EFFECTS OF GENERAL, SPECIFIC AND MINIMAL INSTRUCTIONS IN AN EXPERIMENTAL TASK AND INSTRUCTION FOLLOWING

Abstract

Studies about rules have shown that changes in sections of different types of instructions may interfere in performance of research’s subjects. The present work aimed to evaluate the effects of presentation of general, specific and minimal instructions in learning task and instruction following. Six college students were exposed to a maching-to-sample procedure, using a subject as his own control design. Subjects were divided in two conditions that differed as the type of specific instruction presented (accurate or inaccurate). In Phases 1 and 2, subjects received no general instructions and were exposed to minimal and specific instructions, according to their condition. In Phases 3 and 4, the same subjects were exposed to the same phases as before, but after receiving general instructions, which included passages about task, materials and consequences. Results showed that providing general instructions improved learning task and instruction following, especially among subjects who received accurate instructions. These data suggest that new sections of general instructions need to be investigated to know their effects.Keywords: general instructions, specific instructions, minimal instruction, matching-to-sample, college students.