Social Collaboration Does Not Shape the Effects Caused by Self-Encoding: Evidence From Ongoing and Enduring...

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Memory Studies

Background:

• The self-reference effect demonstrates preferential memory for self-relevant information.
• Emotional valence often influences memory, leading to a self-positivity bias.
• Previous research has primarily examined these effects in individual memory contexts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the self-reference effect and self-positivity bias within social collaboration settings.
• To determine if these memory phenomena persist in both ongoing and enduring collaborative recall.
• To explore the influence of collaboration on self-referential memory processes.

Main Methods:

• Participants encoded personality trait adjectives using self-reference or other-reference.
• Adjectives were presented in different colors (red, green) with varying emotional valences.
• Recall tasks were conducted individually and collaboratively, assessing both item and source memory.

Main Results:

• The self-reference effect was observed in item memory across collaborative sessions.
• A self-positivity bias was found in source memory during ongoing collaboration.
• Collaboration did not significantly alter the presence or pattern of these memory effects.

Conclusions:

• The self-reference effect and self-positivity bias are applicable to social collaboration.
• These cognitive phenomena appear robust and are not diminished by social interaction.
• Findings suggest the underlying mechanisms are independent of collaborative dynamics.