The relationship of human interest to immediate retention and to acceptability of technical material

Abstract

A different version of a 1206-word two-part lesson on aircraft mechanics was presented to each of 4 groups of 110 Ss. The versions differed with respect to level of human interest ("personal words" and "personal sentences") used in the two halves. "The results… indicate that a high level of human interest… of technical writing produced no significant difference in immediate retention test score, was consistently judged less acceptable, and showed a tendency to produce a greater amount read in a given time, compared to a low level of human interest.… " (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)