Attitude and Peer Norm Predict How Students Use Lecture Recordings: A Longitudinal Study

The impact of lecture recordings on university students’ learning depends on whether the recordings are used as a substitute to attending live lectures (watching instead of attending; usually undesirable) or as a supplement to attending (watching in addition to attending; usually desirable). However, little is known about the predictors of how students use the recordings, and how exactly to instruct students so they use recordings in the most effective way. This study examined the demographic and psychological variables associated with attending live lectures, and with the use of lecture recordings as a substitute or supplement. In particular, we measured the students’ own opinions about attending live lectures and using lecture recordings (attitude), students’ beliefs about what their classmates thought about these behaviours (peer norm), and students’ beliefs about what their lecturers thought about these behaviours (lecturer norm). Using data gathered in a large introductory psychology course (n=212), we found that students had a positive attitude and perceived a positive peer norm towards all three behaviours. Their perception of lecturer norm was more nuanced, with substitution perceived to be the least accepted by lecturers. Generally, the more positive the students’ own attitude and the perceived peer norm towards the focal behaviour, the more likely students were to engage with lectures in that way. These findings suggest that attitudes and peer norms may be useful targets for educational interventions promoting the use of lecture recordings as a supplement rather than substitute. Study materials, data and analysis code are available online at https://osf.io/tgp8j/?view_only=7697958bb8df455fba205a94f0e1a9bd.