To investigate whether television viewers respond differently to presidential debaters than radio listeners do (in other words, does visual content significantly shape the way audience members evaluate the candidates?), a study examined the first Ronald Reagan-Walter Mondale debate in 1984. Subjects, 66 adult volunteers (35 assigned to television viewing and 28 to radio listening) from the faculty, staff, and student body of a small liberal arts college, completed a candidate preference form prior to the debate and filled out the main questionnaire immediately following the debate. Results showed that viewers make different evaluative judgments than listeners do; that overall, radio listeners tended to rate the candidates more positively; and that viewer perceptions of a debater's energy, openness, and forcefulness may be significantly influenced by visual elements. Findings suggest that the television factor is an evaluative dimension related to the concept of dynamism; the candidate who seems most forthright and energetic and who best exploits such visual opportunities as camera eye contact will be evaluated most positively by viewers. (Three tables of data are included. An appendix lists the questionnaire items, and 20 references conclude the study.) (SR)