Intentional Memory Instructions do not Improve Visual Memory

The current experiment examines whether intentional encoding instructions improve long-term recognition memory for visual appearance. Past experiments suffer from various methodological flaws, such as inadequate statistical power or confounding of variables such as attention and task relevance withintentional memory instructions.In the current experiment, the effect of memory instructions was examined using a factorial design, so that attention to/task relevance of objects could be manipulated independently of memory instructions. The sample size was large enough to achieve power equal to .80 for medium effect sizes (f = .25). There was no effect of intentional memory instructions. These results suggest that observers cannot easily enhance encoding and storage of visual information in long-term memory.