# Why do so many people seem to have difficulty following simple instructions? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 27, 2005, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-seem-to-have-difficulty-following-simple-instructions/323612 "2005-09-27T02:34:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![mrunlucky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7993a0/32.png) [@mrunlucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrunlucky)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-seem-to-have-difficulty-following-simple-instructions/323612/61 "2005-09-29T18:56:34Z")
I have nothing constructive to add other than another example of people not only not following instructions, but acting without any common sense. I used to work in a copy shop. A favorite pasttime of customers was to come in, lift up a lid, put their document down on the glass willy-nilly, and just start pushing buttons seemingly at random. Then, after the usual jumbled-looking photocopy comes out of the machine, or, often, an endless stream of multiple copies before I could get to the machine and press the “cancel” button, the doe-eyed people would stare at me incredulously because their copy (or copies) weren’t the results they wanted. So, what do we learn? Look at and read what the buttons say, what the digital screen says, how the markings look that surround the glass, before just pressing any old button. It’s what I do if I go into a copy shop after not having used a copy maching for some time, to make sure I get things right. It’s also known as having common sense. It always made me wonder, if this is how these people acted at home or anywhere else. Is that how they drove a car? By just pushing buttons and pulling levers? Is that how they used a phone, and could never figure out why they couldn’t reach anyone they wanted to call? It was as if the copy shop was a visit to another planet. And the sad thing is, this situation happened _every single day_, sometimes with more than one person. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-seem-to-have-difficulty-following-simple-instructions/323612/62 "2005-09-29T19:07:27Z")
> [@Dung Beetle](#): > > On a somewhat related note: How come when I e-mail someone with two or more questions, they e-mail me back and answer one question? It’s easier to send 3 freakin’ e-mails containing one question each, than to try to get someone to read and respond to it all at once. > > Of course, if you e-mail them with just one question, they can always pull the old “respond to a question you haven’t been asked, while ignoring the actual question” trick. > > I hate them. Dung, you and I must work for the same people. That has been driving me batshit crazy this afternoon. I’m going home! ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-seem-to-have-difficulty-following-simple-instructions/323612/63 "2005-09-29T19:41:08Z")
Okay, **Missy2U**. I’m just going to sit here until 5:00 and do this: :smack: ---
**Author:** ![SusanStoHelit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@SusanStoHelit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SusanStoHelit)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-seem-to-have-difficulty-following-simple-instructions/323612/64 "2005-09-29T21:00:50Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > “Why do they call them fingers? I’ve never seen them fing. Oh, wait, there they go.” I don’t remember the original poster on that little gem. That is actually a _Simpsons_ quote, from the one where Homer gets medical marijuana for his eye pain, and becomes a pothead. Otto the Bus Drive and Homer organize a “keep medical marijuana legal” rally with Phish where everyone shows up to vote on the issue… a day after the election (because they’re all potheads, donchaknow). Otto says it while sitting on Phish’s stage. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2005, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-seem-to-have-difficulty-following-simple-instructions/323612/65 "2005-09-29T23:15:03Z")
Another factor in here is motivation, specifically different ones. When you’re a clerk dealing with a lot of people, it makes your life easier if they read the signs. You inevitably transfer your motivation for why they should do it into being their motivation, and that they’re willfully spiting you. But they have a completely different set of motivations. For instance, asking someone a direct question is usually the fastest way to get an answer. What motivation do they have to not do it? ---
**Author:** ![Bongmaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Bongmaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bongmaster)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2005, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-seem-to-have-difficulty-following-simple-instructions/323612/66 "2005-09-30T18:20:33Z")
The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity: [http://www.cantrip.org/stupidity.html](http://www.cantrip.org/stupidity.html) The first law states unequivocally: \*\*\*Always and inevitably everyone underestimates the number of stupid individuals in circulation. \*\*\* ---
**Author:** ![velvetjones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/5f9b8f/32.png) [@velvetjones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velvetjones)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2005, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-seem-to-have-difficulty-following-simple-instructions/323612/67 "2005-09-30T19:10:30Z")
> [@petalpusher](#): > > Funny aside, my junior high gym teacher gave us all a test to see who could follow directions. It was a paper with at least 25 “to do” items on it. Instruction #1 was read the entire list first. Numbers 2-24 were inane things like shout out your name, jump up on one foot, spin in a circle, etc. Number 25 was don’t do #2-24, simply right your name on the top of this paper and wait. I think I was the only one sitting and waiting. We had that test in my freshman (high school) algebra class. I think I was the only one sitting there not doing anything. It was quite funny to watch. With respect to the MT getting people to hang their clothes on the hook or get under the sheet I think it’s a combination of not listening because they’re a little uncomfortable, especially if it’s their first massage, and laziness. Some people never do learn to pick up their clothes. ---
