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Wong C, Navangul AS, Philipps SC, Kim K. The role of attention in the emergence of the evaluative and incidental self-reference effects. Memory 2024; 32:935-946. [PMID: 38963906 DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2024.2371571] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2024] [Accepted: 06/18/2024] [Indexed: 07/06/2024]
Abstract
The self-reference effect (SRE) is a memory advantage produced by encoding information in a self-relevant manner. The "evaluative" SRE arises when people engage in explicit self-evaluation/reflection to process to-be-remembered items, while the "incidental" SRE occurs when self-referential information (e.g., one's own name) is co-presented with to-be-remembered items but is irrelevant to a given task. Using a divided-attention paradigm, the present study examined potential differences in the attentional requirements of the evaluative and incidental SREs. During encoding, personality-trait words were presented simultaneously with the participant's own or a celebrity's name. The participants' task was either to evaluate whether each word described themselves/the celebrity (evaluative encoding) or to indicate the location of each word (incidental encoding), in the presence or absence of a secondary task. A subsequent recognition test with a remember/know procedure showed better overall recognition and enhanced episodic recollection for words presented with one's own name vs. another name, with this SRE being larger in the evaluative than incidental encoding condition. Critically, divided attention at encoding attenuated the magnitudes of both evaluative and incidental SREs to a comparable degree in overall recognition and episodic recollection. These findings suggest that both the evaluative and incidental SREs are resource-demanding, effortful mnemonic benefits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christy Wong
- Department of Psychology, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, USA
| | - Anaya S Navangul
- Department of Psychology, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, USA
| | | | - Kyungmi Kim
- Department of Psychology, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, USA
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Liu Z, Wen J, Liu Y, Hu CP. The effectiveness of self: A meta-analysis of using self-referential encoding techniques in education. BRITISH JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 2024; 94:112-137. [PMID: 37722845 DOI: 10.1111/bjep.12636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2023] [Revised: 08/24/2023] [Accepted: 08/29/2023] [Indexed: 09/20/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Self-related information is difficult to ignore and forget, which brings valuable implications for educational practice. Self-referential encoding techniques involve integrating self-referencing cues during the processing of learning material. However, the evidence base and effective implementation boundaries for these techniques in teaching and learning remain uncertain due to research variability. AIMS The present meta-analysis aims to quantitatively synthesize the results from studies applying self-referential encoding techniques in education. METHODS The analysis was based on data from 20 independent samples, including 1082 students from 13 primary studies identified through a systematic literature search. RESULTS Results from random effect models show that incorporating self-referential encoding techniques improved learning (g = .40, 95% CI [.18, .62]). Subgroup analysis showed that the valence of learning material serves as a significant boundary condition for this strategy. The students' cohorts, types of learning materials, and research context did not moderate the effect sizes. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that incorporating self-referential encoding techniques on negative materials shows an aversive effect. Overall, there is a universal benefit to using self-referential encoding techniques as an appropriate design guideline in educational contexts. Implications for teaching practice and future directions are discussed. Further studies are needed to investigate the effectiveness in more diverse educational and teaching situations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zheng Liu
- School of Humanities and Social Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
- School of Psychology, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China
| | - Jiahui Wen
- School of Psychology, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China
| | - Yikang Liu
- School of Psychology, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China
| | - Chuan-Peng Hu
- School of Psychology, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China
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Giannakopoulos KL, McCurdy MP, Sklenar AM, Frankenstein AN, Urban Levy P, Leshikar ED. Lower constraint testing enhances the testing effect for some contextual details but not others. Brain Behav 2024; 14:e3380. [PMID: 38376029 PMCID: PMC10776958 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.3380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2023] [Revised: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 02/21/2024] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Retrieval practice has been shown to be an effective means of learning new information, a memory phenomenon known as the testing effect or the retrieval practice effect. Some work suggests that the magnitude of the testing effect can be enhanced when the test used for retrieval practice uses fewer cues to retrieve previously studied information. It is unclear, however, whether such testing benefits extend to peripheral contextual details associated with studied materials (e.g., location where stimuli appear, font color in which items are presented, etc.). In this experiment, we examine both item memory (i.e., memory for the studied items) and context memory under conditions where the intervening test offers fewer cues (i.e., lower constraint) compared to more cues (higher constraint) to better understand item and context memory testing effects. METHODS Participants first studied word pairs presented in one of eight locations as well as in either red or green font color. Then, in the re-exposure phase, participants processed materials in two types of intervening tests (lower constraint and a higher constraint test) as well as in a restudy condition, before a final memory test. RESULTS For item memory, results showed that memory was better in the lower constraint testing condition compared to both the higher constraint testing condition as well as the restudy (control) condition. For context memory, results indicated improved memory for location context under lower constraint testing compared to both higher constraint testing and restudy conditions. There was no difference in memory, however, for color context across all conditions. CONCLUSION Overall, these findings suggest that providing fewer cues to aid retrieval in the intervening test can induce better memory for both items as well as some contextual details.
