The effect on message recall of placing a message within differentially cognitivelyinvolving portions of a complex audiovisual program was examined. In an experimental design that controlled for time of total exposure to stimulus material and for the time interval between exposure to a test message and later recall and interest tests, subjects viewed a program package consisting of a commercial, a pretested segment of an action-adventure program, and an especially created control in one of four conditions of commercial placement: (1) the commercial was placed between two moderately involving portions of the program which occurred a few minutes prior to both the action-climax and the resolution of the suspense, (2) the commercial was placed immediately subsequent to the highly involving climax and immediately prior to the moderately involving resolution, (3) the commercial was placed subsequent to the climax and immediately subsequent to the resolution, or (4) the commercial was placed between two minimally involving portions of the control communication. Assessments of message recall were taken on one-half of the subjects shortly after they had completed viewing the experimental materials. In order to assess for long-term effects, the remainder of the subjects received a similar recall test and a test of interest in the product depicted in the commercial message one month after the experimental viewing session had been completed. The findings supported the proposition that recall of message content is inversely related to the cognitive involvement potential of the program material presented immediately before and after the critical message.The problem of where to most effectively place a particularly important message within a larger body of material has attracted considerable attention from communication scholars (e.g., Hovland, Janis, & Kelley, 1953). The issue has rather obvious practical implications for many: among others, for the professor who wishes to make his or her major points most effectively, for the producer of instructional or educational television programs who frequently must maintain audience attention with secondary entertainment materials, and for the broad-~~~~~~~ -~ Jennings Bryant (Ph.D., Indiana University, 1974) is an assistant professor of communication studies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003. Pad W. Cornisky (M.A., University of Massachusetts, 1977) is a doctoral candidate in the

In a field study, naive students unobtrusively tape-recorded one class presentation and evaluated the teacher as to appeal, competence, delivery, and teaching effectiveness. The presentations were content analyzed to identify key features relating to humor usage. Following a factor analysis of aspects of evaluation, correlation coefficients were computed between the teachers' frequency of use of the various types of humor and students' evaluations of their professors. The results indicate that for male teachers, usage of humor is generally positively related to appeal, delivery, and teaching effectiveness. For female teachers, only the use of hostile humor was associated with enhanced appeal. In contrast, female teachers' usage of some nonhostile forms of humor was associated with loss of appeal.

Two factors said to produce varying levels of dramatic suspense are examined: degree of perceived outcome-uncertainty and audience disposition toward the heroprotagonist. In spite of the general consensus that these two factors affect suspense, there is wide disagreement as to the optimal level of viewer uncertainty regarding the hero's fate, and there is some question as to whether it is necessary for the viewer to be positively disposed toward the hero to produce a maximal level of suspense. To test competing claims, different versions of an audio-visually presented chase sequence were produced. Experimental materials were varied in a factorial design featuring the five levels of perceived outcome-uncertainty (hero's chances of success/survival = 0/100, 1/100, 25/100, 50/lOO, 100/100) and three levels of disposition toward the protagonist (neutral, mildly positive, strongly positive). Sex of viewer was included as a third factor. Degree of experienced suspense was assessed in viewer ratings. Both perceived outcome-uncertainty and viewer disposition variables yielded strong effects, though no significant sex differences were found. Rated suspense was at a maximum when the hero's chances of success/survival were perceived to be about one in 100 and minimal when either success or failure seemed absolutely certain. Further, suspense increased with increasingly positive dispositions toward the protagonist. Practical and theoretical implications of these results are considered.Suspenseful television and motion picture drama is produced and consumed in enormous quantities each year, yet mass communication researchers have largely ignored the topic of suspense. Subsequently there is no satisfactory theory of suspenseful drama; moreover, the extant writing on the topic is primarily historical, descriptive, and speculative. LITERARY AND PHILOSOPHICAL OFFERINGS ON DRAMAPhilosophical speculations about drama can be traced to Aristotle's observations in the Poetics (cf.