ABSTRACT

In three experiments participants performed a reality monitoring task: between study and test phase of the task they compared the self with others (i.e., they were instructed to think about similarities or differences between the self and others) or performed a control task, which did not activate the self-concept. Experiment 1 indicated that external information was most effectively discriminated in the condition when participants were thinking about differences between the self and others. In Experiments 1 and 2 self-activation induced a slightly worse detection of external stimuli. In Experiment 3 experimental setting was changed from group into individual, and this time self-activation induced better discrimination of external information. The data are analyzed using the multinomial modeling approach and the results are discussed in light of source monitoring framework and theories of social identity.

KEYWORDS: self, social cognition, reality monitoring, multinomial modeling.

PAGES:1-22