Levels of Processing and the Self-Reference Effect, Research Paper Example

Introduction

The brain’s capacity in recalling memory is a vital part of its function especially in relation to how it is able to create a connection between the past and the current life-situations that a person needs to contend with. Relatively, this function has long been given attention to by researchers especially when it comes to establishing a proper pattern by which the mind is able to recall matters that are important to an individual. In relation to this matter, this research shall also try to explore the same pattern of brain function based on its capacity to remember particular elements thus measuring how self-reference actually make a great impact on how the brain remembers.

In the progression of the research, it is expected that the analysis of the specific conditions of thinking and remembrance that the brain undergoes would be better identified and thus used to better improve memory distinction in several cases. It is assumed that the results from this experiment would provide a good source of understanding with regards the proper implication on how particular details of the past are stored in the mind and how they are relatively retrieved later on as a sense of remembrance. In consideration to this matter, this experiment shall be dependent on exposing the possible responses to these two primary questions:

1. What role does the process of self-referencing play in the assumption of brain recall in connection with particular data that might have personal implications on the individual undergoing the question-based process experiment?
2. How does self-referencing increase the capacity of the brain to remember matters that are likely important for the individual involved?

Correlatively, these questions entail to present the following hypothesis in connection to how the researcher assumes the results of the experiment would turn out to be:

H_1: Hypothesis 1: The expected outcome of the experiment is that the proportion of words recalled will be in order from the worst for the structural task (“Upper case letters?”), better for the phonemic task (“Does this rhyme with___?”), better still for the semantic task (“Does this mean the same as___?”), and best for the self-reference task (“Does this describe you?”)

H_2: A second expectation is that the proportion correct will be higher for the words where the answer was “Yes” than for those to which the answer was “No.”

Examining the possibilities of these hypotheses’ factuality, this research shall try to create a connection between the defining factors that identifies the capacity of a person to remember apart from his capability to simply memorize matters as required.

Method

Participants

Nova Southeastern University undergraduate students enrolled in PSYC3030 (N = 4: 4 females) participated for course credits. These women, ages 20 to 28 subject themselves into a time-defined experiment that involves responding to computer-aided survey that would likely be able to measure how they are able to recall matters. To note, these individuals are known for their racial differences, one being black, another Hispanic and the other two being Caucasians. It is assumed that racial identity might not be as effective as expected in relation to the results of the experiment. Nevertheless, this information’s inclusion in the detail of the methodology aims to reduce any particular margin of mistakes that it could specifically impose in connection with the developments of the experiment.

Materials

Participants were required to purchase PsychMate student kit in order to participate in the experiment. The software used, collected all responses and compiled the data into collective results.

Procedures

The procedures in this study have been approved by Leanne Boucher, PhD as a proxy for the Nova Southeastern University IRB. Participants consented to the experiment upon registering for the course.” Before the experiment, each participant was briefed and provided with instructions on the experiment. Participants were explained what will happen during the experiment, how to accurately complete the experiment, and what responses were considered correct. Participants were also encouraged to response quickly and accurately to the responses. Each participant was tested individually with computer-driven procedures. Participants completed a series of block trials to test the proportion of words recalled.

Proportion of words recalled. The experiment consisted of words that needed to recalled in order from structural task (“Upper case letters?”), phonemic task (“Does this rhyme with___?”), semantic task (“Does this mean the same as___?”), and self-reference task (“Does this describe you?”). Each participant completed a practice trial before accessing the experiment. After each response feedback about the accuracy was provided, informing the subjects if they were right or wrong and the duration of time it took them to respond.

Results

The improved recall with increased “depth” of the task indicates a levels-of-processing effect, while the superior recall for the self-reference task indicates a self-reference effect. The proportion correct of words that were recalled “Yes” was higher compared to the proportion correct of words to which the answer was “No” which was lower. This correlatively notes how the questionnaires imposed the capacity of the brain to store information and later on retrieve data as needed, based on the circumstances involved. Given the specific span of time to respond to the questionnaires presented to them, the participants had the chance to recall the needed information accordingly.

To determine if there was a difference between condition X and Y, we performed a repeated measures t test on the measure of reaction time (RT). This experiment illustrated a mixed factorial design. Statistical significance was assessed using the p < .05 critical value. There was a significant difference between the X (mean +- stdev) and Y (mean +- stdev) conditions (t(df) = tobt; p <.05). To accomplish the analysis of the results from the methodology that was adapted for this study, the researcher intended to utilize both the qualitative and the quantitative approach. Given that the Psychmate program provides an immediate measurement of results from the survey questionnaire that the participants are presented with, the data garnered from the said process was then identified alongside other theories that were researched upon beforehand. The quantitative approach [which was garnered through the program’s direct measurement system] provided a more logical background that assumes the condition of thinking of the participants based on evidences that were collected through the questionnaires. On the other hand, the qualitative approach of the research has been further defined through the synthesis of the quantitative results with that of the behavioral indications that the results impose on the being of the participants standing as the representative of the general human population.

