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A theory of interaction between college students and college faculty based on similarity in style of intellectual functioning was proposed, instruments to measure student and teacher characteristics were developed, and the relationship between achievement and intellectual style similarity was studied. Studies that focus on the impacts of physical, social, and intellectual environments on the interaction between student and teacher are reviewed. Two scales were developed to measure cognitive style: Student Goal Orientation scales and Staff Role Orientation scales. Pilot testing of the scales and reliability, validity, and other measures of their quality are described. The study was conducted with 287 students and 30 staff of a university physics department. It was found that the greater the degree of similarity in student goal orientation between student and lecturer, the greater was the student's achievement, as measured by that lecturer. Additionally, there was no relationship between similarity in staff role orientation between student and lecturer and that student's achievement, as measured by that lecturer. Implications of the findings for further research and for tertiary teaching are considered. Study instruments and related articles are appended. (SW)