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Nie A, Zhou W, Xiao Y. Sensitivity of late ERP old/new effects in source memory to self-referential encoding focus and stimulus emotionality. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2023:107795. [PMID: 37394031 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2023.107795] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2023] [Revised: 05/03/2023] [Accepted: 06/26/2023] [Indexed: 07/04/2023]
Abstract
In episodic memory, the old/new effect, the contrast of the waveforms elicited by the correctly recognized studied items and the correctly rejected novel items, has been broadly concerned. However, the contribution of self-referential encoding to the old/new effect in source memory (i.e., source-SRE), is far from clarification; further, it remains unclear whether the contribution is susceptible to the factor of stimulus emotionality. To address these issues, adopting the event-related potential (ERP) technique, this study applied words of three types of emotional valences (positive, neutral, vs. negative) in the self-focus vs. external-focus encoding tasks. In the course of the test, four ERP old/new effects were identified: (a) the familiarity- and recollection-reflected mid-frontal effect (FN400) and late positive component (LPC) were both independent of source-SRE and stimulus emotionality; (b) the reconstruction-driven late posterior negativity (LPN) exhibited an adverse pattern of source-SRE and was susceptible to the emotional valence by encoding focus; and (c) the right frontal old/new effect (RFE), reflecting post-retrieval process, exhibited a source-SRE in emotional words. These effects provide compelling evidence for the influences of both stimulus valence and encoding focus on SRE in source memory, especially during the late processes. Further directions considering more perspectives are put forward.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aiqing Nie
- Department of Psychology, College of Educational Sciences, Shanxi Normal University, Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, 030031, China; The MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Science & Brain-machine Integration, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
| | - Wenyu Zhou
- Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, 310058, China
| | - Yueyue Xiao
- Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, 310058, China
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Sklenar AM, Frankenstein AN, Urban Levy P, Leshikar ED. The influence of memory for impressions based on behaviours and beliefs on approach/avoidance decisions. Cogn Emot 2022; 36:1491-1508. [PMID: 36196884 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2022.2130179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Recent work has shown that memory for various types of information associated with social targets (impressions based on behaviours and political ideology) influences decisions to approach or avoid those same targets. The current study was intended to better understand the extent that memory for other types of details associated with targets (beliefs and behaviours) affects subsequent approach/avoidance decisions. In this investigation, participants formed impressions of social targets represented by a picture and a sentence (a belief in Experiment 1; either a belief or behaviour in Experiment 2). Later, memory for the impressions and sentences associated with each target was tested. Finally, participants decided whether they would want to approach or avoid each target. Results demonstrated that accurate memory strongly influenced approach/avoidance decisions for targets associated with different types of information (beliefs; behaviours), although there was no difference in the effect of memory between beliefs and behaviours. Overall, results suggest an important role of memory in decisions to approach or avoid others.
