Self-reference Effect Research Articles

Self-reference in suicidal behaviour

ABSTRACTIntroduction: Several lines of evidence suggest a perturbed sense of self in people who attempt suicide, but it has rarely been experimentally studied. Here, we aimed to explore in this population the narrative self through explicit self-perception and the self-reference effect in memory.Methods: Forty-seven patients with a mood disorder, including 20 with a personal history of suicide attempt, completed a self-referential task. During the encoding phase, they were presented with personality traits and had to successively judge whether each trait described themselves (“self condition”) or was a desirable trait, in general (“general condition”). Then, they were unexpectedly asked to retrieve as many previously presented traits as possible (free recall phase).Results: Suicide attempters did not differ from non-attempter patients in any self-reference measures. Moreover, none of these measures correlated with current suicidal ideas. During the encoding phase, patients in both groups attributed negative traits to themselves more often than they considered them to be desirable, in general, with an opposite pattern for positive traits. The number of negative traits during the self but not the general condition was correlated with depression, anxiety, and mental pain levels, whereas depression and mental pain levels were correlated with suicidal ideas. No self-reference effect in memory was found.Conclusions: Overall, measures of the narrative self were not directly associated with suicidality. However, biased self-perception was related to painful and depressive feelings, which were in turn related to suicidal ideas. More research on self-related processing during the suicidal process is warranted.

Does self-reference effect occur by subliminally-presented self-related information?

Does self-reference effect occur by subliminally-presented self-related information?

Neural responses to feedback information produced by self-generated or other-generated decision-making and their impairment in schizophrenia.

Several studies of self-monitoring dysfunction in schizophrenia have focused on the sense of agency to motor action using behavioral and psychophysiological techniques. So far, no study has ever tried to investigate whether the sense of agency or causal attribution for external events produced by self-generated decision-making is abnormal in schizophrenia. The purpose of this study was to investigate neural responses to feedback information produced by self-generated or other-generated decision-making in a multiplayer gambling task using even-related potentials and electroencephalogram synchronization. We found that the late positive component and theta/alpha synchronization were increased in response to feedback information in the self-decision condition in normal controls, but that these responses were significantly decreased in patients with schizophrenia. These neural activities thus reflect the self-reference effect that affects the cognitive appraisal of external events following decision-making and their impairment in schizophrenia.

Simulation-based mentalizing generates a "proxy" self-reference effect in memory.

The self-reference effect (SRE) in memory is thought to depend on specialized mechanisms that enhance memory for self-relevant information. We investigated whether these mechanisms can be engaged "by proxy" when we simulate other people, by asking participants to interact with two virtual partners: one similar and one dissimilar to self. Participants viewed pairs of objects and picked one for themselves, for their similar partner, or their dissimilar partner. A surprise memory test followed that required participants to identify which object of each pair was chosen, and for whom. Finally, participants were shown both partners' object pairs again, and asked to indicate their personal preference. Four key findings were observed. Overlap between participants' own choice and those made for their partner was significantly higher for the similar than the dissimilar partner, revealing participants' use of their own preferences to simulate the similar partner. Recollection of chosen objects was significantly higher for self than for both partners and, critically, was significantly higher for similar than dissimilar partners. Source confusion between self and the similar partner was also higher. These findings suggest that self-reference by proxy enhances memory for non-self-relevant material, and we consider the theoretical implications for functional interpretation of the SRE.

Disowning the self: The cultural value of modesty can attenuate self-positivity.

Western participants endorse a higher number of positive traits as self-descriptive, but endorse a lower number of negative traits as self-descriptive. They also respond quicker to categorize positive traits as self-descriptive, but respond slower to categorize negative traits as self-descriptive. Is this self-positivity bias qualified by the cultural value of modesty? We induced modesty (vs. punctuality) and assessed self-descriptiveness judgments and response times among Chinese participants. We replicated the self-positivity bias in regards to both self-descriptiveness judgments and response times. In the case of self-descriptiveness judgments, however, the bias was partially qualified by modesty. Relative to control participants, those in the modesty condition endorsed fewer positive traits as self-descriptive and manifested a tendency toward endorsing more negative traits as self-descriptive. In the case of response times, the self-positivity bias was unqualified by modesty. Within both conditions, participants were quicker to categorize positive traits as self-descriptive and were slower to categorize negative traits as self-descriptive. The results speak to the relation between the self-positivity bias and the self-reference effect and illustrate the malleability of self-processing.

