Self-consciousness and the processing of self-relevant information.

Abstract

Three experiments were conducted to examine cognitive processes involved in self-conscious behavior. According to Hull and Levy (1979), self-consciousness is associated with processes involved in self-referent encoding. The present studies advance the more specific hypothesis that self-consciousness is involved with the aspect of self-reference associated with the activation of knowledge about the self. Experiment I used a self-reference paradigm and found that self-consciousness increased the extent to which a manipulation of accessible self-knowledge influenced self-refereni encoding. Experiment 2 used a self-perception paradigm and found that self-consciousness increased the extent to which a manipulation of accessible self-knowledge affected subsequent self-perception. Experiment 3 used a correlational design to demonstrate how cognitive processes associated with selfreference may mediate self-conscious behavior. Individual differences in self-referent encoding were associated with individual differences in self-consciousness; both variables were associated with increased affective reactions to self-relevant feedback; and partial ing out individual differences in selfreferent encoding eliminated the effects of self-consciousness. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for reconciling various theories of self-consciousness.Recent research on the self has focused on the notion that self acts as a cognitive schema (e.g., Markus, 1977) or prototype (e.g.. Kihlstrom & Cantor, 1984) for processing information. According to this view, self exists as one's mental representation of oneself, no different in principle from mental representations that a person has concerning other ideas, objects, and events and their attributes and implications. In other words, the self is a concept, not unlike other concepts, thai is stored in memory as a knowledge structure, not unlike other knowledge structures. (Kihlstrom & Cantor, 1984. p. 2) To test the hypothesis that self exists as a schema or prototype, researchers have used a number of experimental paradigms originally developed by cognitive psychologists. This research has shown that information processed with reference lo the self is more easily recalled than information processed according to other schemes (e.g.. Bower & Gilligan, 1979;Rogers, Kuiper. & Kirker, 1977). In the typical paradigm, words rated according to whether or not they "describe you" are subsequently more likely to be recalled than words rated according to their structural (e.g., length) or semantic (e.g., meaning) characteristics. This "self-reference effect" is thought to occur because information encoded with reference to a well-organized self-schema is processed more efficiently and hence is more readily accessible for subsequent recall.Results of studies that have used other cognitive paradigms Special thanks are extended to Stephanie Creswell for her assistance in conducting Experiment 3.Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed lo Jay G.

Self-concept clarity: Measurement, personality correlates, and cultural boundaries.

“…Although this pattern is consistent with the "sadder but wiser" phenomenon noted in the literature (Alloy & Abramson, 1988), it stands in direct contradiction to the positive clarity-self-esteem relation (Campbell, 1990), as well as to research showing that people high in self-consciousness are more susceptible to external cues and feedback (Hull, Van Treuren, Ashford, Propsom, & Andrus, 1988).…”

Marketing communication and automatic consumer responses : a context dependency perspective

“…These results are in line with the work by Hull and colleagues (Hull & Levy, 1979;Hull, Treuren, Ashford, Propsom, & Andrus, 1988;Hull, Slone, Meteyer, & Matthews, 2002) in suggesting that people high in private self-focus are more influenced and affected by external information, which they render as self-relevant. Hull et al (1988; argue that a state of high private self-focus activates self-knowledge, which instigates a process of self-relevant encoding.…”

“…In agreement with Hull and colleagues (Hull and Levy 1979;Hull, Treuren, Ashford, Propsom, & Andrus, 1988;Hull, Slone, Meteyer, & Matthews, 2002), the present results show that private self-focus also has an effect on behavior by activating qualitatively different ways of information processing under conditions of high and low private self-focus.…”

“…Hull et al (1988; argue that a state of high private self-focus activates self-knowledge, which instigates a process of self-relevant encoding. In line with this theorizing, we found that high self-focused people, as opposed to low self-focused people, were especially affected by external information that fit with their activated self-knowledge (in this case, their current orientation focus).…”

“…Such self-evaluation is expected to instigate a selfregulatory process aimed at reducing discrepancies between the current state and an internal norm or standard. However, Hull and colleagues (Hull & Levy, 1979;Hull, Treuren, Ashford, Propsom, & Andrus, 1988;Hull, Slone, Meteyer, & Matthews, 2002) have forwarded a different perspective by emphasizing the role of information processing under conditions of high private self-focus. These authors propose that private self-focus relates to the encoding of information in terms of its self-relevance.…”