SELF EFFECTS IN MEMORY FOR PERSON INFORMATION

Subjects' memory for trait adjectives generated under relatively naturalistic conditions was investigated. Forty-eight female pairs (comprised of a subject and a confederate) participated in a study of the accuracy of first impressions. The women first reported their opinions on several current issues, and then each generated descriptors of herself and the other person. Participants then alternated in sharing and rating these descriptors in a simulated conversation. Two days later, subjects returned to the lab individually and were given one of three surprise memory tests: Free Recall, Referent Identification, or Source Identification. The results illustrate the importance of considering source and referent information, as well as memory for content, in trying to understand the representation of concepts about self and others in memory. Subjects recalled more of what the confederate said about them than what the confederate said about herself, and tended to think that they had been the referent of descriptors the confederate had given for herself. In contrast, subject recall of what they themselves had said did not show an advantage for self-referential items, and subjects were quite good at identifying the source of the descriptors. This pattern is discussed in terms of the types of information and processes involved in recall and in the identification of referent and source (e.g., Johnson, 1990, 1991a; Johnson & Raye, 1981; Klein & Kihlstrom, 1986).