Non-Compliance with Instructions in Studies of the Use of Imagery as a Memory Aid

Abstract

Subjects compliance with instructions was evaluated in tests of the efficacy of normal or bizarre imagery as memory aids. High-school students (total sample size = 500) were presented with lists of thirty-two word pairs, and instructed to form normal or bizarre images as aids to remembering the words in each pair. Subjects also completed a questionnaire designed to evaluate the type of imagery used in each case. On the basis of the completed questionnaires, two independent judges then classified each subject as a “complier” or “non-complier.” The proportion of non-compliers was significantly larger among subjects instructed to use bizarre images than among subjects instructed to use normal images. Recall rates were significantly higher 1) among subjects who used bizarre images than among subjects who used normal images. 2) among compliers than among non-compliers, and 3) immediately after presentation of the word list than one week later.