THE NAME REMEMBRANCE EFFECT - A TEST OF ALTERNATIVE EXPLANATIONS

The name remembrance effect is the tendency of students to comply more readily with the requests of a professor who remembers (versus does n ot remember) the students' names. A ''complimentary perceptions'' expl anation for this effect argues that greater compliance is a reciprocal response to receipt of a perceived compliment implied by the act of n ame remembrance. A ''fear of retribution'' explanation argues that gre ater compliance is due to student fear of the consequences of nor comp lying with the requests of a professor who has a powerful memory. The name remembrance effect was found to occur in both public and private compliance conditions inconsistent with the fear of retribution but co nsistent with the complimentary perceptions hypothesis. Mediational te sting also provided results consistent with the complimentary explanat ion.