Interpersonal Influences in Large Lecture-Based Classes: A Socioinstructional Perspective

Abstract. The present research examines whether an interpersonal environment may exist in classrooms that are notoriously impersonal: large lecture-based freshman-level general psychology classes. The artificial categorization of teaching and learning styles, and the limits of those categories, is also addressed. Students evaluated the style of teaching in the classroom, their individual style of learning, and their overall appraisal of the class. Students' perception of an interpersonal fit between themselves and the instructor seems to be most important for effectiveness in student learning. These results are discussed in the context of extending socioinstructional theories of instruction.