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The representation of self in multidimensional cognitive space.
S J Breckler1, A R Pratkanis, C D McCann
1Department of Psychology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218.
The British Journal of Social Psychology
|June 1, 1991
Summary
People quickly process self-relevant information, with memory and decision-making influenced by how traits relate to the self. This study shows the self acts as a fixed anchor in decision-making.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Social Psychology
Background:
- Self-cognition models explain judgment latency and memory effects but often neglect trait representation.
- Implicit personality theory focuses on trait representation but may not fully explore the self-trait relationship.
Purpose of the Study:
- To integrate self-cognition and implicit personality theory to define the cognitive representation of the self.
- To develop and validate a spatial method for representing individuals and traits.
Main Methods:
- Developed a spatial representation method to locate individuals and traits.
- Conducted two studies assessing recall and trait selection based on self-relevance.
Main Results:
- Study 1: Superior recall for traits closer to the self.
- Study 2: Faster 'better' judgments for traits closer to self; faster 'least' judgments for traits farther from self.
- Demonstrated the self functions as a fixed anchor in decision-making.
Conclusions:
- The self is an evaluative knowledge organization.
- Spatial representation effectively models self-trait relationships.
- Self-relevance significantly impacts cognitive processing and decision-making.