Forty-two students enrolled in an introductory child development course at the University of Kansas participated in a study which assessed student-instructor interaction in a personalized psychology course. Using Keller's Personalized System of Instruction (PSI), the instructor's role was investigated by comparing the number of interactions between instructors, students, and proctors under two instructor conditions: active and inactive. The active instructor moved throughout the classroom, initiated interactions, and looked over students' study guides. The inactive instructor did not initiate interactions and remained seated at a desk and answered student questions from that location. Results indicated no significant differences in academic performance or rate of learning between the two approaches. However, students rated the active instructor condition more favorably than the inactive instructor role. Seven references are listed. (MER)