A word of warning: Instructions and feedback cannot prevent the revelation effect

• Revealing a word leads to increased recognition confidence directly afterwards.
• This revelation effect is due to a liberal criterion shift.
• Warning participants about the effect does not reduce the criterion shift.
• Accuracy feedback is equally ineffective in reducing the criterion shift.
• False confidence of participants that criterion shift can be eliminated.

In recognition tests, participants claim that stimuli appear more familiar after an intervening task (e.g., solving an anagram) than without an intervening task—the revelation effect. In Experiment 1, we warned half of the participants about the revelation effect and asked them to prevent any judgment bias. However, compared to a control group without warning instructions, the revelation effect remained unaltered. In Experiment 2, participants who received warning instructions additionally received accuracy feedback for their recognition judgments. We assumed that feedback would aid participants in detecting any judgment bias. Again, warning instructions and feedback failed to reduce the revelation effect. In Experiment 3, participants demonstrated that they understood the warning instructions and generally believed that they were successful in suppressing the revelation effect. Yet, again, a revelation effect occurred. The experiments suggest that the revelation effect is a robust judgment bias that lies outside of the participants’ control.