Abstract
Using a descriptive task (e. g., “Does this word describe you?”), two experiments were carried out to investigate how self-knowledge and the type of stimuli (adjectives) affect the self-reference effect. In Experiment 1, the degree of centrality of self-knowledge was manipulated. The results showed that the central-area referent condition (in which subjects judged whether words described their character) produced better recall than the semantic condition, but there was no difference in recall between the semantic condition and the marginal-area referent conditions (in which subjects judged whether words described their feet or eyes). In Experiment 2, the self-knowledge descriptiveness and the familiarity of stimuli were manipulated. The results indicated that the self-reference effect occurred only when the stimuli referred to personality traits and were rated high in familiarity. These results suggest that the self-reference effect occurs only when the stimuli refer to personality traits, and when subjects associate those stimuli with a central part of their character.
