Abstract
This study measured the effect of audio-video channel correspondence on attention and memory. Three versions of four TV news stories were the stimuli. The high-correspondence version employed a specific audio-video semantic match, the medium-correspondence version a less specific match, and the no-correspondence version no match. High channel correspondence promoted the most efficient division of attention and the best memory scores on visual and factual recognition measures. The medium-correspondence version yielded significantly worse visual memory and attention scores, but factual attention and memory scores equal to those for the high-correspondence version. The no-correspondence version yielded high visual recognition scores, but the worst visual attention scores, suggesting that attentional capacity boundaries were overwhelmed by the stimulus. The results across all conditions suggest that when attentional capacity is exceeded, memory of the overall story is degraded.
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Grimes, T. Audio-video correspondence and its role in attention and memory. ETR&D 38, 15–25 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02298178
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02298178