The higher rate of accuracy in relation to the manner by which the participants answered the personal questions in par with how they responded to the general questions say so much about the possibility of the utilization of self-reference process in the act of remembering information through stored memory. The implication of these results support the ideal indication of self-referencing as an effective tool of recall in the function by which the mind tries to retrieve particular information from the past that has a specific connection to the matter being asked at present. To understand the matter further, a synthesis of particular theories about self-referencing shall be presented in the section that follows which specifically relates to how the experiment turned out to be.

Discussion

Human memory is made up of two particular divisions. The old and new information are separated and are organized according to how they are classified according to the being and the identity of the person involved. The category of memory definition that occurs in the mind depends on the person concerned. For instance, a person who has finished a doctorate degree would likely have more divisions of memory-based category compared to that of a person who barely reached high school education. On the other end, when it comes to age differences, an older individual would be able to define particular information in several separate categories compared to a young individual at the age of 18 who is just beginning to see and realize what life actually means (Rogers, et al, 1977, 677). True, the assumption of self-referencing based on background and age affects the condition of thinking and remembrance that the mind functions with accordingly. Relatively, the experience, learning and the time spent by individuals in life increases their knowledge hence also improves the way they show interest on specific matters that directly affect them personally.

In this case, the experiment supports the indication of self-processing that is described by Craik and Tulving (1975 as quoted by Uddin, et al, 2007) as they impose that a person better recalls a particular information based on how deep the information likely relates to the being of the individual. The more distinct information is, the easier it is for the brain to recall information connected to it (Jones, et al, 1974). This means that the categorization of a person’s brain in relation to the new information it receives and the old information it stores makes it easier for the brain to function well especially in retrieving memories when they are expected to be remembered within a certain time (Gillihan, et al, 2005, 97).

In this case, it could be recognized that self-referencing could be understood as the manner by which a person becomes fully aware of how to distinguish one information from another based on the value of its importance on a personal scale. An individual who is interested in sports might not be able to store information properly when it is related to classical stories. However, a person who is interested in ancient literature would fully be able to recognize which information regarding classical stories would be valuable and what particular data should be dismissed. This then imposes that as each individual has his or her own points of interest, it is just safe to say that the level of utilizing self-referencing in remembering matters and retrieving memories would largely depend on what particular matters interest the person.

Conclusion

The psychology of cognitive learning entails to create possible assumptions that would increase the value of their experiments in defining how human individuals become specifically involved on the learning that they get from life and from the lessons that they are enrolled in their classes. Relatively, the desire to increase the capacity of a person to remember as a sense of defining the learning they get from the past becomes fully supported by the experiment that has been handled herein. Notably, if a person is expected or hoped to remember as much with what is taught to him in life, at work or at school, then he must be presented with information that would be highly interesting to him. Attempting to get good results of memory recall through improving the manner by which people are presented with the information they are supposed to understand and remember accordingly is expected to make it easier for students, employees and plain individuals to become more able to utilize matters they learned from the past for better application at present.

References

Rogers, Timothy B.; Kuiper, Nicholas A.; Kirker, W.S. (1977), “Self-Reference and the Encoding of Personal Information”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 35: 677–678, doi:10.1037/0022-3514.35.9.677, PMID 909043

Kelly, George (1955). The Psychology of Personal Constructs. New York: Norton. ISBN 9780230008410.

Jones, E. E. (1971). Attribution: Perceiving the causes of success and failure. New York: General Learning Press.

Jones, R. A.; Sensenig, J.; Haley, J. V. (1974), “Self-descriptions: Configurations of content and order effects.“, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 30: 36–45

Qin, P. & Northoff, G. (2011). How is our self related to midline regions and the default-mode network? Neuroimage. 57. 1221-1233. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.05.028

Uddin, L.Q., Iacoboni, M., Lange, C., & Keenan, J.P. (2007). The self and social cognition: the role of cortical midline structures and mirror neurons. Trends in Cognitive Sciences. 11(4). doi:10.1016/j.tics.2007.01.001

Gillihan, S.J., & Farah, M.J. (2005). Is self special? A critical review of evidence from experimental psychology and cognitive neuroscience. Psychological Bulletin. 131(1). 76-97. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.131.1.76