain have been purposefully omitted from this study in order to keep it within the scope and cost of a doctoral dissertation. In keeping with customary research procedures the results of the study are generalizable to populations other than the target population only to the extent that those populations are similar to the experimental population. The results of this experiment will provide but one bit of evidence for or against the effect being tested and will apply only to audiences who are motivated, by mes- sage content, to attend to the motion picture message, de— spite a possibly irritating low level of image definition. CHAPTER II REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE In this chapter, studies related to the affective and cognitive learning which results from viewing a tele- vision message at varying levels of picture definition are reviewed. As with the preceding chapter, a three-part division will be followed: Learning from Motion Picture Media (films and television); Affective Impact; and Cogni- tive Learning. Learning from Motion Picture Media A great deal of literature testifies to the ability of motion picture media to cause a measurable change in cognitive and affective learning. Film research to date has been a feast of inves- tigation in factual learning, in attitude change, and in perceptual-motor learning . . . .1 1Charles F. Hoban, "The Useable Residue of Educa— tional Film Research," in New Teaching Aids for the 30 31 In summarizing the film research to 1960, Hoban concluded that motion pictures do effectively teach and cause a change in attitudes.2 Chu and Schramm reviewed the literature relating to learning from television and concluded ". . . there can no longer be any real doubt that children and adults learn a great amount from instructional television . . . ."3 It is clear that ego involved attitudes or those which are particularly salient to the holder are difficult to reverse through television; or through any other means. It is equally clear that television messages have a meant ing, an affective learning component, beyond their factual or cognitive content. Lawson reviewed 50 studies from 1963-67 and from his review of five years of research literature concluded that television has become a "valuable, and for some, an indispensable tool in education."4 American Classroom, ed. by Wilbur Schramm (Stanford, Cali- fornia: Institute for Comm. Research, Stanford University, 1960) I p0 103. 2Ibid., p. 105. 3Goodwin C. Chu and Wilbur Schramm, Learning from Television (Washington: NAEB, 1967), p. 1. 4Major Billy R. Lawson, "No Significant Differ- ence," Educational Television (January, 1970), p. 33. 32 Schramm's article in Educational Television--The Next Ten Years5 provides the largest sampling of results which had been presented up to that time. Again the evi- dence was overwhelming in its support for the statement that students do learn from television. Based on extensive research, Dwyer concludes, the reduction of realistic detail in an i1- 1ustration does not necessarily reduce its instructional effectiveness and in many cases improves it.6 Dwyer used still pictures of the heart in his experiment and contrasted the "realism theories" of Morris (1946), Dale (1946), Carpenter (1953), and Gibson (1954) with Bruner et a1. (1956) and Travers et a1. (1964),7 and others who believe that learning does not necessarily increase as additional realistic cues increase. According to the theories last cited, excesses of realism may interfere with learning. 5Wilbur Schramm, ed., Educational Television: The Next Ten Years (Palo Alto, California: Stanford Univer- sity, 1962): pp. 52-76. 6Francis M. Dwyer, "Adapting Visual Illustrations for Effective Learning," Harvard Educational Review, Vol. 32 (1967): PP. 250-263. 7Author's name with date of publication in paren- theses indicates study reveiwed by Dwyer. ' 33 While the literature pertaining to affective and cognitive learning is reviewed separately in this study in consistency with the two dependent variables of concern, the writer is sympathetic to attempts, such as that of Stevens, to link the two. Stevens points out that Without information about both affective and cognitive components of human-environmental behavior one cannot adequately consider "learner characteristics," "media attributes," "product evaluation," or "environmental anal- ysis; all of which existentially involve the two. Affective Impact There is a striking paucity of empirical evidence relating image definition to learning in the affective domain. The majority of the writing is speculative in nature and stems largely from the untested suggestions of Marshall McLuhan. Mention has been made earlier in this report of McLuhan's "hot and cool" media theory. McLuhan refers to television as a "cool" medium and suggests that 8Warren D. Stevens, "Affection and Cognition in Transaction and the Mapping of Cultural Space," AVCR (Winter, 1970), p. 441. 34 viewers are more involved with television than with a "hot" medium such as film. Many students of the behavioral sciences have taken McLuhan to task and have attempted to prove him wrong on this count. Bringman, Balance, and Krichev9 submitted four groups of college students to the same film under four dif- ferent conditions (with and without sound on television and projected in the normal film manner). To control for screen size the projected image was kept equal to the size of the TV screen. The groups did not have significantly different scores on a post-administered Multiple Affect Adjective Check List and thus the experimenters concluded that McLuhan's hypothesis was not supported. The contrived environment of the Bringmann, Balance and Krichev laboratory setting, in which the 16 mm screen size was reduced to the size of a television screen, cer- tainly does not simulate the environment of the average cinema. Hence, by controlling for extraneous variables, the results of this attempt to disprove McLuhan's theory 9Wolfgang G. Bringmann, William D. G. Balance, and Alan Krichev, "Experimental Investigation of McLuhan's Ideas Concerning Effects of 'Hot' and 'Cool' Communica- tions Media," Psychological Reports, Vol. 25 (1969), pp. 447-451. 35 are placed in question. In the report on the study which was presented at the Southeastern Psychological Association Meeting in New Orleans in 1969, the writers conclude with this admission: In the present experiment the media were operationally defined in a narrow physical sense in accord with McLuhan's definitions. Everyday experience, however, suggests that it may be the environment of the medium that encourages specific behavioral reactions. Thus, it may be the isolated, private exper- ience in the movie theatre which allows for the intense emotional reaction posited by McLuhan.10 . 11 In another cross media study Croft et al. found that a live presentation elicited greater attitude change than a videotape presentation of the same message. They attribute the difference to the greater number of cues available in a live presentation than in a videotape pre- sentation. It is suggested that Croft et a1. overlooked the possibility that interest and involvement were greater with the human presenter than with the electronic commun- ication channel. A methodology using video frequency 10Ibid., p. 451. llCroft, et a1., "Comparison of Attitude Changes Elicited by Live and Videotape Classroom Presentation," AVCR, V01. 17' NO. 3 I pp. 315-21.. 36 response reduction, such as that used in the present study, would have better suited their research purpose. Cross media studies which compare the effect on learning of one medium with another, and they are numerous, . . 12 ‘ . . are generally inconcluSive. So many difficult-to-control variables operate in these studies that the results are nearly always insignificant. The logic behind this fact has been simply stated by Dawson. . . . if the informational context of the two methods were the same and the only variable was the "medium" then why should one expect any difference.13 Another who argues in favor of divorcing medium from message is Gordon. Technologies (like alphabets) and techno- logical devices (like typewriters, television sets and movie projectors are not mediums [sic]. They are instruments, devices . . . that distribute the messages employing the mediums above. They may help, hinder or in- fluence the ways these mediums work, but their primary interest to either an artist or student of communications is how they 12Ralph L. Rasnow and Edward J. Robinson, eds., Experiments in Persuasion (New York: Academic Press, 1967). pp. 372-373. l . . 3Marv1n Dawson, "A Model for Research in Educa- tional Media," Educational Television (February, 1970), p. 34. 37 operate as technological instruments, not what they say--simply because they say nothing.14 The affective component in the learning situation is important. Educational theorists are split in their reaction to the importance attributed to it by McLuhan. It is regretable that many of the empirical tests of the effect of the affective component are inconclusive, since most have been either cross media comparisons or have ne- glected to isolate the component parts of the learning process. The current study attempts to avoid both of these pitfalls. Cognitive Learning Literature in the area of cognitive learning is more abundant than in the affective domain. Much of the contribution has been made as a result of empirical re- search performed in the field of information display. Many rigorous studies have been conducted to determine the effect of specific variables on television legibility. 1__ 14George N. Gordon, "What Media Am NotP(sicL(Educa- tional Technology (July, 1969), p. 33. 