The specification of film attributes for psychological and educational research purposes

Media and symbol systems as related to cognition and learning.

“…While rhetoric concerning the effects of media in learning has outstripped observed effects, media may potentially entail more than has met the researcher's eyes. Indeed, there have been a few voices in the wilderness that have repeatedly claimed that there is something wrong with the typical research assumptions and techniques pertaining to media (e.g., Mielke, 1972;Olson, , 1976Salomon, 1974a;Salomon & Clark, 1977;Salomon & Snow, 1968), rather than with the media themselves.…”

Television formats, mastery of mental skills, and the acquisition of knowledge.

“…The second reason for the explication of media's essential attributes is the need for more and better conceptualization. It has been claimed that without better conceptualization of the psychological functions accomplished by instructional means (e.g., Cronbach, 1966) or by media (Heidt, 1975;Salomon & Snow, 1968) no meaningful conclusions can be reached. Consequently, one-shot trial and error studies would continue to dominate the field.…”