Brain, sleep and memory · 1 min read
More money at stake did not make visual memory more accurate
In three online experiments, a larger reward did not appear to improve memory for a figure’s orientation. Remembering more figures did make it harder.
The study, in plain language
People viewed figures briefly, waited one second, and rotated another figure to match the orientation they remembered. In the first two experiments, the bonus varied between groups. In the third, it varied from trial to trial for each participant.
None of the three experiments showed improved accuracy when the reward increased. By contrast, memory became less accurate when more figures had to be retained. One study also measured participants’ enjoyment of doing the task for its own sake, and the money did not noticeably change it.
In this task, more money at stake did not lead to a more accurate memory of orientation; the amount of information to retain did leave a mark.
The key idea
In these visual memory tests, a larger reward did not sharpen recall, while having more figures to retain did make it less accurate.
Something to think about
Before attributing a memory lapse to a lack of motivation, consider how demanding the task itself is. Here, offering a larger reward did not appear to change a performance measure, while retaining more items at once did make it worse.
The original study
No effect of monetary reward in a visual working memory task
Source under CC BY 4.0. English adaptation and explanation by PaperFlow, with AI assistance. The text has been reorganized for a general audience; it is not the complete paper and does not imply endorsement by its authors.
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