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Distracting visuals clutter TV screen; viewers less likely to retain content

By John M. Grohol, PsyD
Founder & Editor-in-Chief

Distracting visuals clutter TV screen; viewers less likely to retain content

No matter which channel you turn to on television, you are likely to find some kind of visual element that seems to overpower the screen — making it difficult to focus on one thing.

In the past few years, television stations have begun to reformat their screen presentations to include scrolling screens, sports scores, stock prices and current weather news. These visual elements are all designed to give viewers what they want when they want it.

However, Kansas State University professors Lori Bergen and Tom Grimes say that it’s not working.

“Our conclusion has been that if you want people to understand the news better, then get that stuff off the screen,” Grimes said. “Clean it up and get it off because it is simply making it more difficult for people to understand what the anchor is saying.”


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    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 28 Apr 2005
    Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.

APA Reference
Grohol, J. (2005). Distracting visuals clutter TV screen; viewers less likely to retain content. Psych Central. Retrieved on May 25, 2012, from http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2005/04/28/distracting-visuals-clutter-tv-screen-viewers-less-likely-to-retain-content/

 

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