journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Mecf/'a/Fall 1999 The Effects of Production Pacing and Arousing Content on the Information Processing of Television Messages

The limited capacity model of television viewing is used to investigate the impact of arousing content and fast paced production of viewers ' informa-tion processing of TV messages. Results show that both fast pace and arousing content elicit self-reported arousal, but they elicit different patterns of physiological arousal. Both fast pace and arousing content increase the allocation of processing resources to messages. The combina-tion of fast pace and arousing content overloads the processing system resulting in less recognition and cued recall for the specific content of the message. Results generally support the limited capacity theory of television viewing. Recent research on how television viewers process television messages has used the limited capacity model of television viewing to investigate the effects of emotio