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Affiliation(s)
- A M Sklenar
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - A N Frankenstein
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - P Urban Levy
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - E D Leshikar
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
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Patel SP, McCurdy MP, Frankenstein AN, Sklenar AM, Urban Levy P, Szpunar KK, Leshikar ED. The reciprocal relationship between episodic memory and future thinking: How the outcome of predictions is subsequently remembered. Brain Behav 2022; 12:e2603. [PMID: 36000544 PMCID: PMC9480898 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.2603] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2021] [Revised: 02/10/2022] [Accepted: 02/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Evidence suggests that memory is involved in making simulations and predictions about the future (i.e., future thinking), but less work has examined how the outcome of those predictions (whether events play out as predicted or expected) subsequently affects episodic memory. In this investigation, we examine whether memory is better for outcomes that are consistent with predictions, or whether memory is enhanced for outcomes that are inconsistent with predictions, after the predicted event occurs. In this experiment, participants learned a core trait associated with social targets (e.g., high in extroversion), before making predictions about behaviors targets would perform. Participants then were shown behaviors the social targets actually performed (i.e., prediction outcome), which was either consistent or inconsistent with predictions. After that, participants completed a memory test (recognition; recall) for the prediction outcomes. For recognition, the results revealed better memory for outcomes that were consistent with traits associated with targets (i.e., trait-consistent outcomes), compared to outcomes that were inconsistent (i.e., trait-inconsistent outcomes). Finding a memory advantage for trait-consistent outcomes suggests that outcomes that are in line with the contents of memory (e.g., what one knows; schemas) are more readily remembered than those that are inconsistent with memory, which may reflect an adaptive memory process. For recall, memory did not differ between trait-consistent and trait-inconsistent outcomes. Altogether, the results of this experiment advance understanding of the reciprocal relationship between episodic memory and future thinking and show that outcome of predictions has an influence on subsequent episodic memory, at least as measured by recognition.
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Kadwe PP, Sklenar AM, Frankenstein AN, Levy PU, Leshikar ED. The influence of memory on approach and avoidance decisions: Investigating the role of episodic memory in social decision making. Cognition 2022; 225:105072. [PMID: 35325801 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2022.105072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2021] [Revised: 02/17/2022] [Accepted: 02/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
People are motivated to make social decisions to approach or avoid social targets (i.e., other people). Prior work has shown people make approach/avoidance (AA) decisions based on factors like physical appearance, race, gender, sexuality, etc., but less work has investigated the extent that memory for past encounters with social targets might influence AA decisions. Here, we investigate the role of episodic memory (memory for specific details associated with specific social targets) on AA decisions. In this investigation, participants formed positive or negative impressions based on social targets' behaviors before completing a memory test for specific episodic details associated with targets (self-generated impressions formed about target; behavior associated with targets). Participants then made AA decisions for those social targets, as well as new targets. Results showed strong approach tendencies when participants correctly remembered positive details associated with targets (impressions; behaviors) and strong avoidance tendencies when participants correctly remembered negative impressions associated with targets. For novel targets (targets not seen before and thus not associated with prior memory representations), participants showed no approach or avoidance tendencies. Overall, these findings suggest an important role for episodic memory on AA decisions, which is a potentially important mechanism in social decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pranjal P Kadwe
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, United States of America
| | - Allison M Sklenar
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, United States of America
| | - Andrea N Frankenstein
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, United States of America
| | - Pauline Urban Levy
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, United States of America
| | - Eric D Leshikar
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, United States of America.
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Mukadam N, Zhang W, Liu X, Budson AE, Gutchess A. The influence of emotional narrative content on the self-reference effect in memory. AGING BRAIN 2021; 1:100015. [PMID: 36911516 PMCID: PMC9997179 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbas.2021.100015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2020] [Revised: 05/03/2021] [Accepted: 05/04/2021] [Indexed: 09/30/2022] Open
Abstract
This study investigated how emotional language usage impacts self-referential effects in memory in healthy older adults and individuals with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). To heighten self-focus, 37 healthy older adults and 22 aMCI participants narrated autobiographical memories and then encoded words using a self-referencing or a semantic strategy. We were interested in how narrating autobiographical memories impacted subsequent memory. We probed narrative language usage with the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count text analysis program, testing the degree to which language from the narrated autobiographical memories contain emotional (positive and negative) words that predicted the self-reference effect across groups. Results indicated that higher levels of positive emotional language were related to larger self-reference effects in memory. In conclusion, narrating autobiographical memories using emotional language influenced the effectiveness of self-referencing as a memory strategy for both healthy older adults and aMCI participants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nishaat Mukadam
