In a recognition memory study involving personal adjectives, the number of false alarms was found to increase with degree of self-reference of the adjectives. This was interpreted as: (1) evidence that the self is an important aspect of processing personal information, and (2) that the self functions as a cognitive prototype. The self can be seen to be a large and complex prototype that imparts a bias in processing personal information. This bias to perceive new, self-descriptive adjectives as being previously seen, has import for a theory of self and other-referent information processing.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Cantor, N. , & Mischel, W.Traits as prototypes: Effects on recognition memory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1977, 35, 38-48.
2.
Jackson, D. N.A manual for the Personality Research Form. Goshen, N.Y.: Research Psychologists Press, 1967.
3.
James, W.Principles of psychology. New York: Holt, 1890.
4.
Markus, H.Self-schemata and processing information about the self . Journal of Personalit'i and Social PsYchology, 1977, 35, 63-78.
5.
Posner, M. I. & Keele, S. W.Retention of abstract ideas. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1970, 83, 304-308.
6.
Rogers, T. B. , Kuiper, N. A., & Kirker, W. S.Self-reference and the encoding of personal information. Journal of PersonalitN, and Social Psychology, 1977, 35, 677-688.
7.
Schulman, A. I.Memory for words recently classified . Memory and Cognition, 1974, 2, 47-52.
8.
Thorndike, E. L. , & Lorge, I.The teacher's word book of3O,OOO words. New York: Bureau of Publications, Teachers' College, 1944.
