Incidental Learning of Aging Adults Via Television

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to research the extent of incidental learning by aging adults through casual television viewing. Seventy-nine aging adults participated in viewing a commercially prepared television documentary in an informal setting. Cued-recall tests were given immediately after the program and again one week later (to 55 participants) to determine the proportion of recall of main and subordinate ideas, both immediate and delayed. Regression was used to analyze the importance to retention of the aging adults' individual characteristics (age, socioeconomic status, meaningfulness of content and materials, attitude towards television, and previous education). Only previous education showed a statistically significant positive correlation with immediate and delayed recall. This study revealed the difficulty of ascertaining incidental learning outcomes. Methodological considerations are discussed, and further implications for adult education via television are probed.