Significance of Configuration and Subassemblies in Sequential Procedural Instructions and Role of Text-Graphical Aid: An Explorative Study

The purpose of this study was to learn about readers´ ability to logically comprehend sequential procedural instructions, presented as isolated graphic frames. Further, this study sought, to find out how text and graphical aids can help comprehension. The 20 participants in this study received a stack of graphic cutouts demonstrating the action in a sequential assembly process. Readers had to sequentially order the collection of unordered graphics with either supporting text describing the action or supporting graphics showing the completed action. Results showed that readers often falter when process information is not presented as part of a configuration and also falter often at points where they need to comprehend instructions demonstrating transitions between subassemblies. Further, data also showed that performance was better with outcome graphics as an aid than with text as an aid. although the difference was not statistically significant.