38 Without exception they have dealt with the legibility of still images, and they are, thus, of limited interest to this study. Many of them have dealt with the effect of independent variables similar to the main independent var- iable (image definition) in the present study. In reviewing the studies of television legibility which have been conducted using still image stimuli Shurt- leff15 notes that the research has been conducted in three principal areas: 1) commercial broadcasting; 2) visual aids, and 3) electronic systems. Electronic systems re- fers to operations such as air traffic control, computer information display, and the like, where the electronic screen is used to display static alphanumeric data. It is in this last area that the vast majority of scientific research has been done. A host of variables which affect speed and accuracy of symbol identification have been iso— lated and tested. Among these are widths of active and inactive elements in the raster, scan-line registration, angular orientation of the scan—lines, equipment quality, 15Donald A. Shurtleff, "Studies in Television Legi- bility: Review of the Literature," Information Display (January-February, 1967), pp. 40-45. 39 contrast brightness and direction, background brightness, symbol brightness, viewing angle, vertical resolution, and video bandwidth. The effect of seating location on image legibility has been investigated by, among others, Seibert et a1.,16 Weiss,l7 Walker,l8 McVey,19 Bollmann,20, and Dwyer.21 They conclude that there are optimum seating locations for spe- cific sizes of screens and images. 6Warren F. Seibert, Duane F. Kasten, and James R. Potter, "Study of Factors Influencing the Legibility of Televised Characters," Journal of the SMPTE (July, 1959), pp. 467-472. 17 . . . . Helmut Weiss, "CapaCity and Optimum Configura- tion of Displays for Group Viewing," Information Display (November-December, 1966), pp. 24-30. 18Roger S. Walker, "Simplified Methods for Deter- mining Display Screen Resolution Characteristics," Infor- mation Display_(January-February, 1968), pp. 28—31. 19 G. F. McVey, "Where Do We Sit?," Educational Television (December, 1969), pp. 24-27. 20Charles G. Bollmann, "The Effect of Large-Screen, Multi—Image Display on Evaluative Meaning,“ Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis (East Lansing, Michigan: Michigan State Uni- versity, 1970). l . . . . FranCis M. Dwyer, A Guide for ImprOVing Visual- ized Instruction (State College, Pennsylvania:_ Learning Services, 1972). 40 Another variable, angle of subtension at the ret- ina, or image size, has been studied by McVey.22 Signifi- cant differences have been shown to depend on this variable. Seibert23 investigated the effect on accuracy of symbol identification of varying the bandwidth as in the present study. He varied the bandwidth to five levels: 6 megacycles (mo), 2 mo, 1.5 mc, 1.0 mo, and 750 kilocycles (kc). His results suggest a complex relation between video bandwidth and vertical resolution and image size. The data show little overall difference between bandwidths of 6 mo and 2 mc. It is of interest to the present study to note that the average percentage of correct responses was higher at the reduced image definition of 2 mo than at any other level. Neal24 tested several variables which affect ac- curacy of symbol identification from a television display. 22McVey, op. cit. 23W. F. Seibert, "The Legibility of Television Visuals: A Study of Signal Bandwidth and Other Factors,“ Mimeographed (Lafayette, Indiana: Purdue University, 1964). 24Alan S. Neal, "Legibility Requirements for Edu- cational Television," Information Display (July-August, 1968): PP. 39-44. 41 "The bandwidth of the video signal was altered with Butter- . 25 worth seven-pole low pass filters." Neal found that while viewers could often perceive the bandwidth differ- ences, the results showed no significant effect on accur— acy. He concludes, for group viewing of a large television screen, we can recommend a bandwidth of approximately to 2.5 MHz. From the results of this study and Seibert's work, it appears that there is no improvement in performance above this point, but there is a decrement below this point.26 The United States Army's Human Engineering Labora- tory has conducted a number of studies on the relationship between image degradation and target detection. These studies by, among others, Johnston,27 are concerned with the individual's ability to detect a target from a tele- vision image. Predictably they have found that detection probability decreases as horizontal resolution decreases. Johnston investigated the effect of two variables, hori- zontal resolution and shades of gray, on target recogni- tion time with human subjects. Horizontal resolution was 25 26 Ibid., p. 41. Ibid., p. 43. 27Dorothy M. Johnston, "Target Recognition on TV as a Function of Horizontal Resolution and Shades of Gray," Human Factors (Santa Monica, California: Vol. 10, No. 3, 1968), pp. 201-209. 42 varied by electrostatically defocusing the vidicon scanning beam. Johnston found that resolution had a highly signif- icant effect on target recognition time. "An inverse re- lationship was found between target recognition time and horizontal resolution and shades of gray."28 Image degradation or distortion has been used ex- perimentally to modify human behavior in non-learning situations. Greene and Hoats29 distorted a television image by introducing a flickering and rolling picture with concomitant reduction in the sound volume and clarity, as a negative reinforcement device. They experimented over a two month period with two mildly retarded subjects for the purpose of a) accelerating the work rate of a naive, mildly retarded subject on a simulated production-line task involving card sorting, and b) reducing gross hyggractivity of a mildly retarded subject. The subjects' behavior, without their awareness of it, con- trolled the level of television distortion. ‘Based on the 2 8Ibid., p. 208. 29Robert J. Greene and David L. Hoats, "Reinforc- ing Capabilities of Television Distortion," Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (Summer, 1969), 139-141. 30Ibid., p. 139. 43 results of their experiment Greene and Hoats concluded that television distortion, indeed, does appear to be an effective and practical negative reinforcer for use in modifying human behavior. The review of the literature supports the general- ization that human beings learn from motion picture media; that motion picture media have an affective impact which varies with the "temperature" of the medium, or with the number of cues presented; and, that cognitive learning is affected by the level of definition or image degradation of the medium. Summary The review of the literature indicates a paucity of empirical studies on the effect of image definition on affective and cognitive learning. The majority of the studies have been conducted in the field of information display and are concerned, largely, with human ability to recall statically displayed alphanumeric information shown on a television screen. The main variables which have 44 been tested are viewer location, image size, and image clarity. Prior studies differ from the present one in two major aspects: they deal with either the effect of image degradation on the legibility of static stimuli, or with the effect of degraded motion picture images on individual subjects. The present study deals with the effect of a degraded (reduced definition) motion picture stimulus on groups of subjects. No studies were found which explored the relation- ship between reduced image definition of a motion picture stimulus and affective learning. Although the stimulus material in the related studies differs markedly from the videotaped films which are used as stimuli in the present study, Dwyer's work supports the hypothesis that reduced visual detail can increase cognitive learning. In addition one study by Seibert found that subjects had more correct responses at reduced image definition. Finally, one study was located which showed that television image distortion can be used as a stimulus to modify human behavior. CHAPTER III DESIGN OF THE STUDY Introduction This study investigated the effect on affective and cognitive learning caused by viewing a stimulus message at three levels of image clarity or definition. In this chap- ter the overall design and methodology of the study is dis- cussed briefly to provide a general background. This dis- cussion is followed by a detailed explanation of the proce- dures used in the experiment. Overall Design and Methodology The experimental design used to test the general hypothesis that the level of television image definition has an effect on the affective and cognitive learning experienced by the viewer, used six randomly equal groups 45 46 of human subjects. The affective learning hypothesis em- ployed a 3 X 2 X 2 X 2 (24 cells) design (definition X order X film X repeated measures). The cognitive learning hypothesis was tested concurrently through a 3 X 2 X 2 (12 cells) design (definition X order X film). Random assignment of the experimental population to the six groups, and the use of the same factual and semantic differential measuring instruments in all groups made it possible to attribute between-group variance on the dependent variables to the independent variable of image definition. The design of the study is represented in Figure 1. The Population The population studied in this experiment was chosen from students in the fourteen eighth grades at John Rennie High School in Pointe Claire, Quebec. The seventy-two subjects for this study were selected on a scientific random basis from the approximately six hun- dred eighth graders in the school. 47 Presentation Order Definition Meas. Order 1 Order 2 Film A Film B Film B Film A Aff. S 1-12 S 1-12 13-24 13-24 Low Aff. S 1-12 S 1-12 13-24 13-24 (.5 MHz) Cog. S 1-12 8 1-12 13-24 13-24 Aff. S 25-36 S 25-36 37-48 37-48 Medium' Aff. 5 25-36 3 25-36 37-48 37-48 (1.5 MHz) -- Cog. 3 25-36 3 25-36 37-48 37-48 Aff. S 49-60 8 49—60 61-72 61-72 High Aff. 5 49-60 3 49-60 61-72 61—72 (3.8 MHz) Cog. S 49-60 8 49-60 61-72 61-72 Fig.’l.