Remembering my friends: Medial prefrontal and hippocampal contributions to the self-reference effect on face memories in a social context.

Memories associated with the self are remembered more accurately than those associated with others. The memory enhancement related to the self is known as the self-reference effect (SRE). However, little is known regarding the neural mechanisms underlying the SRE in a social context modulated by social relationships. In the present fMRI study, we investigated encoding-related activation of face memories encoded with the self-referential process in a social context that was manipulated by imagining a person-to-person relationship. Healthy young adults participated in the present study. During encoding, participants encoded unfamiliar target faces by imagining a future friendship with themselves (Self), their friends (Friend), or strangers (Other). During retrieval, participants were presented with target and distracter faces one by one, and they judged whether each face had been previously learned. In the behavioral results, target faces encoded in the Self condition were remembered more accurately than those encoded in the Other condition. fMRI results demonstrated that encoding-related activation in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) was significantly greater in the Self condition than in the Friend or Other conditions. In addition, the generalized psycho-physiological interaction (gPPI) analysis showed that functional connectivity between activation in the hippocampus and the cortical midline structures (CMSs), including the mPFC and precuneus, was significant in the Self but not in the Other condition. These findings suggest that the SRE in a social context could be involved in the interaction between the CMS regions, which are related to the self-referential process, and the hippocampus related to the memory process. Hum Brain Mapp 38:4256-4269, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

An online paradigm for exploring the self-reference effect.

People reliably encode information more effectively when it is related in some way to the self—a phenomenon known as the self-reference effect. This effect has been recognized in psychological research for almost 40 years, and its scope as a tool for investigating the self-concept is still expanding. The self-reference effect has been used within a broad range of psychological research, from cultural to neuroscientific, cognitive to clinical. Traditionally, the self-reference effect has been investigated in a laboratory context, which limits its applicability in non-laboratory samples. This paper introduces an online version of the self-referential encoding paradigm that yields reliable effects in an easy-to-administer procedure. Across four studies (total N = 658), this new online tool reliably replicated the traditional self-reference effect: in all studies self-referentially encoded words were recalled significantly more than semantically encoded words (d = 0.63). Moreover, the effect sizes obtained with this online tool are similar to those obtained in laboratory samples, and are robust to experimental variations in encoding time (Studies 1 and 2) and recall procedure (Studies 3 and 4), and persist independent of primacy and recency effects (all studies).

The movement-induced self-reference effect: enhancing memorability through movement toward the self.

Much evidence suggests that bodily actions affect cognitive states. In particular, pulling owned objects toward the self improves memory for those objects compared to memory for objects pushed away from the self. Experiments 1 and 2 examined the effect of incidental joystick movement on static stimuli, hypothesizing that using the physical self (rather than a computer monitor) as a reference point would enhance memory for items categorized via a toward-the-self action but not toward-the-computer-monitor action. Experiment 3 examined whether movement toward an external representation of self, one's cellular phone, would enhance memory compared to the same movement toward an unfamiliar phone. Recognition memory was enhanced for both words and pictures evaluated during movements toward a representation of the self, regardless of whether the representation was a physical self or a disembodied self. Furthermore, movement toward the self enhanced memory, rather than movement away from the self depressing memory. These results suggest that self-referential processing can be induced by an approach motor action and impact episodic memory regardless of intention to learn, stimulus type, or motion of the stimuli. They also suggest that self-referential memory advantage can be disembodied.