- Brandeis University, Department of Psychology, Waltham, MA, United States
- Boston University, Sargent School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Wanbing Zhang
- Brandeis University, Department of Psychology, Waltham, MA, United States
| | - Xiaodong Liu
- Brandeis University, Department of Psychology, Waltham, MA, United States
| | - Andrew E. Budson
- VA Boston Healthcare System, Jamaica Plain, MA, United States
- Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Angela Gutchess
- Brandeis University, Department of Psychology, Waltham, MA, United States
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Rubianes M, Muñoz F, Casado P, Hernández-Gutiérrez D, Jiménez-Ortega L, Fondevila S, Sánchez J, Martínez-de-Quel O, Martín-Loeches M. Am I the same person across my life span? An event-related brain potentials study of the temporal perspective in self-identity. Psychophysiology 2020; 58:e13692. [PMID: 32996616 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13692] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2020] [Revised: 07/24/2020] [Accepted: 08/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
While self-identity recognition has been largely explored, less is known on how self-identity changes as a function of time. The present work aims to explore the influence of the temporal perspective on self-identity by studying event-related brain potentials (ERP) associated with face processing. To this purpose, participants had to perform a recognition task in two blocks with different task demands: (i) identity recognition (self, close-friend, unknown), and (ii) life stage recognition (adulthood -current-, adolescence, and childhood). The results showed that the N170 component was sensitive to changes in the global face configuration when comparing adulthood with other life stages. The N250 was the earliest neural marker discriminating self from other identities and may be related to a preferential deployment of attentional resources to recognize own face. The P3 was a robust index of self-specificity, reflecting stimulus categorization and presumably adding an emotional value. The results of interest emerged for the subsequent late positive complex (LPC). The larger amplitude for the LPC to the self-face was probably associated with further personal significance. The LPC, therefore, was able to distinguish the continuity of the self over time (i.e., between current self and past selves). Likewise, this component also could discriminate, at each life stage, the self-identity from other identities (e.g., between past self and past close-friend). This would confirm a remarkable role of the LPC reflecting higher self-relevance processes. Taken together, the neural representation of oneself (i.e., "I am myself") seems to be stable and also updated across time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel Rubianes
- Center UCM-ISCIII for Human Evolution and Behavior, Madrid, Spain.,Psychobiology & Methods for the Behavioral Sciences Department, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco Muñoz
- Center UCM-ISCIII for Human Evolution and Behavior, Madrid, Spain.,Psychobiology & Methods for the Behavioral Sciences Department, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Pilar Casado
- Center UCM-ISCIII for Human Evolution and Behavior, Madrid, Spain.,Psychobiology & Methods for the Behavioral Sciences Department, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Laura Jiménez-Ortega
- Center UCM-ISCIII for Human Evolution and Behavior, Madrid, Spain.,Psychobiology & Methods for the Behavioral Sciences Department, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Sabela Fondevila
- Center UCM-ISCIII for Human Evolution and Behavior, Madrid, Spain.,Psychobiology & Methods for the Behavioral Sciences Department, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - José Sánchez
- Center UCM-ISCIII for Human Evolution and Behavior, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Manuel Martín-Loeches
- Center UCM-ISCIII for Human Evolution and Behavior, Madrid, Spain.,Psychobiology & Methods for the Behavioral Sciences Department, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
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Zhang W, Johndro H, Budson AE, Gutchess A. Influence of self-referential mode on memory for aMCI patients. Cogn Neuropsychol 2019; 37:46-57. [PMID: 31437095 DOI: 10.1080/02643294.2019.1657390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
One's concept of the self can act as a schema, in some cases facilitating memory performance but in other cases making memory more prone to errors. In this study, we attempted to induce long-lasting self-reference effects through an autobiographical mode in younger and older adults, as well as patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), predicting that a self-referential mode of thought would benefit memory. Participants first either recalled autobiographical memories or described three neutral photographs in a narrative condition. This was followed by a conventional self-referencing task. At retrieval, participants completed a recognition task. Contrary to our prediction, the self-referencing benefit emerged consistently under autobiographical and narrative modes across all groups. Although our findings indicate that self-referencing can benefit memory, it carries the risk of increasing false alarm rates when induced through an autobiographical mode and consequently the strategy should be utilized with caution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wanbing Zhang
- Department of Psychology, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, USA
| | - Hunter Johndro
- Department of Psychology, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, USA
| | - Andrew E Budson
- VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA.,Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Angela Gutchess
- Department of Psychology, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, USA
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