--Schematic Representation of the Study Design 48 Using the school's grade eight class list, stu- dents' names were arranged alphabetically by sex for each of the classes. Since a sample of approximately one hun- dred, including the overdraw, was desired, a skip interval of six was used with the starting name being randomly picked from the first six names. The procedure was re- peated for both sexes, and to assign the subjects to each of the six groups. Additionally, subjects were randomly assigned to seats to avoid any effect that might result from the tendency to sit with friends or at a particular location from the screen. Stimulus Materials The stimulus materials used in this experiment are two sixteen millimeter (16 mm) films produced by the Na- tional Film Board of Canada. The films were selected according to the following criterion: a) recent productions released since January 1, 1972; b) total running time between 8 and 17 minutes; c) color original; 49 d) 16 mm prints available and cleared for non- theatrical distribution; e) judged by the experimenter to have some measur- able affective content; f) judged by the experimenter to have some measur- able cognitive content; and 9) films not likely to have been seen by the test population. The dozen or so films which met these criteria were reviewed, and two films, Citizen Harold and Cold- Rodders, were selected. Citizen Harold, an animation film, has as its theme the difficulty of organizing a citizen's action committee (see Appendix A for description). Cold— Rodders, a "sound-sync." documentary, is a satire on the sport of snowmobiling (see Appendix B). Presentation Format All six grbups saw both videotaped films preCeded by a brief introduction (Appendix C). The films were trans- ferred to videotape and shown in six consecutive presenta- tions to the experimental groups. The order of presenta— tion of the films was reversed for half the groups to allow for a measurement of the presentation order effect. 50 Equipment and Seating Arrangement Both films were transferred to black-and-white videotape on a telecine chain composed of a 16 mm Bell and Howell projector for television use, a Sony DXC-SOOO B camera and multiplexer and a Sony AV-3650 l/2-inch video- tape recorder. The reduction of bandwidth or horizontal definition to .5 and 1.5 megahertz was obtained by making a second generation transfer from the original tape. A specially constructed low pass video filter (see Appendix D for schematic diagram) was inserted between two Sony AV-3650 l/2-inch videotape recorders for this transfer. Unused Scotch l/Z-inch videotape was used throughout the experiment. Related experimental literature and human engineer- ing guidebooks were consulted for the optimum seating arrangement. The arrangement used was taken from Design for ETV, prepared by Dave Chapman, Inc.1 A diagram of the seating arrangement is shown in Figure 2. 1 , Design for ETV (New York: Dave Chap- man, Inc., 1960. ' 51 21-inch TV Monitor I 45°:45° l I l I l I Fig. 2.--Seating Arrangement 52 The tapes were played for the subjects on a Sony AV-3600 l/2-inch tape deck coupled to a 21-inch Sony Video Monitor, Model CVM. The equipment and seating arrangement remained constant for each of the six groups. Instrumentation Affective Measure Evaluative meaning was measured with a form of the semantic differential. Fifteen pairs of opposite adjec- tives were selected from a listing of adjectives which have been shown by Osgood et al. to weigh heavily on the evaluative dimension when subjected to factor analysis. Five pairs which consistently produced neutral results in the pilot tests were discarded. The final ten-item scale, with adjectives and values randomly rotated and reversed was used with all six groups in the experiment. The in- strument derives its validity from factor analysis per- formed on the adjective pairs by Osgood et al. 53 The semantic differential has been shown to be a reliable measure with children as young as eight years of age by Oles and Bolvin.2 Divesta and Dick established the reliability of the semantic differential for elementary students. They found the correlation between test-retest evaluation factors to be .87 for children aged eleven years. A Hoyt4 reliability test showed that the reliabil- ity coefficients for the four affective measures (semantic differential scales) were: Citizen Harold (title) .74; Cold-Rodders (title) .80; Citizen Harold (theme) .81; Cold-Rodders (theme) .85. 2Henry J. Oles and John Bolvin, "The Reliability and Useability of a Semantic Differential Attitude Scale with Third Through Fifth Grade Students," Paper read at National Council on Measurement in Education Convention, Chicago, 1972. 3Francis I. Divesta and Walter Dick, "The Test- Retest Reliability of Childrens' Ratings on the Semantic Differential," Educational and Psychological Measurement, XXVI (1966), 605-16. 4Cyril J. Hoyt, "Test Reliability Estimated by Analysis of Variance," Psychometrika, Vol. 6 (1941), pp. 153-160. 54 Cognitive Measure Cognitive learning was measured by two ten-item multiple-choice tests based on the visually presented information from the stimulus tapes. The twenty test items were selected from longer forms of the tests which were used in two pilot tests. The final instruments were composed of questions which were retained on the basis of an item analysis performed with existing computer routines at the Office of Evaluation Services at Michigan State University. Questions which did not discriminate or whose index of difficulty was low were discarded. All questions on the cognitive instruments were designed to measure detailed central information available only as a result of having seen the stimulus films. The possibility that only peripheral or incidental learning would be measured was obviated by the task introduction (Appendix C) which cued the subjects to attend to details. A Hoyt reliability test performed on the cognitive item scores showed that the Citizen Harold measure had a reliability Of -63, While the Cold-Rodders measure had a re- liability of .56. These low reliability coefficients are 55 due to random error as was expected from an experimenter constructed instrument which had not received extensive empirical validation.5 Form of the Questionnaire The questionnaires used to test the two dependent variables for each of the stimulus messages are included in Appendix E. In the questionnaires, the affective and cognitive measures are followed by nine personal and opinion-related questions. Question 7 in this section was used as an indicator of positive or negative percep- tion of the film's treatment of its main theme. This was essential in order to determine the subjects' perception of the direction of the message. This indicator was subsequently used in scoring the semantic differential scales. The cover page of each questionnaire gives an explanation for the exercise and was added as a result of apprehension expressed by some of the subjects follow- ing the first pilot test. 5Claire Selltiz, et a1., Research Methods in Social Relations (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1962), pp. 166 and 179. 56 Procedure Subjects were randomly selected from a class list which was divided by sex to give an equal number of each sex in each group. Subjects were also randomly assigned to groups. On the day prior to the experiment each subject received a written reminder through his class teacher (Appendix G). Each group was assigned a specific time to go to the room where the experiment, which was publicized as a film evaluation session, was being held. On arrival the participants were randomly assigned to pre-numbered seats by picking a number from a hat. A brief explanation of the procedure had been pre-recorded on videotape and was presented to the subjects before each film (Appendix C). Following the presentation of each film the appropriate questionnaire was distributed, completed by the subjects, and collected. The students were then thanked for their cooperation and dismissed to return to their regular class activity. The school is large and there was little oppor- tunity for contamination of subjects through post-test discussion. In addition the students were not privy to the correct responses on the cognitive instruments. 57 Hypotheses The theoretical hypotheses from Chapter I are here restated in the form of two null and two alternative hy- potheses. Null Hypothesis I There will be no significant difference in evaluative meaning for presentation related concepts between sub- jects who receive a motion picture message on televi- sion at reduced image definition and those who receive the message at normal image definition. Alternate Hypothesis I Subjects viewing a motion picture message on televi- sion will have a significantly higher score on a mea- sure of evaluative meaning for presentation related concepts when the message is viewed at reduced image definition. Null Hypothesis II There will be no significant difference in cognitive learning for presentation related concepts between subjects who receive a motion picture message on 58 television at reduced image definition and those who receive the message at normal image definition. Alternate Hypothesis II Subjects viewing a motion picture message on televi- sion will have a significantly higher score on a mea- sure of cognitive learning for presentation related concepts when the message is viewed at reduced image definition. F Scoring and Analysis The semantic differential scales were hand scored. The polarity of the scale for the theme and title of each film was based on the majority responses to Questions 7 and 8. "In the presentation which you have just seen, how is the idea of (insert theme) treated? ( ) positively ( ) negatively "Did you like or dislike the film (insert title)? ( ) like ( ) dislike" These questions were asked in the last section of each questionnaire to determine the subjects' perception of the direction of the stimulus messages. This procedure was necessitated by the nature of the film Cold-Rodders 59 which is a satire on the sport of snowmobiling. In the pilot tests it was obvious that those who were favorable toward snowmobiling as a recreational sport were much more favorable in their reaction to the film than those who disliked the sport. Consequently it was deemed pru- dent to take an overall reading of the groups' rating of this concept. As a result the scales which measured re- action to the topic "snowmobiling" were reversed. The other three semantic differential scales were scored in the normal manner with scores ranging from 7 for "very" 'positive, to l for "very" negative. The raw data, in the form of item scores from the questionnaires was transferred to computer cards and veri- fied by trained operators at the National Film Board's Data Processing Center. Random spot checks comparing the data on the cards with the original questionnaires showed