Memory Bias in Depression: Effects of Self-Reference and Age

Positive biases in memory serve as cognitive mechanisms of emotional regulation. It has been debated whether this ability is impaired in depression only for self-referent contents. The current study investigated the role of self-reference and age in memory bias in depression, in clinically depressed individuals (n = 41) and healthy controls (n = 39), aged 22–80 years. Participants completed recall and recognition tasks of experimentally presented positive, negative, and neutral non-self-referent images, and retrieved and rated a self-generated selection of autobiographical memories. The results suggested that depressed patients, relative to healthy controls, retrieved fewer positive self-referent memories. Importantly, depressed patients were positively biased when recalling non-self-referent memories. The positivity of biases decreased with age for self-referent and increased with age for non-self-referent memory contents in both groups. The overall results suggested that mood-regulating mechanisms can b...

P170 Impact of high definition transcranial direct current stimulation over the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex on social cognition

Question The dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) is considered a key component of the “social brain” and has been associated with self-other distinctions across a variety of “theory of mind” (ToM) tasks. Objective To assess the impact of high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) over the dmPFC on a low-level visual perspective taking task (VPT), high-level affective ToM task (Mind in the Eyes), and on the self-reference effect in episodic memory. Methods Using a within-subjects, cross-over design, twenty healthy young subjects (18–35 yrs) received 1 mA excitatory (anodal) tDCS for 20 min or sham-tDCS whilst completing three socio-cognitive tasks. tDCS was administered using a one-channel DC-stimulator and two concentric round rubber electrodes. The Mind in the Eyes task (MITE) involved selecting the emotion or cognitive state represented in a set of eyes. The subjects were then asked how often they, or another (Barack Obama), felt that way. Age and gender judgements acted as a low-level social judgement control condition. After approximately 30 min, subjects were asked to recall as many chosen emotion/cognitive state words they could remember, followed by a recognition task. In between, subjects completed a task able to measure implicit, level-1 (line of sight judgment), and level-2 (location of objects relative to other’s perspective) VPT. Results There was no effect of anodal-tDCS on MITE performance. Anodal-tDCS increased the impact of the other agent’s perspective during self-perspective judgements in level 1 and level 2 VPT, but not during implicit VPT. Specifically, during anodal-tDCS, there was a greater difference in reaction time between scenes congruent or incongruent with the perspective of the other agent. During the recognition memory task, anodal-tDCS increased memory for other-encoded emotion words with no impact on self-encoded emotion words. Conclusions The findings demonstrate for the first time that high-definition tDCS over the dmPFC can improve social cognition, especially concerning the salience of other encoded memories or the perspective of others. This proof of concept study paves the way for assessing the impact of HD-tDCS in clinical populations who may benefit from improved social cognition.

Using the Dead to Teach the Living

The American Psychologist did not regularly publish the obituaries of prominent psychologists until 1979. The objective of the obituary section was not to canonize the deceased, but rather to respond to the field’s budding interest in the history of psychology. This article argues that the obituary, when viewed as a historical document, offers great pedagogical value in the psychology classroom. With distinct advantages over traditional instructional approaches, the obituaries of preeminent psychologists (1) include anecdotes that are often not covered in typical psychology textbooks, (2) present biographical information that has the potential to increase personal relevance to students and capitalize on the self-reference effect, and (3) reflect the zeitgeist of the field. Specific recommendations for how to incorporate obituaries into the psychology curriculum are suggested.

Source memory that encoding was self-referential: the influence of stimulus characteristics

ABSTRACTDecades of research suggest that encoding information with respect to the self improves memory (self-reference effect, SRE) for items (item SRE). The current study focused on how processing information in reference to the self affects source memory for whether an item was self-referentially processed (a source SRE). Participants self-referentially or non-self-referentially encoded words (Experiment 1) or pictures (Experiment 2) that varied in valence (positive, negative, neutral). Relative to non-self-referential processing, self-referential processing enhanced item recognition for all stimulus types (an item SRE), but it only enhanced source memory for positive words (a source SRE). In fact, source memory for negative and neutral pictures was worse for items processed self-referentially than non-self-referentially. Together, the results suggest that item SRE and source SRE (e.g., remembering an item was encoded self-referentially) are not necessarily the same across stimulus types (e.g., words, pictures; positive, negative). While an item SRE may depend on the overall likelihood the item generates any association, the enhancing effects of self-referential processing on source memory for self-referential encoding may depend on how embedded a stimulus becomes in one’s self-schema, and that depends, in part, on the stimulus’ valence and format. Self-relevance ratings during encoding provide converging evidence for this interpretation.