**Author:** ![MizGrand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cdc98d/32.png) [@MizGrand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MizGrand)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2005, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-seem-to-have-difficulty-following-simple-instructions/323612/68 "2005-10-01T13:46:16Z")
Several years back Pepsi had a contest to make up their new catch-phrase. I sent in the phrase “people are stupid”. I kid you not. They sent me coupons for their products. ---
**Author:** ![zelie\_zelerton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/59ef9b/32.png) [@zelie\_zelerton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zelie_zelerton)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2005, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-seem-to-have-difficulty-following-simple-instructions/323612/69 "2005-10-01T19:41:16Z")
The information overload thing is important and there actually has been research on that.\* Get someone to make a list of ten or twenty unrelated words and have them read it to you slowly. Then tell them what was on the list. The majority of people can remember the first part (cos they were concentrating on remembering), the last bit (cos that’s what they most recently heard) but the middle bit is gone. There’s a lot of similar work on short-term memory degradation. Other work done shows that multiple sensory input overloads the system. It is harder to single out one thing to listen to if there are lots of things to listen to. It is also harder to look at something if there are things to listen to, feel, smell, taste, think about etc too. So being in a noisy movie theatre with signs and posters all over the place and thinking about putting your change away and getting your ticket out and wondering if you should go to the bathroom before you go in and have you switched your phone off and what will the film be like is probably not the best time to be listening to instructions about where the movie actually is 😃 no cites cos i can’t be arsed digging out my old psych books ---
**Author:** ![Plan\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Plan\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plan_B)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2005, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-seem-to-have-difficulty-following-simple-instructions/323612/70 "2005-10-01T19:56:49Z")
Well, I’ll try to explain why I’m the dummy, at times. It’s usually about overload. There’s only so much I’m about to learn. I’m not going to learn all the advantages and disadvantages of firewalls, antispam software, antivirus protection, how to update my website, etc. Sometimes I just have to call tech support and have things explained to me…for the tenth time. It’s also about not paying attention. Sometimes I work a tough shift at work and my brain goes into a sort of vacation. I can get home OK, I can order a hamburger and eat it OK, but anything more complicated and I’m like a total idiot. Or I’m just distracted because I’m daydreaming or working or something else and I just don’t notice that this is the door I’m supposed to enter. Also remember that the \*average \* IQ is 100. That means for every college educated buddy of yours with an IQ of 125 there’s someone with an IQ of 75, and so on. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2005, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-seem-to-have-difficulty-following-simple-instructions/323612/71 "2005-10-02T07:39:36Z")
Maybe I’m being the minority view here, but on the “people are stupid” theme … I agree. But I think the stupidity was in the **designer** of the process, not the customers. They’ve designed something that is unnatural, different from the habitual way people do things, and then wonder why people don’t do it their special way. Name on computer form: I write my name about a dozen times a day, and I do NOT do it lastname, comma, firstname, middle initial. Unless it’s on some other stupid, lazily-designed computer form. Cancelling a fax, but not pressing 1?: While, how many other times to I have to dial a number to take an action. Most machines I just press the stop or cancel button to do this. Some do ask me to confirm this, but it’s by pressing that button again, or a Yes/No button – not by keying some random numeric button. As mentioned, smart design would recognize repeated presses of Cancel to mean the user really does want to Cancel. Seems like the fax machine is being most stupid here, not the customer. Test with “read all questions before beginning”: that’s not a test, it is a deliberately designed trick intended to embarass people (and make the teacher feel superior). Real tests don’t work that way. They are nearly all timed, and the successful student starts in as soon as they can, to make the most of the available time. And it’s usually more productive to start answering the test than to listen to the teacher repeat the same instructions you’ve heard a dozen times this semester. Clothes not hung on hook: well, there aren’t any hooks for clothes in my house, or in many houses. I normally put clothes on hangers to hang them up. Try putting a couple clothes hangers on your hook, like people are used to, and see if they don’t use them more. (Actually, being a guy, I mostly throw clothes onto the dresser or a convenient chair. Try putting a chair or shelf under your hook, and let people put their clothes there. Then they won’t put them on your stool and annoy you.) Not following directions in movie theatre?: Well, despite your best intentions, when you give those directions ten times a minute, they are likely to come out in a mumbled monotone, pretty hard for people to understand or even pay attention to. Plus, the signs on the doors are likely to be fairly small, text-only, no graphics, and dimly lit, in comparison to the large, brightly lighted, graphic posters outside your theatre. And why should I have to memorize some random color you’ve assigned, just to find my movie? Incorrect name/password: You say they have the right ones on the error screen, but they need to go back to another screen & type it over. Real stupid software there. It ought to pass that name/password back to that screen. Or ask right on that screen if they want to update