Three studies investigated some variables involved in the psychological processes related to instruction. One study looked at the influence of notetaking, length of the listening-study interval, and thematic organization of the lecture on recall. It found that more ideas were recalled when notes were taken than when notetaking was not permitted and that more ideas were recalled when the material was on different topics than when the material was all related to the same topic. A second study compared the imposition of a subordinate strategy which was incongruent with the passage organization to a condition in which both passage organization and clustering strategy were congruent. A main finding was that incongruence between passage organization and clustering strategy resulted in more recall than congruence. The third study looked at the effect of recitation on retention in relation to individual reactions to stress. The findings showed that impromptu responding and oral presentation from notes rather than the reading of reports prepared by students is preferable for students whose learning is debilitated by stressful situations. (JY)