Similarity to the self influences memory for social targets.

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Similarity to the self influences memory for social targets.
Authors: Sklenar, A. M. (AUTHOR), Pérez, J. (AUTHOR), McCurdy, M. P. (AUTHOR), Frankenstein, A. N. (AUTHOR), Leshikar, E. D. (AUTHOR)
Source: Cognition & Emotion. May/Jun2023, Vol. 37 Issue 4, p595-616. 22p. 1 Diagram, 6 Charts, 4 Graphs.
Subjects: Collective memory, Social influence, Self, Similarity (Psychology), Memory testing, Political doctrines, Impression formation (Psychology)
Abstract: The construct of the self is important in the domain of memory research. Recent work has shown that person memory is influenced by similarity of social targets to the self. The current experiments investigate self-similarity as defined by traits and political ideology to better understand how memory for social targets is organised. Across three experiments, participants formed positive or negative impressions based on each target's picture, a trait-implying behavior (Experiments 1 & 2), and/or political ideology (conservative/liberal label in Experiment 2; political-ideological belief statements in Experiment 3) followed by a memory test. Results showed a self-similarity effect dependent on valence in Experiment 1, but not in Experiments 2 or 3 when participants processed ideological information associated with targets. These results suggest that self-similarity has an effect on memory for social targets, but that ideological information disrupts self-focused processing of others, suggesting that ideological information also has a powerful influence on what people remember about others (i.e. social targets). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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Abstract:The construct of the self is important in the domain of memory research. Recent work has shown that person memory is influenced by similarity of social targets to the self. The current experiments investigate self-similarity as defined by traits and political ideology to better understand how memory for social targets is organised. Across three experiments, participants formed positive or negative impressions based on each target's picture, a trait-implying behavior (Experiments 1 & 2), and/or political ideology (conservative/liberal label in Experiment 2; political-ideological belief statements in Experiment 3) followed by a memory test. Results showed a self-similarity effect dependent on valence in Experiment 1, but not in Experiments 2 or 3 when participants processed ideological information associated with targets. These results suggest that self-similarity has an effect on memory for social targets, but that ideological information disrupts self-focused processing of others, suggesting that ideological information also has a powerful influence on what people remember about others (i.e. social targets). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:02699931
DOI:10.1080/02699931.2023.2185207