Children's recall of television material: Effects of presentation mode and adult labeling.

Children from preschool, kindergarten, and Grades 3 and 4 viewed an edited prosocial cartoon in one of four viewing conditions that changed program features and introduced viewing information to aid subjects in recognizing and structuring central plot information. Children's recall of central and incidental program content was assessed. Older children recalled more total information; participants who had viewed with an adult experimenter recalled more material than did children in other viewing conditions. Visual presentation enhanced central recall.