that the error rate was low or non-existent. Existing computer routines were used to perform four-way repeated measures analysis of variance and three- way analysis of variance on the data. 60 A confidence level of .05 was selected as the point at which the null hypotheses could be rejected. The statistical analyses were performed on the Burroughs 6500 computer at Michigan State University. CHAPTER IV FINDINGS Introduction In this chapter the findings generated by the ex- periment are presented and discussed as they relate to the main two-part hypothesis. Theoretical Hypothesis The hypothesis of concern in this study is that a televised motion picture message will elicit a greater change in affective and cognitive learning, in the direc- tion of the message, when viewed at reduced image defini- tion than when viewed at normal image definition. Affective Learning Null Hypothesis There will be no significant difference in evalua- tive meaning for presentation related concepts be- tween subjects who receive a motion picture message on 61 62 television at reduced image definition and those who receive the message at normal image definition. Alternate Hypothesis Subjects viewing a motion picture message on television will have a significantly higher score on a measure of evaluative meaning for presentation related concepts when the message is viewed at reduced image definition. The hypothesis was tested by a four-way (defini- tion X order X film X measures) repeated measures analysis of variance which is shown in Table 1. The analysis of subjects' affective scores yielded an F-ratio for definition of 1.0198 which is not signifi- cant at the .05 level of confidence. The null hypothesis was, therefore, not rejected. Other findings relating to variables which gave significant results are discussed later in this chapter. Cognitive Learning 'Null Hypothesis There will be no significant difference in cognitive ‘learning for presentation related concepts between subjects who receive a motion picture message on television at reduced image definition and those who receive the message at normal image definition. 63 TABLE 1.--Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance of Affective Scores from the 72 Subjects. Source of . df Mean Squares F-ratio Significance Variance Definition (D) 2 202.711806 1.0198 NSD Order (0) 1 615.420139 3.0960 NSD D X 0 2 378.128472 1.9023 NSD S:D X 0* 66 198.774937 Film (F) 1 1517.086806 19.8263 5 .05 D.X F 2 1.378472 -- NSD O X F 1 3.781250 -- NSD D X 0 X F 2 2.947917 -- NSD SF:DO* 66 76.518624 Measure (M) 1 837.086806 7.5196 s .05 D X M 2 94.586806 -- NSD O X M 1 30.031250 -- NSD D X 0 X M 2 4.156250 -- NSD SM:DO* ‘ 66 111.320391 F X M l 1805.003472 18.323792 3 .05 D X F X M . 2 142.336806 1.444955 NSD O X F X M 1 389.670139 5.400756 s..05 D X 0 X F X M 2 8.503472 —- NSD SMF:DO* 66 98.505997 *Error term. 64 Alternate Hypothesis Subjects viewing a motion picture message on television will have a significantly higher score on a measure of cognitive learning for presentation related concepts when the message is viewed at reduced image definition. The hypothesis was tested by a three-way analysis of variance (definition X order x film) which are shown in Table 2. TABLE 2.--Analysis of Variance of the 72 Subjects.‘ the results of Cognitive Scores from Source of . df Mean Squares F-ratio Significance Variance Definition UN 2 4.395833 1.256632 NSD Order (0) 1 5.840278 1.669554 NSD DO 2 1.215278 -- NSD S:DO* 66 3.498106 Film (F) l 119.173611 57.816549 '3 .05 DF 2 1.465278 —— NSD OF 1 .062500 -- NSD DOF 2 1.645833 -- NSD SF:DO* 66 2.061237 *Error term Table 2 contains the results of the analysis of variance performed on the subjects' cognitive scores. 65 As can be seen, the comparison yielded an F-ratio for definition which is not significant at the .05 level of confidence. Consequently, it is not possible, on the basis of this data, to reject the null hypothesis. As could be anticipated, the statistical procedure showed a significant difference between films. This has no sig- nificance for the study, since no attempt was made to use films which would be equal in their cognitive content. Neither were the cognitive measures designed to measure cognitive learning equally. Additional Findings Visual Acuity To determine the possible effect of visual acuity on the results of this experiment, three questions were asked of each subject: 1. Did you have any difficulty seeing the film (insert title)? ( ) Yes ( ) No 2. Do you normally wear glasses or contact lenses? ( ) Yes ( ) No 3. Were you wearing your glasses or contact lenses while you were watching this presentation? ( ) Yes ( ) No 66 A total of 9 subjects or 12.5% reported difficulty seeing Film A, while 7 subjects (9.7%) reported difficulty seeing Film B. Fourteen of these 16 subjects fall, pre- dictably, in the groups which received the message at re- duced image definition. TABLE 3.--Subjects who Reported Difficulty Seeing the Videotaped Films. Grou 3 Film A Film B p (Citizen Harold) (Cold-Rodders) 1,2 (Low def.) 5 3 3,4 (Med. def.) 3 3 5,6 (High def.) 1 l Of the 19 subjects who normally wear glasses or contact lenses, only two were not wearing corrective lenses during the experiment. Of these two subjects, both in group 1, only one reported difficulty seeing the presentation. This subject was seated in Row 3 and re- ported difficulty in seeing Film A only. The other sub- ject was seated in Row 2. 67 Seat Location Affective and cognitive test score means were cal- culated by seat row to see if any trend related to seat location was discernible. The means were graphed but exam- ination of them showed no systematic distribution of scores. It was, therefore, concluded that seat location had no ef- fect on the results of this experiment. Reactions to the Stimulus Material None of the 72 subjects had seen either of the stimulus films prior to the experimental presentation. In addition to measuring their reactions to the films by the use of the two main affective measures, all subjects were asked the following questions: 7. In the presentation which you have just seen, how is the idea of (insert theme) treated? ( ) positively ( ) negatively 8. Did you like or dislike the film (insert title)? ( ) like ( ) dislike The findings for these questions are presented in Table 4. 68 TABLE 4.--Number of Subjects in each Group who Replied "Positively" or "Liked" to Questions on Theme and Title of the Videotaped Films. Film A Film B Group Def. Theme Title Theme Title 1 LOW 5 11 8 11 2 7 11 2 11 3 5 10 2 10 4 M9d' 9 11 3 11 5 . 6 11 6 9 6 High 7 9 1 10 Total 39 63 22 62 % of s 54.17 87.5 30.56 86.11 Discussion The design of the present study is such that any statistically significant shift in mean scores is attri— butable to the independent variable of image definition. The instruments used to register shift in affective learning were two ten-item forms of the semantic differen- tial chosen from adjectives which have been shown in pre- vious research to have a high loading on the evaluative dimension.1 The adjective pairs were rotated and their 1Osgood, Suci, and Tannenbaum, The Measurement of Meaning, pp. 53-55. 69 polarities were randomly alternated to avoid any subject tendencies toward response patterning. Five adjective pairs which, in the pilot tests, consistently yielded neu- tral results, were discarded. A testxxfreliability showed the instruments to have reasonably high reliability. The average age of the subjects in this experiment was approx- imately fourteen. The semantic differential technique has in previous research, been shown to be a reliable measure with chidren as young as eight years of age. The cognitive tests contained ten presentation re- lated multiple-choice questions for each film. The twenty questions used were retained from a larger pool of ques- tions which was reduced by means of an item analysis per- formed by a computer program at the Office of Evaluation Services at Michigan State University. Tests of reliabil- ity on these unrefined instruments showed low internal consistency. The fact that no significant difference was found between treatments in the present study indicates that the level of definition was not varied sufficiently to cause measurable reactions in human subjects. Some reported difficulty seeing the image but their scores are not 70 significantly different to affect group means. Nor did seat location seem to have any systematic effect on the results. In view of these findings, it is interesting to note that during a pilot test conducted with adults at a level of definition much below that used in this test, .1 megahertz, subjects refused to watch the message and walked out of the experiment. It is also noteworthy that when subjects are shown material at different levels of definition, thus giving a baseline for comparison, their reactions are much more pronounced. In the present study subjects adjusted to the lower definition levels easily because they had no other image definition level with which to make a comparison. Interactions Repeated measures analysis of variance on the af- fective measures showed a significant interaction between film and measure as well as between order, film, and mea- sure. The interactions are not of great importance to the study and can be explained as follows. 