Understanding Written Instructions: The Role of an Explanatory Schema

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Abstract
This research deals with how people understand and use written instructions, like those for assembling an electrical or mechanical object. The major issue concerns the organization of steps. Typically, instructions consist entirely of a linear sequence of steps to be executed. Theoretical considerations, however, suggest that performance would be better if instructions also included an explanatory schema that offered a rationale for each executable step. To test this, three different sets of instructions for assembling an electrical circuit were composed. One contained the typical linear organization (linear instructions), another contained the steps plus an explanatory schema that emphasized the structure of the circuit (structural instructions), and a third contained the steps plus an explanatory schema that emphasized the function of the circuit (functional instructions). In Experiment 1, subjects read and executed each step, and then verbally recalled the instructional steps. Steps were read faster and recalled more accurately with structural and functional instructions than with linear ones. Experiment 2 replicated the reading-speed advantage for the structural and functional instructions. In Experiment 3, after reading and executing each step, subjects had to assemble another electrical circuit. Performance on this second circuit was better for subjects who had worked with structural or functional instructions than with linear ones.

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