Effects of instructions that invoke intentions to perform activities on the intention superiority effect in prospective memory

Abstract

The intention superiority effect (ISE) refers to the phenomenon where intention-related materials have proven to be more accessible compared to other types of to-be-remembered materials. Three experiments were conducted to determine whether the ISE is related to the encoding of activities or to the instruction to perform the activities. In these experiments, the participants performed a simple action script or observed the experimenter perform a script. After memorizing two scripts, the participants were instructed as to which script they were to perform or observe. In a subsequent lexical decision task, reaction times for the words from the to-be-performed or to-be-observed scripts were compared with those for the words from neutral scripts. In Experiment 1, after memorizing two scripts with a perform intention, the participants were instructed to perform one of the scripts. In Experiment 2, after memorizing two scripts with a perform intention, the participants were instructed to observe one of the scripts. In Experiment 3, after memorizing two scripts with an observe intention, the participants were instructed to perform one of the scripts. The ISE was detected in Experiments 1 and 3 but not in Experiment 2. These results suggest that the ISE is related to the instructions to perform a script.