A study was conducted to assess the impact of self-paced instruction on community college students enrolled in an introductory psychology course. "Self-paced instruction" was operationally defined as learners working at their own rate toward standard objectives set by the instructor. Seventy-eight students were enrolled in three sections of the course; each section was randomly assigned to one of three types of instruction: Traditional, Modified Self-Paced, and Self-Paced. Teaching format, amount of time spent in structured class setting, and level of instructor interaction with the class varied with each group. All students were administered a series of personality, intelligence quotient, and attitudinal tests. In addition, they completed pre- and post-test cognitive examinations on course content and attitudinal questionnaires. Characteristics of students in each group were compared, and although students in the traditional group were older and worked more hours, these differences were not found to be statistically significant. Results indicated that while community college students have the cognitive ability to meet the demands of various instructional strategies, they showed a definite preference for a traditional format when compared to the other two approaches. The study also revealed significant attitudinal changes across the treatment groups, with the traditional group yielding the most positive changes. (DR)