71 It was stated earlier that the scoring was re- versed for one of the semantic differential scales. This was done on the authority of the majority responses to a question which asked if the film's treatment of the mes- sage was positive or negative. The result of this ques- tion was 69.4 percent who believed that the film's treatment of the concept "snowmobiling" was negative. It is sug- gested,here,that children of 14 years of age may not have acquired a mature understanding of the negative ecological implications of the snowmobile which were alluded to in the film. Cold-Rodders is remarkably subtle in its nega- tivism toward snowmobiling. Experience with the film has shown that those with a favorable pre-disposition toward the recreational use of snowmobiles repeatedly find the film amusing, acceptable, and favorable toward their sport. Those who are opposed to the noisy machines find the film to be a delightful satire and are pleased that the National Film Board has so clearly expressed its opposition to snow- mobiling. In retrospect the film may have been a poor choice for a stimulus message for the present experiment. It is not difficult to understand why the subjects of this study, when asked if the film was positive or negative in 72 its treatment of snowmobiling, replied that it was nega- tive. However, when tested with the more sophisticated semantic differential, they remained generally favorable towards the concept "snowmobiling" and were largely un- affected by the film's message. Consequently, a graph of the group meansfor the two affective measures on each film shows that the concept "snowmobiling" was actu- ally rated similarly to the other concepts, but appears to be lower because of the reversed scoring. This caused interactions which otherwise would be attributed to sampling error to seem significant. In fact, they are not significant to the results of this experiment. Summary Analysis of variance used to test each of the hypotheses of this study at the .05 level of confidence showed no statistically significant difference in affec- tive and cognitive learning when a motion picture message was presented on television at reduced levels of defini- tion. 73 Analysis of the results categorized by seating distance from the television monitor showed no trend in relation to the levels of image definition which were iised in the experiment. CHAPTER V SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS Summary Purpose of the Study The purpose of this study was to determine if a difference in affective and cognitive learning could be brought about by viewing the stimulus motion picture mes- sage at varying levels of television image definition. Since the design of the study varied only the visual por- tion of the message,any variation in results obtained by the human subjects is attributed to this main independent variable. Review of the Literature An extensive search of the literature indicated a paucity of research in this area. Empirical research has been conducted by those involved with information display 74 75 problems. The majority of the studies are concerned with the effect on subjects' ability to recall and/or reproduce static alphanumeric information displayed on a television screen. The variables of primary concern which have been studied are viewer location and image legibility. One study showed that subjects had more correct responses at a reduced definition than at normal definition. One study used motion picture image distortion as a negative rein- forcer to modify behavior. No studies were located which explored the relationship between reduced image definition of a motion picture stimulus and affective and cognitive learning. Design and Procedures The population of this experiment consisted of 72 high school students. The students were randomly chosen and randomly assigned to six experimental groups. All six groups saw two films preceded by the same brief introduc- tion. The order of the presentation was reversed for half the groups to allow for measurement of presentation order effect. The stimulus films were seen at three levels of 76 television image definition with no group seeing more than one definition level. All subjects were randomly assigned to seats to avoid any tendency to sit in a particular loca- tion. Treatments were administered consecutively over a one day period using the same room and equipment. The criterion semantic differential instrument was derived from several pre—experiment trials and consisted of ten bipolar adjective scales of seven positions. All ten scales were selected from scales which have been shown by factor.ana1ysis to load heavily on the evaluative di- mension. The cognitive measure was composed of ten multiple- choice questions. The questions were retained from the pilot-tests based on their suitability following an item analysis performed by Michigan State University's Office of Evaluation Services. The questions were designed to mea- sure information available only as a result of viewing the stimulus messages. The tests were given as post-tests only to avoid any contamination that might have occurred were subjects submitted to a pre-test. 77 Conclusions Analysis of Results Data analysis supports the following conclusions: In comparing the difference in evaluative meaning for presentation related concepts, no significant, difference was found between subjects who received a televised motion picture message at reduced image definition and those who received the same message at normal image definition. Similarly, in comparing the difference in cogni- tive learning for presentation related concepts, no significant difference was found between sub- jects who received a televised motion picture mes- sage at reduced image definition and those who received the same message at normal image defini- tion. Discussion of the Results The demands placed on the creativity of those who conduct quantitative research in the behavioral sciences are very great. The present study was inspired by the writing of one, who, during the 1960's, became famous by making very complex human reaCtions to communications media sound simple and plausible. To create a laboratory situa- tion which would fairly test one of Marshall McLuhan's 78 adages, "that cool media are high in participation or com- pletion by the audience," and therefore, one would assume, more likely to affect learning, was the test attempted in this study. Many previous researchers have attempted to empir- ically test McLuhan's notions. One attempt which failed due to a lack of creativity in its design was the Bring- mann, Balance, Krichev study. Bringmann et a1. concluded that McLuhan was wrong and that "hot" media are, in fact, as effective in the affective domain as "cool" media. In their research report they admitted some misgivings about the fact that their laboratory experiment had unfairly sacrificed the environment which surrounds any communica- tion situation. In effect they left a loophole through which McLuhan emerged unscathed. Two main criteria of a fair test of the effect of "cool" media were important to the present study: 1) retention of the normality of the communication environment, and 2) avoidance of cross media comparisons. 79 Television is defined by McLuhan as a "cool" medium. Human beings in North America spend an average of approximately six hours per day attending to their television receivers. The level of definition, or "cool- ness" may vary tremendously from one receiver or program to the next. Does this variation have any effect on the information retention and attitude change potential of the medium? From this study's attempt to "cool" the television image in a laboratory setting, we must conclude that it does not. In organizing this experiment, a great deal of time and energy was spent experimenting with various devices to systematically and measurably reduce the information avail- able to the viewer of a moving television image. Finally a video engineer was successful in building an electronic filter which can reduce image definition by controlling video bandwidth from the normal level of approximately 4 megahertz, to 1.5, .5, and .1 megahertz. The customized low pass filter which resulted controls the "coolness" of the medium by simply turning a switch. Several pilot tests were subsequently conducted with adult and teen-aged audiences. In one test, 80 experimental groups saw four films at four levels of defi- nition; in another, they saw three films at three levels of definition. The four-film test was carefully designed and sub- jects were randomly assigned. It was intended to provide the data for this report. Unfortunately for this writer the results were so dramatic that the laboratory setting was totally lost! Large 23-inch monitors had been installed in four identical rooms and all subjects received the pre- sentation simultaneously. A modified Greco-Latin Square design was used, which meant that one group started the ex- periment by viewing the stimulus message at the lowest defi- nition of .l megahertz. Due to the large-screen monitors and the very low bandwidth, the image was too "cool" for the subjects' toleration--half of them walked out of the room and the experiment. The absence of data from this group ruined the experimental design and made statistical analysis of the data from the other groups meaningless. Following several other pilot tests, it was decided to change the experimental design, since several important interactions were unmeasurable without enlarging the total number of groups in the experiment to eighty-one, or more. 81 This was judged to be too unweildy, given the complexity of the treatment and the limited fiscal and time resources available to the study. The experience with the pilot-tests is discussed in detail here because it leads to an informal conclusion based on this exploratory study. That conclusion is that there are very definite limits beyond which human subjects will not attend to a televised motion picture. A twenty- three inch black-and-white monitor with bandwidth filtered to .l megahertzwould seem to fall beyond those limits. The present study showed no significant difference in affective and cognitive learning from a televised motion picture message on a 21-inch screen at levels of video band- width reduced as low as .5 megahertz. Recognizing that this was an exploratory study it now seems evident that the results could be attributed to any or all of the fol- lowing three factors: 1. It is possible that humans do have a tolerance for "cool" media which is greater than the parameters which were tested. 