Questions concerning self knowledge have intrigued theologians and philosophers for much of recorded history. Psychologists are now investigating the manner in which memory structures about the self influence human information processing. In previous research, the self has been demonstrated to be a powerful encoding aid for adjective recall. This self- reference effect has been most often interpreted in terms of either effecive encoding processes (elaborative associations) or effective use of existing cognitive structures (use of internal retrieval cues). In this research, the mnemonic potential of the self-reference effect will be explored for the educationally relevent task of recalling prose material. Although preliminary data indicate that the self-refernce effect found with adjective recall does generalize to connected discourse, the operative components and theoretical underpinnings of this effect are not well understood. In a series of studies, a number of important issues will be addresed. In past research, self-reference instructions have often been confounded with active decision making. In the research to be conducted with this grant the relative contribution of both of these processing activities to the robustness of the self-reference effect will be assessed. Moreover, the degree to which similarity of the prose to the reader's own experiences influences the effectiveness of self- reference instructions will be evaluated. The relationship of this concept of "similarity" to the "typicality" variable investigated by other researchers will also be determined. Finally a theoretical model of the self-reference effect will be tested. This model focuses on the associability and constructibility of the internal cues generated by subjects at the time new information is encoded. This model extends other models by suggesting that the property of associability is composed of at least two aspects -- relatedness and distinctiveness of the internal cues. The explanatory power of this three factor model (relatedness, distinctiveness, and constructibility) will be assessed in this research.
