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Modality of Communication and Recall of Health-related Information

University of Leicester, UK

Andrew M. Colman

University of Leicester, UK

A health warning was presented to 89 female and 19 male students aged 17-36 years via three modalities or channels of communication: a 'talking head' (video), an audiotape recording (audio) or a printed transcript (print). The verbal content of the message was identical in all three conditions. Participants' free recall, cued recall (recognition) and global recall of the message were then measured. On two separate dependent measures and a combined measure, recall was significantly (p < .005) better in both the audio and print conditions than in the video condition. No significant differences in recall were found between the audio and print conditions. These results, and those of earlier studies of modality effects on recall of information, are discussed in terms of self-pacing and distraction theories.

Key Words: channel of communication, context effects • distraction theory • modality of communication • self-pacing

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