82 It is possible that human tolerance for "cool" media narrows significantly, within the parameters tested, only when there is a higher definition message available to the subject for comparison. During the pilot tests, for example, the study design allowed all subjects to view all levels of definition during the experimental treatment. This resulted in a more pronounced difference between groups than was evident in the main study where subjects viewed only one level of definition per group. It is suggested that this difference oc- curred because the subjects had a more highly de- fined image with which to compare the reduced image definition treatments. The stimulus messages, as with most films, were open to a greater degree of interpretation than is usual with static stimuli. Extremely sensitive measurement instruments were required to detect between-group differences. While the validity of the instruments has been established, it is pos- sible that they were not adequately sensitive to discriminate between the subtle but important 83 differences in affective and cognitive learning which may have been present. Fultzure research should seek to establish the veracity of 'trleese three suppositions. In addition, the final section (Dis this report is used to suggest implications for future research arising from this experiment. Implications for Future Research The results of this study imply that the fear ex- E>3=Iessed by Holm,l that a "flickering or poorly—defined idnnage . . is all it takes to destroy the illusion of eil'lhanced reality, and thus prevent the motion picture from SSEitisfying whatever emotional wants and needs it might Q‘therwise have fulfilled," is not a concern within the Ipéirameters which were tested in this study. This study showed no ill or good effects from watching a poorly- Clefined image for the half-hour duration of the treatment. IPuture research should seek to establish the results of JLonger exposure to this kind of stimuli. \ Is it possible lWilton R. Holm, "The Great Film-Tape Debate," American Cinematographer (October, 1972), p. 1152. 84 that over a longer period of exposure to this kind of stimuli the human system reacts in some subconscious way, perhaps by a build-up of frustration? Or is it possible that the result of long-term exposure to a poorly-defined image has some positive effect? The methods used to measure results in this study indicate that image definition is not a crucial variable in its effect on the audience for motion picture presen- tations. The study should be replicated using a battery of complementary measures to evaluate the effect. The complementary measures should include electroencephalo- graphic (EEG) records of brain waves and unobtrusive be- havioral measures, as well as written tests. This study should also be replicated with subjects receiving the treatment in an environment other than the classroom. How, for example, would subjects in a living- room environment react to various levels of television image definition? As part of a replication of the study a change in the high definition image should be attempted. The present study used 1/2-inch videotape equipment which has a maximum horizontal bandwidth of approximately 3.8 MHz. WOuld results differ if the high definition treatment 85 consisted of a more crisp image such as is possible with 2-inch videotape equipment? Satellite communication is becoming increasingly important and educational and communications researchers should concern themselves with the possible effects on viewers caused by physical changes in the image. For ex- ample, what effect will television display variables, such as definition, which may be more pronounced due to satel- lite transmission, have on human viewers? Research on the effect on humans of motion picture display variables is necessary to determine acceptable standards for the satellite distribution of television messages in all areas, including specialized fields such as education. Cross-cultural research should be conducted to see if cultural differences are enhanced by national tele- vision systems whose levels of definition may vary from channel bandwidths of 5 to 14 MHz,2 and who use lines per screen which vary from 525 in North America to 819 in parts of France. The results of the present study would indicate that North Americans are not missing much by 2J. M. Frost, ed., World Radio-TV Handbook (26th edition, 1972), p. 266. 86 retaining the 525-line system. But are there differences over time which future research could expose? Finally, users and producers of motion picture media should promote and conduct further research which, when considered with the present study, would definitively release them from guessing about the effect of the phys- ical differences between media. BIBLIOGRAPHY BIBLIOGRAPHY Anderson, Kenneth E. Persuasion Theory and Practice. Boston: Allyn and Bacon Inc., 1971. Backstrom, Charles H. and Gerald D. Hursch. Survey Re- search. Chicago: Northwestern University Press, 1963. Barber, W. H. et al. The Affective Domain. Washington: Communication Service Corporation, 1964. Becker, S. L. "Interest, Tension, and Retention." AVCR, Vol. 12, 1964, pp. 277-291. Belson, William A. The Impact of Television. Hamden, Connecticut: Archon Books, 1967. . "l9-inch Black-and-White TV." Consumer Reports (March, 1973), 156-159. Bloom, Benjamin S. (Ed.) Taxonomy of Educational Objec- tives. New York: David McKay Co., Inc., 1956. Bollmann, Charles G. The Effect of Large-Screen Multi- Image Display on Evaluative Meaning. Unpublished Doctoral Thesis, MSU, 1970. - Bringmann, Wolfgang G. et a1. "Experimental Investigation of McLuhan's Ideas Concerning Effects of "Hot" and "Cool" Communications Media." Psychological Re- ports, Vol. 25, 1969, 447-451. Campbell, Donald T. and Julian C. Stanley. Experimental and Quasi Experimental Designs for Research. ' Chicago: Rand McNally Company, 1963. 87 88 Chu, Goodwin C. and Wilbur Schramm. Learning from Televi- sion: What the Research Says. Washington: NAEB, 1967. Croft, Roger C., et a1. "Comparison of Attitude Changes Elicited by Live and Videotape Classroom Presenta- tions." AVCR, Vol. 17, No. 3, Fall, 1969, Pp. 315- 321. Cronkhite, Gary. Persuasion: Speech and Behavioral Change. Indianapolis and New York: Bobbs—Merrill Company, Inc., 1969. Dawson, Marvin. "A Model for Research in Educational Media." Educational Television (February, 1970), 34. Divesta, Francis 1., and Dick, Walter. "The Test-Retest Reliability of Childreds Ratings on the Semantic Differential." Educational and Psychological Mea- surement, XXVI (1966), 605—16. Dwyer, Francis M. "Adapting Visual Illustrations for Effective Learning." Harvard Educational Review, Vol. 32, 1967, 250-263. Dwyer, Francis M. A Guide for Improving Visualized In— struction. State College, Pa.: Learning Services, 1972. ” Edwards, Allen L. Techniques of Attitude Scale Construc- tion. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1957. Emmert, Philip and William D. Brooks (Eds.) Methods of Research in Communications. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1970. Frost, J. M. (Ed.) World Radio-TV Handbook. 26th edition; New York: 1972. Fleming, Malcolm and Mehdi Sheikhian. "Influence of Pic- torial Attributes on Recognition Memory." AVCR, Vol. 20, No. 4, Winter, 1972, pp. 423-441. 8 9 Gage, H. L. (Ed.) Handbook of Research on Teaching. Chi- cago: Rand McNally and Co., 1963. Glass, Gene V. and Julian C. Stanley. Statistical Methods in Education and Psychology. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall Inc., 1970. Good, Carter V. (Ed.) Dictionary of Education. Second Edition; New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., 1959. ‘ Gordon, George N. "What Media Am Not." Educational Tech- nology (July, 1969), 33. Greene, Robert J. and David L. Hoats. "Reinforcing Capa- bilities of Television Distortion." Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (Summer, 1969), 139-141. Halloran, J. D. The Effects of Mass Communication with Special Reference to Television. Leicester, U.K.: Leicester University Press, 1964. Hanson, Marvin L. Effectiveness of Film in Changing Par- ental Attitudes. Salt Lake City: Utah University, 1968. Hoban, C. F. and E. B. VanOrmer. Instructional Film Re- search, 1918-1950. Port Washington, L.I., New York: Special Devices Center, September,’f9507' Holm, Wilton R. "The Great Film Tape Debate." American 'Cinematographer (October, 1972), 1152-53. Hoyt, C. J. "Test Reliability Estimated by Analysis of Variance." Psychometrika, Vol. 6 (1941), 153-160. Johnston, Dorothy M. "Target Recognition on TV as a Func- tion of Horizontal Resolution and Shades of Gray." Human Factors (Santa Monica, Calif.: Vol. 10, No. 3, 1968), 201-209. 90 Karlins, Marvin and Herbert I. Abelson. Persuasion. New York: Springer Publishing Co., Inc., 1970. Kiesler, Charles A., Berry E. Collins, and Norman Miller. Attitude Change. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1969. Likert, Rensis. "A Technique for the Measurement of Atti- tudes.“ Archives of Psychology. R. S. Woodworth (Ed.), Vol. XXII, Nos. 140-146, pp. 1—55. New York: Columbia Univ., 1932. Lawson, Major“ Billy R. "No Significant Difference." Educational Television (January, 1970), 33. May, Mark A. and Arthur A. Lumsdaine. Learning from Films. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1958. McLuhan, Marshall. Understanding Media. New York: McGraw—Hill Book Company, 1964. McVey, G. F. "Legibility and TV Display." Educational Television (November, 1970), 22—23. McVey, G. F. "Television: Some Viewer Display Consider- ations." AVCR, Vol. 18, No. 3, Fall, 1970, pp. 277—290. McVey, G. F. "Where Do We Sit?" Educational Television (December, 1969), 24-27. Miller, Delbert C. Handbook of Research Design and Social Measurement. New York: David McKay Company, Inc., 1964. Moore, David M. "Effect of Size and Type of Still Pro— jected Pictures on Immediate Recall of Content." AVCR, Vol. 19, No. 4, Winter, 1971, pp. 437-450. Neal, Alan S. "Legibility Requirements for Educational Television." Information Display (July-August, 1968), 39-44. 91 Oglesbee, Frank W. "The Basis for Marshall McLuhan's Con- cepts of the Effects of Television Viewing." Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Missouri, 1969. Oles, Henry J. and John O. Bolvin. "The Reliability and Useability of a Semantic Differential Attitude Scale with Third through Fifth Grade Students." Paper read at National Council on Measurement in Education Convention, Chicago, Ill., 1972. Oppenheim, A. R. Questionnaire Design and Attitude Mea- surement. New York: Basic Books, Inc., 1966. Osgood, Charles E., George J. Suci, and Percy H. Tannen- baum. The Measurement of Meaning. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1957. Paulson, F. Leon and Jack Crawford. The Affective Domain of Learning. Portland: Oregon State System of Higher Ed.