Private self-consciousness articulation of the self-schema, and recognition memory of trait adjectives.

Abstract

The study tested recognition memory of trait adjectives that subjects had rated previously according to self-descriptiveness. Prior to the test of recognition memory, the Self-Consciousness Scale was administered to classify subjects as being either high or low in private self-consciousness (the disposition to introspect). Only among subjects high in private self-consciousness did the commission of "false alarms" (responding old to distractors, or new adjectives that the target list did not actually contain) increase from the least to most self-descriptive traits. Moreover, subjects high in private self-consciousness committed more false alarms to the most selfdescriptive traits than subjects low in private self-consciousness but fewer to nonself-descriptive traits. Results were interpreted as supporting the hypothesis that persons high in private self-consciousness have articulated the self-schema more extensively than persons low in private self-consciousness.Previous research has consistently revealed positive relations between private self-consciousness, that is, the disposition to introspect (e.g., Buss, 1980;Fenigstein, Scheier, & Buss, 1975), and both the accuracy and efficiency of processing self-referent information. For example, persons who often introspect (high in private self-consciousness) write longer selfdescriptions (Turner, 1978b), furnish more valid self-reports (Scheier, Buss, & Buss, 1978;Turner, 1978a), decide more quickly whether undesirable traits describe the self (Turner, 1978c), and recall more self-referent information under conditions of incidental learning (Hull & Levy, 1979, Experiment 1; Turner, 1980) than persons who seldom introspect (low in private self-consciousness).The articulation of the self-schema, which conceivably differs between persons who do and persons who do not introspect often, may explain the relations between private self-consciousness and both the accuracy and efficiency of processing self-referent information. A selfschema, structurally, organizes the attributes and features that define the self-concept and, functionally, controls the processing (e.g., encoding, storage, and retrieval) of self-referent information (e.g.

Private self-consciousness and the five-factor model of personality: Distinguishing rumination from reflection.

“…For convenience, we use the terms Big Five and FFM interchangeably in the present article and refer to the five factors described by those models with the labels recommended by McCrae and John (1992): Extroversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness to Experience, for Big Five Factors I-V, respectively. primarily tap attentional differences between people and consequently interpreted their findings in the context of attentional processes specified in self-awareness or self-regulation theories (e.g., Nasby, 1985Nasby, , 1989. Critics have noted, however, that the scales do not simply index frequency of attending to the public or the private selves; they index specific motives for doing so.…”

Self-Enhancement as a Motivation for Sharing Online Advertising

“…The concept of the self refers to a schema that organizes selfreferent memories and guides the processing and categorization of self-referent information (Kihlstrom and Cantor 1983;Markus 1977Markus , 1980Nasby 1985Nasby , 1989). The self is "an abstract representation of past experience with personal data" (Rogers, Kuiper, and Kirker 1977, p. 677) that provides a framework for interpreting incoming data.…”

Private self-consciousness, self-awareness, and the reliability of self-reports.

“…For example, individuals high in private self-consciousness (a) write more detailed self-descriptions (Turner, 1978b), (b) decide more quickly whether trait adjectives describe the self (Mueller, 1982;Turner, 1978c), (c) recall more self-referent material under conditions of incidental learning (Agatstein & Buchanan, 1984;Hull & Levy, 1979, Experiment 1;Turner, 1980), and (d) commit more false alarms to self-descriptive traits but fewer to non-self-descriptive traits during a recognition memory task (Nasby, 1985(Nasby, , 1989) than do individuals low in private self-consciousness.…”