Self-referential encoding

Abstract: A number of investigators have demonstrated that relating information to the self (self-referent encoding) produces better recall than structural or semantic encoding of the same material. The mechanisms responsible for this self-referent recall advantage, however, still are not well understood. Some have proposed an elaborative processing explanation (e.g., Rogers, Kuiper, & Kirker, 1977), whereas others have argued for an organizational processing interpretation (e.g., Klein & KJhlstrom, 1986). We present a paradigm for clarifying the respective contributions of these two processes to the recall of material encoded self-referentially. Our findings suggest that both elaborative and organizational processes are involved, but which process plays the larger role in recall depends on the material being judged. We discuss the implications of a dual-processing explanation of self-referent encoding.

Abstract: This research suggests that difficulties in demonstrating consistent effects of the self on recall and in specifying the processes involved in self-referent encoding stem partly from a failure to distinguish between two self-reference encoding tasks: those requiring Ss to decide if a word describes them and those requiring Ss to retrieve a personal memory involving the word. Studies have treated these tasks as equivalent methods for exploring the memorial properties of self, but the present research shows that this assumed equivalence is in error. The authors show that much of the inconsistency in the self-reference literature is eliminated when studies are segregated on the basis of these two distinct self-reference tasks. The authors conclude that both trait-descriptive and autobiographical information about the self is available in memory, and that each can be addressed independently. Suppose a friend studying medicine told you that carpal tunnel syndrome is a nerve disorder characterized by weakness, numbness, and tingling in the thumb and first 2 fingers of the hand. You might or might not remember that fact. Suppose, however, that your friend's description of carpal tunnel syndrome reminded you of symptoms you had once experienced. Chances are you would have little difficulty remembering this description in detail. It seems almost self-evident that relating information to the self facilitates memory. Only recently, however, has the mnemonic effectiveness of self-referenc e been tested empirically. In one of the first demonstrations that information is well remembered when it is considered in relation to the self, Rogers, Kuiper, and Kirker (1977) used Craik and Tulving's (1975) depth of processing methodology to examine the effects of various encoding strategies on incidental recall. Rogers et al. found that judging trait adjectives for self-descriptiveness ("Describes

Abstract: Depressed individuals exhibit memory biases on the self-referent encoding task (SRET), such that those with depression exhibit poorer recall of positive, and enhanced recall of negative, trait adjectives (referred to as positive and negative processing biases) However, it is unclear when SRET biases emerge, whether they are stable, and if biases predict, or are predicted by, depressive symptoms To address this, a community sample of 434 children completed the SRET and a depressive symptoms measure at ages 6 and 9 Negative and positive processing exhibited low, but significant, stability At ages 6 and 9, depressive symptoms correlated with higher negative, and lower positive, SRET processing Importantly, lower positive processing at age 6 predicted increased symptoms at age 9 However, negative processing at age 6 did not predict depressive symptoms at age 9, and depressive symptoms at age 6 did not predict SRET processing scores at age 9 This suggests that less positive processing may reflect vulner