Survival processing versus self-reference: A memory advantage following descriptive self-referential encoding

Previous research has shown that rating words for their relevance to a survival scenario leads to better retention of the words than rating them for self-reference. Past studies have, however, relied exclusively on an autobiographical self-reference task in which participants rate how easily a common noun brings to mind a personal experience. We report five experiments comparing survival processing to a descriptive self-reference task in which participants rated how well trait words described them. Rating trait adjectives for survival value led to higher levels of recall and recognition than rating them for their relevance to a moving home scenario. Rating the adjectives for self-reference, however, led to higher levels of recall (Experiments 1 and 3) and recollection (Experiment 2) than survival rating. Experiment 4 replaced trait adjectives with trait nouns and found that self-reference led to greater recognition accuracy than survival processing. Experiment 5 used trait nouns followed by tests of free recall and found a memory advantage following self-reference that was not influenced by the imageability of the stimuli. The findings are discussed in terms of theories of the survival processing and self-reference effects and the relationship between them.

Neural Correlates of Self-Reference Effect in Early Alzheimer's Disease.

Information that is processed with reference to the self (i.e., self-referential processing, SRP) is generally associated with better remembering than information processed in a semantic condition. This benefit of self on memory performance is called self-reference effect (SRE). In the present study, we assessed changes in the SRE and SRP-related brain activity in patients diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment or early Alzheimer's disease (MCI/AD). Fifteen patients with confirmed amyloid-β deposits (positive florbetapir-PET scan) and 28 healthy controls (negative florbetapir-PET scan) were included. Participants either had to judge personality trait adjectives with reference to themselves (self condition) or to a celebrity (other condition), or determine whether these adjectives were positive or not (semantic condition). These adjectives were then presented with distractors in a surprise recognition task. Functional MRI data were acquired during both the judgment and recognition tasks. The SRE was observed in controls, but reduced in patients. Both controls and patients activated cortical midline structures when judging items with reference to themselves, but patients exhibited reduced activity in the angular gyrus. In patients, activity at encoding in the angular gyrus positively correlated with subsequent recognition accuracy in the self condition (self accuracy). This region also exhibited significant hypometabolism and Aβ burden, both related to self accuracy. By contrast, there were no differences in brain activity during recognition, either between the self and semantic conditions, or between groups. These results highlight SRE impairment in patients with MCI/AD, despite intact activity in cortical midline structures, and suggest that dysfunction of the angular gyrus is related to this impairment.

Self-reference and emotional memory effects in older adults at increased genetic risk of Alzheimer’s disease

ABSTRACTThe present study investigated whether cognitively healthy older adults who are carriers of the ε4 allele of apolipoprotein E, the most prevalent genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease, benefit from self-referential processing and emotional processing to the same degree as noncarriers of this gene. Participants encoded emotional and nonemotional narratives using a baseline-orienting task, semantic elaboration, or imagination-based self-referential processing and then completed a recognition memory test. Both groups of older adults showed enhanced recognition memory for narrative information following self-referential processing relative to semantic elaboration, and the magnitude of this memory effect was not affected by ε4 status. However, older adult ε4 carriers did not show an emotional enhancement effect, whereas older adult ε4 noncarriers did. These results indicate that whereas the self-reference effect is not attenuated in cognitively healthy older adults ε4 carriers, deficits in emotional memory may be an early cognitive marker of abnormal decline.