-Teaching Research, NSMI, 1969. Rasnow, Ralph L. and Edward J. Robinson (Eds.)- Experi- ments in Persuasion. New York: Academic Press, 1967. Reid, J. Christopher and Donald W. MacLennan. Research in Instructional Television and Film. Washington: Bureau of Research, 1967. Ross, Rodger J. Television Film Engineering. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1966. Schramm, Wilbur (Ed.) Educational Television The Next Ten Years. Stanford: The Institution for Commun- ication Research, 1962. ' Schramm, Wilbur (Ed.) New Teaching Aids for the American Classroom. Washington: Dept. of HEW, 1962. Seibert, W. F. "The Legibility of Televised Visuals: A Study of Signal Bandwidth and Other Factors." (Mimeographed) Lafayette, Indiana: Purdue Uni- versity, 1964. 92 Seibert, Warren F., Duane F. Kasten, and James R. Potter. "Study of Factors Influencing the Legibility of Televised Characters." Journal of the SMPTE (July, 1959), 467-472. Selltiz, Claire et a1. Research Methods in Social Rela- tions. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1962. Shaw, M., Wright, J. Scales for the Measurement of Atti- tudes. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1967. Shurtleff, Donald A. "Studies in Television Legibility: Review of the Literature." Information Display (January-February, 1967), 40-45. Skornia, Harry J. "What We Know from New Media Research." NAEB Journal (March-April, 1966), 26, 31, 37. Smith, Alfred G. (Ed.) Communication and Culture: Read- ings in the Codes of Human Interaction. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1966. Snider, James G. and Charles E. Osgood (EdsJ Semantic Differential Technique: A Sourcebook. Chicago: Aldine Publishing Company, 1969. Stevens, Warren D. "Affection and Cognition in Transac- tion and the Mapping of Cultural Space." AVCR, ‘Vol. 18, No. 4, Winter, 1970, pp. 440-445. Walker, Roger S. "Simplified Methods for Determining Dis- play Screen Resolution Characteristics." Infor- mation Display (January-February, 1968), 28-31. Weiss, Helmut. "Capacity and Optimum Configuration of Displays for Group Viewing." Information Display (November-December, 1966), 24-30. Wiener, Norbert. The Human Use of Human Beings, Cyber- netics and Society. New York: Avon Books Paper- back, 1967. APPENDICES APPENDIX A CITIZEN HAROLD INFORMATION SHEET W. _.—_.._.__ EMBED] 938M000 35mm and 16mm Color Distributed by the National Film Board of Canada Screening Time: 8 minutes 37 seconds Iaybe heroes are born, but citizens like Harold re made the hard way, in the lonely struggle etween the aroused individual and the ntrenched Inertia of the way things are. Vhat aroused Harold was his wife. There he ras, cushioned from the world in the womb of is television chair when his wife, yelled, Harold, what‘s that funny noise out there?” "he noise came from chain saws whining their vay th rough his neighborhood trees. Harold had 0 do something about that. Vhat he did and how he did it is the subject >f this animated cartoon film, and it is a story hat any citizen might well ponder once the fun >f the film wears off. >ossibly Harold knew less about the ways of :ity hall than most taxpayers should be expected 0 know. Perhaps neighbors are not so slow to rally round as Harold found them. But the truth is that many of the systems society sets up can be as inflexible as steel when the time comes to make a change or an exception. Harold's trees stood in the way of develop- ment, the one thing that everyone is believed to favor. Had the trees stood on another street or in another part of town Harold would never have heard the saws or missed his television program. As it was, progress was running wild, right on his doorstep. That is what made citizen Harold a changed man. By day he struggled against the system; by night he dreamed of his next move while his wife sighed herself to sleep. Nowadays when all men have reason to trea- sure what bit of nature survives where they happen to live, this tale of citizen Harold and his defense of his environment has a lesson for all. It is a film for any audience to smile over, since Harold is the familiar non-hero that every- one knows. His victory was in rising in high dudgeon from that television chair. It is an example that many a viewer of this film may have reason to follow, sooner or later. The National Film Board of Canada for the program challenge for change société nouvelle in cooperation with departments and agencies of the Government of Canada Director: Hugh Foulds Animation: Hugh Foulds, Wayne Morris Assistants: Zulema Safa, Chardon Labrie, Jean Compton, Howard C. Pedlar Animation Camera: Ken Klassen, Raymond Dumas, Simon Leblan Story Consultant: Don Arioli Editing: Luke Bennett Sound Editing: Karl du Plessis Voices: George Geertsen, Dorothy Courtois Music: High Street Band lie—recording: Ron Alexander, Michel Descombes Executive Producer: Robert Verrall National Film Board of Canada BC. Box 6100, Montreal 101, Quebec Printed In Canada 16mm: 1060 0171 096 (35mm: 1056 0171 096) APPENDIX B COLD-RODDERS INFORMATION SHEET . . _ _ _ A _ _ ere is a film with a resonant answer to bat can be done with a Canadian winter- nd no mention of such slow-poke, no-noise '9. This film introduces a sport without straln — xcept on the pocket and the ears. ’3 a film about motor-sledding, snowmobiling, ie new sit-down winter sport that lmpasslons aburbia. As Is seen in this film, the machines arne in all sizes, colors. prices. But the rinciple Is the same — all tly over the snow on cleated r- hber band, driven at thrllllng speed eagmu‘ afltted motors. What the motor oat lflmfiflohmmer lake. the snowmobile to th woods. 'herenflwykomwmt the dealer' s, the place him and ends. It lsafamlly sort M94- 6.“- _tacturersplcture'-‘- wNo imily: w ‘c‘i'l'r a toutlone.) tw'ofi'r 5 “anti. til ‘I; tl‘. ’h ’ftttil" * edlti . .. ' '.. 35mm and 16mm Color Screening Time: 15 minutes 6 seconds Produced by The National Film Board of Canada clothing for the trail. Mother even receives the prize ot a tree hand-warmer. At this sport only the motor gets hot, and at 30 miles an hour the winter wind tlngles the unlnsulated foot or ear. But on a winding. wooded trail. with snow nod- ding on the sheltering plne boughs and sun gllntlng from new paint and chrome, the scene is enticing enough for any manl woman or child. For those who like speed, there are raceways well organized and equipped, even to the ambulance. It is all In this film-the pull of the sport, the eager will of the trade to keep it booming, the daring rivalry of the racing crowd. and the bemused pleasure of the family outing, with motors popping down the quieter trails. Snow- mobiling has put a new face on winter and. if you wear the approved headgear, perhaps you won’t notice the noise. Distributed by The National Film Board of Canada Direction and Photography: Claude Larue Film Editing: Pierre Lemelin Location Sound: Jean-Guy Normandln Assistant Cameraman: Martial Fltion Sound Editing: Gilles Quintet lite-recording: Roger Lamoureux Producer: Marc Beaudet Made with the participation oi: Maurice de Ernst Denis Andre Marcel Beaulac and the collaboration of: Bombardier Limited and the Canadian Snowmobile Association 'HMOIIIIICIM“ no Ill)! lOUI JilOll' 10060170110 (WWCOWFIIUCOWRIUCOUI Nationai Film Ioerd cleans u in 3 nl v.0. lo: 6100. Maureen! otmm tr strum - . . lanlnMni APPENDIX C SCRIPT OF TASK ORIENTATION (Directions to reader: This will be filmed as a prolonged close-up; script should be memor— ized and constant eye-contact should be maintained.) You are about to see a film produced by the Na- tional Film Board of Canada. The film is new and you will probably not have seen it before. When the film ends you will be given a pencil and a short questionnaire on which to register your reactions to it. We are particularly interested in knowing how well the film communicates detailed information when viewed on a home TV screen which may be in average or below average repair. Consequently, this TV picture may seem somewhat blurred to you. Nevertheless, please pay as much atten- tion to detail as you can, since the questionnaire asks detailed questions. Now here is the film. (LOOK LEFT) 95 APPENDIX D SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM FOR LOW PASS FILTER lfimgmxonsd .m ..H 3 @833 237.8 :85: .w mmaflm mmS+o x RN x RH . .... “a sew—mt .l +__l. H H _ _ . z. :3 «2.3 KN. 323m. HH H. ‘ APPENDIX E QUESTIONNAIRES CITIZEN HAROLD Student No. Seat No. »urpose of this instrument is to register your reactions to the itaped film which you have just seen. Idition, we are interested in knowing how well the film communi- ; detailed information when viewed on a home TV set whiCh may be 'erage, or below average repair. :e follow the instructions for completing the questionnaire by 19 one answer on each question or scale. Please respond to all :ions, even though the choice of answers may seem limited. 97 98 3e following questions refer to the film CITIZEN HAROLD. Please nswer all questions by placing a check mark (/) in the appropriate ircle- Do not omit any questions. If you can't quite recall the tnswer, make a guess. 