their name/password to these values. Yet you’re blaming the customers for the stupid design of your software! When you’re constantly having to tell people this, and repeatedly over months, that’s a real clue that the “idiocy” is in your software, not your customers. Not reading signs at your booth?: People are there to look at the goods you’re offering for sale, not to read signs. (And I’d think you’d want their attention to be on your goods!) Once they’ve decided to buy something, they can get the info fastest by asking you. If it bothers you having buyers asking how to pay you, maybe retail sales isn’t the best job for you. Phone calls 'Are You open today?: It’s a holiday, how are customers supposed to verify that you are open? Would you prefer that as soon as they hear you answer, they just hang up in your ear? Then you’d be complaining about all the rude customers. Many of this reported ‘difficulty in following directions’ comes from just plain bad directions, or a badly-designed process where the directions contradict common habits, or from directions that benefit the direction-giver, not the customer. There’s stupidity here, but not in the customers! ---
**Author:** ![CantUseMyRealName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@CantUseMyRealName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CantUseMyRealName)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2005, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-seem-to-have-difficulty-following-simple-instructions/323612/72 "2005-10-02T14:12:53Z")
i repeat the phrase "please enter our office through the _brown_ door. the _brown_ door is unlocked. open the _brown_ door and walk in. " every single day some yutz is on the sidewalk, pounding on the locked white door, yelling “hello? hello? i have an appointment!” i have tried all sorts of modifications to that speech, such as “do not enter through the white door” and so forth, but i think that in general, people simply do not pay attention. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2005, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-seem-to-have-difficulty-following-simple-instructions/323612/73 "2005-10-02T18:59:21Z")
You make good points, **TBonham**. A great example of this is in walkways across a wide, grassy area. Don’t just put paths where you _think_ they would look good - pave the areas where people have walked paths in the grass. People walk the most efficient route, virtually all the time. Trying to make people walk on paths that aren’t efficient is a waste of time. But I still don’t agree that you shouldn’t read all the questions on a test before beginning to answer them. It’s not just teachers giving arbitrary instructions; it is actually good test-taking practice. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2005, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-seem-to-have-difficulty-following-simple-instructions/323612/74 "2005-10-02T19:15:28Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > Not reading signs at your booth?: People are there to look at the goods you’re offering for sale, not to read signs. (And I’d think you’d want their attention to be on your goods!) Once they’ve decided to buy something, they can get the info fastest by asking you. If it bothers you having buyers asking how to pay you, maybe retail sales isn’t the best job for you. I just find it strange that people who can presumably read do not seem to see my signs at all. There are darned few signs in my booth, and the one in question is right at the obvious location where a person would stand to pay. I know that MY eyes are automatically drawn to written materials on display, because they probably contain information that I might find useful. I said that I respond politely to the redundant questions. I sell my wares maybe ten days out of the year, so no, I’m not making my living this way, it’s just a side venture for fun and (hopefully) profit. But thanks for the sarcasm, and for implying that **I’m** stupid because I put useful information where my customers can see it. ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2005, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-seem-to-have-difficulty-following-simple-instructions/323612/75 "2005-10-03T03:40:38Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > Incorrect name/password: You say they have the right ones on the error screen, but they need to go back to another screen & type it over. Real stupid software there. It ought to pass that name/password back to that screen. Or ask right on that screen if they want to update their name/password to these values. Yet you’re blaming the customers for the stupid design of your software! > When you’re constantly having to tell people this, and repeatedly over months, that’s a real clue that the “idiocy” is in your software, not your customers. Because how many ISPs do you know that have remote access software to go into a customer’s computer and update their username and password for them when they get it wrong? It’s a problem in their dialup connection, on their computer. If we tried to put systems in place to automatically update a customer’s details for them, they would scream the bloody roof down about “OMG, my computer’s been haxx0red!”. The system that’s in place is not a hard one to understand. It says “Your password is right, you just need to re-enter it please”. It even gives them pretty pictures, and step by step instructions to show them where and how to update the password. Other people seem to be able to read the screen and fix the problem, based on how many users we see in that system each day versus how many actually call through and bleat about how their password can’t be wrong, they got it right and it’s our computers that are wrong and we are bad people. ---
**Author:** ![Ticonderoga\_2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4af34b/32.png) [@Ticonderoga\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ticonderoga_2)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2005, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-seem-to-have-difficulty-following-simple-instructions/323612/76 "2005-10-03T04:02:18Z")
> [@CantUseMyRealName](#): > > i repeat the phrase "please enter our office through the _brown_ door. the _brown_ door is unlocked. open the _brown_ door and walk in. " > > every single day some yutz is on the sidewalk, pounding on the locked white door, yelling “hello? hello? i have an appointment!” > > i have tried all sorts of modifications to that speech, such as “do not enter through the white door” and so forth, but i think that in general, people simply do not pay attention. Yeah, we have a similar thing where I work. The right door is always locked, and the left door is always unlocked. There is a sign on the right door saying “use other door”. But I frequently find people standing out on the sidewalk just waiting for someone to come through the door. When I tell them that the left door has been unlocked the whole time, they seem shocked. They will very often _swear_ to me that they tried the left door, and could not open it. I could probably make some extra money on the side, because I’m sure that if I said, “Hey, I’ll bet you 10 bucks that the left door is unlocked”, that they’d take the bet. There does seem to be something about the phrasing “use other door” that scrambles circuits in the brain. I’ve caught myself seeing those signs, and trying to open the door that _has_ the sign on it, then wondering why I’m such a dumbass. Another dumb thing I do is, since I seem to be almost as good at reading backwards as forwards, is that I’ll see lettering on the other side of a glass door that says “pull” (which appears backwards through the glass), and instead of thinking, “Oh, that’s on the other side, so I should _push_ from this side”, I’ll just go ahead and pull on it. ---
**Author:** ![Spiff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiff/32/9852_2.png) [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2005, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-seem-to-have-difficulty-following-simple-instructions/323612/77 "2005-10-03T14:43:35Z")
> [@velvetjones](#): > > We had that test in my freshman (high school) algebra class. I think I was the only one sitting there not doing anything. It was quite funny to watch. Suppose I get such a test and I read all 25 instructions before doing anything, which means that I’ve already followed instruction #1. But what then? Do I follow instructions #2-24, or do I follow instruction #25? I can’t do both. Hey, Teacher, you’ve given out a test that is impossible to fully comply with, so I’ve decided to adopt a strategy that maximizes the number of instructions that I can comply with. Therefore, I’m going to follow instructions 2-24 and ignore instruction #25. What’s that you say? You say that by doing so you’ve shown that I’m a nincompoop with poor reading comprehension? Shame on you for saying so! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2005, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-seem-to-have-difficulty-following-simple-instructions/323612/78 "2005-10-03T15:29:05Z")
The first instruction on the test is to read all 25 questions before doing anything. The 25th question says, “Congratulations! You’ve managed to follow directions! Now put your pencil down and wait for the instructor.” Everybody’s a free-thinker, and the rules don’t apply to them, so they start working on the questions when they please. I’m a pretty free-thinker, but I’m willing to admit that some rules are actually for my own benefit, and will follow them. ---
**Author:** ![Basandre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@Basandre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Basandre)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2005, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-seem-to-have-difficulty-following-simple-instructions/323612/79 "2005-10-03T16:31:09Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > But when taking tests in school, the first rule is to read all the questions first and _then_ start answering. I consider myself somewhat of an expert in the field of exam writing, having written many exams at many institutions over many years, and reading the whole exam before starting to answer any questions is just good exam-writing practice - you do the easy questions first, to get your brain warmed up, you do the questions you know next, then you come back to the ones you’re iffy on. If you have problems getting an exam finished in the time allotted, you might need to make decisions on which questions have the highest marks, and make sure you don’t waste all your time on the one mark questions. > > Knowing how to write an exam properly isn’t the same as blindly following instructions without using your brain. Teachers don’t tell students to read the whole exam first before answering any questions just to mess with the students - it actually is the best way to write exams. > > **petalpusher** , don’t you dare go away. You come back and post or I’ll hunt you down and spank you. I, too, consider myself a good test taker. I’ve passed many a test more by good exam-taking practices than by understanding the material. However, I never, ever, started by reading the whole test. If Question #1 started to take a long time, I’d stop work on it and go on to Question #2. Eventually I’d find myself at the bottom of the test with a mixture of complete and incomplete answers, and I’d go back and finish the incomplete ones that I thought I’d have a chance at (possibly aided by having finished some of the rest of the test). If I never got a chance to finish the ones I left incomplete, then I’d still get partial credit for doing whatever I managed to do in a reasonable amount of time. However, if I’d ever started a test to find that #1 was “Read all questions before proceeding,” I certainly would have done it, having heard stories about just that sort of test. ---
**Author:** ![Dante](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dante/32/9673_2.png) [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2005, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-seem-to-have-difficulty-following-simple-instructions/323612/80 "2005-10-03T17:14:16Z")
I’m jumping on the ever popular “People are just stupid” bandwagon. I’m convinced that 90% of the population spends 95% of their day on autopilot, with calliope music running through their brain. The other 10% are posting here. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-seem-to-have-difficulty-following-simple-instructions/323612.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-seem-to-have-difficulty-following-simple-instructions/323612.md?page=5)