透过自我参照效应来看自我的发展

透过自我参照效应来看自我的发展

自我参照加工的源记忆优势

源记忆是指对项目信息以外的各种情景特征的记忆。近几年的研究发现，自我参照加工不仅可以促进对项目信息的记忆，还可以提高对源信息的记忆。这种自我参照加工的源记忆优势不仅表现在年轻人身上，在老年人和儿童身上也有所体现。西方文化下，自我参照加工的源记忆优势并不会表现在亲密他人身上；东方文化下亲密他人是否也存在像自我一样的源记忆优势还有待研究。利用ERP和fMRI技术对自我参照加工源记忆优势脑机制的研究也取得了一定的进展。这些研究成果有助于进一步加深对自我参照效应的机制的理解。 Source memory is the memory for various kinds of contextual features. Studies in recent years have found that self-referencing could not only enhance memory for items, but also could facilitate memory for source information. This effect is not limited to young adults, but also can be found in children and older adults. In western countries, close others could not show the same source me- mory advantage as the self. Whether eastern would behave similar to western remains an open question. Researches using ERP and fMRI on neural mechanisms of the source memory advantage from self-referencing have made some progress. All these studies can help us better understand the mechanisms under the self-reference effect.

Personality self-concept affects processing of trait adjectives in the self-reference memory paradigm

We combined personality, social cognitive, and cognitive paradigms for researching the self. Specifically, we examined whether personality trait assessments are associated with variation in the cognitive processes that produce the self-reference effect in memory. We found that self-reported, but not indirectly assessed, trait orderliness (Study 1; N=98) and openness (Study 2; N=92) were associated with slower free recall when corresponding trait adjectives were self-referenced, but not when adjectives were encoded in control tasks. The slower recall showed mixed predictive validity. Results suggest that personality congruent adjectives elicit more elaborative processing in the form of propositions that arise during self-reference, which counter-intuitively slows recall in a manner consistent with random search memory models and cue overload theory.

A Self-Reference Effect on Memory for People: We Are Particularly Good at Retrieving People Named Like Us.

In the present study, it was evaluated whether one’s own name may produce a self-reference bias in memory for people. Results from Experiment 1 indicated that, in a verbal fluency task, participants recalled a greater number of known (familiar or famous) people with the same first name as their own than did paired participants, and vice versa. In the first experiment, paired participants knew each other but were not close. Experiment 2 examined whether this self-reference effect would still occur when the comparison target was a close other. This experiment showed that such a self-reference bias also occurred even when the paired persons were close (partners or very good friends). Overall the present paper describes a new naturalistic case of the self-reference effect.

The self-reference effect in dementia: Differential involvement of cortical midline structures in Alzheimer's disease and behavioural-variant frontotemporal dementia

Encoding information in reference to the self enhances subsequent memory for the source of this information. In healthy adults, self-referential processing has been proposed to be mediated by the cortical midline structures (CMS), with functional differentiation between anterior-ventral, anterior-dorsal and posterior regions. While both Alzheimer's disease (AD) and behavioural-variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) patients show source memory impairment, it remains unclear whether they show a typical memory advantage for self-referenced materials. We also sought to identify the neural correlates of this so-called ‘self-reference effect’ (SRE) in these patient groups. The SRE paradigm was tested in AD (n = 16) and bvFTD (n = 22) patients and age-matched healthy controls (n = 17). In this task, participants studied pictures of common objects paired with one of two background scenes (sources) under self-reference or other-reference encoding instructions, followed by an item and source recognition memory test. Voxel-based morphometry was used to investigate correlations between SRE measures and regions of grey matter atrophy in the CMS. The behavioural results indicated that self-referential encoding did not ameliorate the significant source memory impairments in AD and bvFTD patients. Furthermore, the reduced benefit of self-referential relative to other-referential encoding was not related to general episodic memory deficits. Our imaging findings revealed that reductions in the SRE were associated with atrophy in the anterior-dorsal CMS across both patient groups, with additional involvement of the posterior CMS in AD and anterior-ventral CMS in bvFTD. These findings suggest that although the SRE is comparably reduced in AD and bvFTD, this arises due to impairments in different subcomponents of self-referential processing.