1.. What flag flies outside the tavern where Harold went for a drink? ® Stars and Stripes ® Canada ® Ontario France (5) none of these 2. How many friends did Harold sit with at the tavern? Q) one (9 two GI) three @ four 6) five 3. Where did the man with the bomb first speak to Harold? ® in the shower @ under a street lamp Q) at home @ in the tavern ® at City Hall How many visits to City Hall did Harold make? ® one @ two 6) three @ four ® five 5. What method did Harold first use to get action? ® appeal to a higher authority ® reasoning with his tormenter ® recourse to violence @ community organizing ® ignoring the situation 99 Phe foot of Harold's bed was decorated with a E) that @Q‘) that ®® that Cl) GD stripe ® carving ® cartoon @ flower @bow design decorated the bar ceiling? checkers @ polka dots ® a circular pattern white lines none of these was inside the big bomb? Harold's real friends ® TNT (39 gelignite Harold's imaginary friends 6) nothing words most closely describe the man with the bomb? athletic @ shark-faced @ tall and slim clean out (:> unshaven What sound did the big bomb make? 6) WHAM @ BAM @ BANG @ BOOM ® WHOOM 100 INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING THE SCALES ON THE FOLLOWING PAGES :he following pages, a topic is shown and it is followed by several :8 CHE adjectives which are opposite in meaning. Each pair of adjec- es i4; separated by seven blank spaces. You are requested to place ingle check mark (/) on one of the blanks separating each pair of ectives to show your personal reaction to the stated topic. Please e your judgments on the basis of what your personal feeling is, at s nmnment, toward the topic. Example: GARDENING good : : : : : : bad e more "good" you feel this topic is, the closer to the word "good" u would place your check mark. The more "bad" you feel the t0pic is, .e closer to the word "bad" you would place your check mark. .nce each scale is divided into seven categories, a check mark at the Ld-point on the scale indicates a feeling of complete neutrality towards 1e topic. The other categories represent successive steps from slightly 3 quite, to zeryf-toward either adjective. For your guidance the fol: owing example is repeated at the top of each page: good : : : : : : bad (very) (quite) (slightly) (neutral) (slightly) (quite) (very) knu:task is to indicate your personal feeling toward the topic, at this mment,tw placing a single check mark (V) on each of the adjective “ales. Although the adjectives may not express your feeling exactly, [cu aunfld work fairly quickly and give your first impression on each scale. lOl ample : good bad (very) (quite) (slightly) (neutral) (slightly) (quite) (very) .ease place a single check mark (t/) between each pair of adjectives to lOW your personal feeling, at this moment, toward the following topic: ORGANIZING A CITIZENS' ACTION COMMITTEE valuable : : : : : : worthless ugly : : : : : : beautiful good : : : : : : bad sad : : : : : : happy honest : : : : : : diShonest unpleasant : pleasant successful : : : : : : unsuccessful important : : : : : : unimportant false : : : : : true wise : : : : : : foolish Example: good 102 (very) (quite) (slightly) (neutral) (slightly) (quite) (very) bad Please place a single check mark (/) between each pair of adjectives to show how you would describe, at this moment, the videotaped film successful dishonest true sad important unpleasant worthless bad ugly wise CITIZEN HAROLD unsuccessful honest false haPPY unimportant pleasant valuable good beautiful foolish . i . 41 ... 103 Your responses will be much more useful if you will provide us with the information requested below. CHECK (/) OR WRITE YOUR ANSWERS DIRECTLY ON THIS PAGE Did you have any difficulty seeing the film CITIZEN HAROLD? ( ) Yes ( ) No Do you normally wear glasses or contact lenses? ( ) Yes ( ) No Were you wearing your glasses or contact lenses while you were watching this presentation? ( ) Yes ( ) No Had you ever seen the film CITIZEN HAROLD before? ( ) Yes ( ) No How many years old are you? What is your occupation, profession, or academic major? (If undecided give most likely choice) In the presentation which you have just seen, how is the idea of "organising a citizens' action committee" treated? ( ) positively ( ) negatively Did you like or dislike the film CITIZEN HAROLD? ( ) like ( ) dislike Please use the remaining space to list any comments about this activity which you may wish to express. 104 COLD-RODDERS Name: Student No. Date: Seat No. The purpose of this instrument is to register your reactions to the videotaped film which you have just seen. In addition, we are interested in knowing how well the film communicates detailed information when viewed on a home TV set which may be in average, or below average repair. Please follow the instructions for completing the questionnaire by giving one answer on each question or scale. Please respond to all questions, even though the choice of answers may seem limited. 105 The following questions refer to the film COLD-RODDERS; Please answer all questions by placing a check mark (/) in the apprOpriate circle. Do not omit any questions. If you can't quite recall the answer, make a guess. ‘ Which of the following trade marks is not mentioned in COLD-RODDERS? © Ski Doo ® Arctic Cat ® Ariens @ Evinrude <:> Sno-Jet Who said "You are the children of the Universe . . ."? ® Salesman @ store owner 6) deacon © snowmobiler The film COLD-RODDERS was made in cooperation with which company? ® Bombardier Limited ® 'Ariens Inc. ® Evinrude Co. (:> Ski Doo Inc. <:) Robert Morse Corp. In this film the horsedriver also plays the part of the ® fisherman @ salesman 6) client @ racer <:> racing fan Which of the following sports were not shown in COLD~RODDERS? <:) snow shoeing <:) fishing <:) horse driving 6) hunting 6) racing "vwvn . 106 6. What is the name of the snowmobile shop? © Marine Centre ® Centre Marin ® Ski Doo Centre @ Centre de Moto Ski “ 6) Centre Marin et Ski 7. On which model of snowmobile is the mobile pulpit modelled? ® Sno-Jet @ Arctic Cat ® Evinrude @ Skidoo ® Ariens 8. Who used the blasphemous expression "tabarnac"? ® wife (2) horse driver 6) racer @ salesman ® priest 9. Mr. Beaulac has ® a beard @ a moustache ® no beard or moustache €13 a fu man chu ® a beard and moustache 10. The COLD-RODDERS was filmed in CI) Ontario @ Quebec 6) New Brunswick 6) Alberta 107 INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING THE SCALES ON THE FOLLOWING PAGES On the following pages, a topic is shown and it is followed by several pairs of adjectives which are opposite in meaning. Each pair of adjec- tives is separated by seven blank spaces. You are requested to place a single check mark (/) on one of the blanks separating each pair of adjectives to show your personal reaction to the stated topic. Please make your judgments on the basis of what your personal feeling is, at this moment, toward the topic. Example: GARDENING good : : : : : : bad The more "good" you feel this topic is, the closer to the word "good" you would place your check mark. The more "bad" you feel the topic is, the closer to the word "bad" you would place your check mark. Since each scale is divided into seven categories, a check mark at the mid-point on the scale indicates a feeling of complete neutrality towards the topic. The other categories represent successive steps from slightly, to qgite, to Eggyf-toward either adjective. For your guidance the fol— lowing example is repeated at the top of each page: good bad (very) (quite) (slightly) (neutral) (slightly) (quite) (very) Your task is to indicate your personal feeling toward the topic, at this moment, by placing a single check mark (/) on each of the adjective scales. Although the adjectives may not express your feeling exactly, you should work fairly quickly and give your first impression on each scale. Example: good 108 (very) (quite) (slightly) (neutral) (slightly) (quite) (very) bad. Please place a single check mark (/) between each pair of adjectives to show your personal feeling, at this moment, toward the following topic: important foolish unpleasant successful honest beautiful; sad false valuable good SNOWMOBILING unimportant wise pleasant unsuccessful dishonest ugly haPPY true worthless bad Example: good : (very) (quite) (slightly) (neutral) (slightly) (quite) (very) 109 bad Please place a single check mark (V) between each pair of adjectives to show how you would describe, at this moment, the videotaped film dishonest worthless sad true successful important bad wise unpleasant ugly COLD-RODDERS honest valuable happy false unsuccessful unimportant good foolish pleasant beautiful 110 Your responses will be much more useful if you will provide us with the information requested below. CHECK (/) OR WRITE YOUR ANSWERS DIRECTLY ON THIS PAGE Did you have any difficulty seeing the film COLD-RODDERS? ( ) Yes ( ) No Do you normally wear glasses or contact lenses? ( ) Yes ( ) No Were you wearing your glasses or contact lenses while you were watching this presentation? ( ) Yes ( ) No Had you ever seen the film COLD-RODDERS before? ( ) Yes ( ) No How many years old are you? What is your occupation, profession, or academic major? (If undecided, give most likely choice) In the presentation which you have just seen, how is the idea of "snomobiling" treated? ( ) positively ( ) negatively Did you like or dislike the film COLD-RODDERS? ( ) like ( ) dislike Please use the remaining space to list any comments about this activity which you may wish to express. APPENDIX F LETTER FROM PRINCIPAL TO TEACHERS ADVISING THEM OF AUDIENCE REACTION EXPERIMENT John Rennie High School Pointe Claire To: Grade 8 Teachers On Wednesday, April 11th, the following students have been selected to participate in a brief audience reaction experiment organized by Mr. Lyle Cruickshank of the National Film Board. The students will be shown two films and asked to complete a short multiple-choice questionnaire based on the films. The total required time should be about 40-50 minutes per group. If you are free to accompany the students as an observer you are welcome to do so, although this is not required. It is important that the students named on the attached sheets be in Room 102 at the scheduled time. The students have been assigned to groups on a probability basis so there must be no transferring,.e.g., from group 1 to group 4 because the time is more convenient. Please advise each student of this activity and return a completed confirmation copy to my office by Monday, April 9th. Please also make any necessary corrections in the spelling of the students' names. Thank You Walter Scott Principal - Cycle l 111 APPENDIX G STUDENT REMINDER TO ATTEND EVALUATION SESSION April 10, 1973 THIS IS A REMINDER! PLEASE REMEMBER TO GO TO ROOM 102 PROMPLY AT TOMORROW (WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11th) A sample of people from all 14 grade eights is helping Mr. Cruickshank to evaluate two National Film Board films which will be shown to you on television. After you see each film, you will be asked to complete a short questionnaire. The total time required to see the films and complete the questionnaires is about 50.minutes. It is impor- tant to arrive on time as there are 6 groups scheduled to use room 102 on Wednesday. Thank you for your interest. We think you will enjoy the films.’ 112 IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII/IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII