Abstract
We used a memory paradigm to test whether the nature of representations of the self within long-term memory differed as a function of cultural background. In Western samples words encoded in relation to the self are typically remembered better, and Euro-Canadian participants here showed this standard self-reference effect. However, Asian-Canadian participants were slower to recognize personal traits (as opposed to collective traits) when these traits had been encoded in reference to the self, suggesting a more elaborate representation of the collective self than the personal self in long-term memory. Further, memory was actually inhibited for Asian-Canadians when personal traits were encoded in reference to the self (vs. encoded with other referents). Differences in long-term memory trace strength for self-related data may emerge even as differences in the working self do not, and implications of this difference are discussed.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 468-475 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Journal of Experimental Social Psychology |
Volume | 39 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 2003 |
Keywords
- Collectivism
- Culture
- Independence
- Individualism
- Interdependence
- Long-term memory
- Self
- Self-concept
- Self-reference effect
- Self-schema
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Social Psychology
- Sociology and Political Science