I believe it is fairly well established that users (regardless of their
education) will approach any task by:
· First, looking for visible cues that will prompt them how to proceed
(buttons, menu items, etc)
· Second, asking someone else whom they believe will know what to do
(hence the persistence of out-of-date and erroneous processes in offices)
· Third, and as a last resort, reading the instructions.
This is unsurprising and is perhaps best thought of as a by-product of
‘cognitive parsimony’ – our species’ habit of never expending more brain power
than is necessary to attain a goal.
From: austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Petra Liverani
Sent: Wednesday, 19 September 2018 4:02 PM
To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: atw: Re: They don't read the instructions
I find it interesting it says people with more education are less likely to
read instructions as I have also seen it said that expert users are more likely
to read instructions - and it's this last statement that I resonate with. Where
I don't know how to do something (regardless of any sense of solidarity :)) I
think it's often quicker to search out instructions and follow them. I find
that when I'm training people I iterate over and over, "google for help" and
that one person, at least, has thanked me for that handy tip.
There are so very many instructions posted on YouTube for any number of
different procedures which have a high view count. Of course, watching a video
is a bit different from reading instructions but I find I might go to a video
first and then think I'm better off with written.
I think the reason people don't read the manual for a lot of devices is that
they're not written in the most user-friendly fashion.
----- Original Message -----
From:
austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
To:
<austechwriter@freelistsorg>
Cc:
Sent:
Wed, 19 Sep 2018 08:19:16 +1000
Subject:
atw: They don't read the instructions
For those who missed them, this year’s Ig Nobel prizes have been announced, and
a research project has determined that people don’t read instructions:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2018-09-14/nobody-reads-the-instructions-ig-nobel-prize-study-shows/10242560?smid=Page:%20ABC%20News-Facebook_Organic&WT.tsrc=Facebook_Organic&sf197637691=1
(I always do, as an act of solidarity.)
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