How do People Use Instructions in Procedural Tasks?

Abstract

Instructions for procedural tasks are often designed to be read before starting the task, but evidence suggests that people often do not use instructions that way. Participants (N = 20) completed knot and assembly tasks using stepwise instructions and the time viewing the instructions in the course of completing the tasks was measured. Half the participants reported that they read the instructions first and half say they usually attempt the task first, but no difference was found between those groups in how they used the instructions. Rather, it was found to depend on the type of task; instructions were used more in the course of completing the knot tasks than the assembly tasks. This indicates that the nature of the task determines how instructions are used and that people might not consistently adhere to a preferred strategy for using instructions.