This study investigated the effects of offering three instructional options (lecture, lecture-discussion, and independent study) to students in a large psychology lecture class. The purpose of this study was to determine whether students do better when given their preferred method of learning, and whether the different methodology affected learning. The outcomes involved 3 major factors: 1) knowledge and comprehension of course material, 2) application of course material, and 3) evaluation of a "novel reading." The attitudes of the students toward the course were also measured. Of the 185 students in the class, 106 received their preferred option, 79 did not. Results indicated that students in their preferred option did not get better grades than the other students, but they did have a more positive attitude toward the course. Students in the lecture discussion, and lecture option performed better in terms of knowledge and comprehension than those in the independent study group, but the latter scored higher on the evaluation of a "novel article." Although 93.5% of the students favored the idea of options, it did not make any difference whether or not a student was given his choice of teaching method in terms of cognitive goals. (AF)