The self-reference effect is the tendency for people to encode and later recall information more effectively when that information is presented in a way that relates to themselves, compared with information that carries no personal connection. Experiments asking participants to judge whether a piece of information applies to them, rather than simply to memorize it, have consistently found improved recall for the self-referenced material.
Facts
Core ClaimPeople encode and later recall information more effectively when it is presented in a way that relates to themselves, compared with information carrying no personal connection. 1 First Described Year Classification
Type of Phenomenon Sources
1. Wikipedia: Self-reference effect
Wikimedia Foundationlead section
The self-reference effect is a tendency for people to encode information differently depending on whether they are implicated in the information.
Research section
Rogers, Kuiper, and Kirker (1977) performed one of the first studies examining the self-reference effect making it a foundational article.
lead section, phenomenon-kind classification
The self-reference effect is a tendency for people to encode information differently depending on whether they are implicated in the information.
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