Self-reference Effect: Impressions of relating Information to Ourselves

Methods Study Two

Participants

The second study consisted of 200 randomly assigned participants, whose ages ranged from 15 to a maximum of 66 and an average of 27.00 years (SD = 10.560). The sample consisted of 27.0% whites (n = 54), 50% Latino/a (n = 100), 15.0% African Americans (n = 30), 4.0% Asian Americans (n = 8), and 2.5% others (n = 5). The results from the demographic study showed the the participant gender was of 38.0% (n = 76) males, 59.5% (n = 116) females, 1.5% (n=3) non-binary and 0.5% (n = 1) preferred not say”.

Table 5

Demographics – Study Two

Statistics

		Gender	Age	Race/ethnicity	Race/ethnicity (Other)	Is English your first language?	Is English your first language? (Other)
N	Valid	199	198	200	200	200	200
	Missing	1	2	0	0	0	0
Mean		1.64	27.00	2.29		1.60
Median		2.00	23.00	2.00		1.00
Mode		2	23	2		1
Std. Deviation		.540	10.560	1.340		.815
Variance		.291	111.513	1.795		.664
Minimum		1	15	1		1
Maximum		4	66	7		3
Sum		327	5346	458		319

 

 

Gender
		Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	Male	76	38.0	38.2	38.2
	Female	119	59.5	59.8	98.0
	Non-binary	3	1.5	1.5	99.5
	Prefer not to disclose	1	.5	.5	100.0
	Total	199	99.5	100.0
Missing	System	1	.5
Total		200	100.0

 

 

 

Race/ethnicity
		Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	White	54	27.0	27.0	27.0
	Latino/a	100	50.0	50.0	77.0
	Indigenous	3	1.5	1.5	78.5
	Black	30	15.0	15.0	93.5
	Asian	8	4.0	4.0	97.5
	Others--Please specify	5	2.5	2.5	100.0
	Total	200	100.0	100.0

 

Materials and Procedure

            A total of Two hundred participants were contacted and asked for consent to partake in an online research study. If the participant gave consent, they were then provided a link to a questionnaire hosted online. The participants were also notified the purpose of the study, duration, risks and benefits of participating before starting the survey. They were also advised to read carefully and proceed with the survey after agreeing to continue with the survey. Part one of the study was conducted similarly to the survey conducted in Study one and two by focusing on the effect of Self-reference. The also checked the participant’s demographic information, such as , ethnicity gender, race and age. The language was determined by asking the first language used by the participants.

The procedure conducted during the study utilized the same self-reference rating manipulation that was employed in the study one. However, we introduced variables the Self-Rating and Friend-Rating conditions. The experiment between the subject factors utilized the independent variable of SRE(Self –Reference Effect with the options of Self Rating or President Rating.It also includes an independent variable of primacy effect which entail the positive first or negative first.The participants were randomly assigned into one of the possible conditions under the independent variable of primacy effect and attention check. The test utilized a Chi square to determine if the manipulation worked (only need primacy one) and if it was significant

The final section of the study, part five, conducted a manipulation check asking participants conduct an attention check to determine the level of self-primacy. The list started with positive words and ended with negative words. Once the study was completed, the participants were debriefed on the purpose, procedures, and hypotheses of the study. The study also analyzed the interaction between the manipulated variables, sincerity and gender, for both dependent variables.a rating manipulation approach that was utilized I study one was also used in the experiment by requesting the rate twelve words based on how well each described either them self or their best friend.

                                                              Results Study Two

            The study two would look at ratings (Self-Rating vs Friend-Rating) as the first IV and valence (Positive versus Negative) as the second IV. This study has four conditions: 1) Self-Rating and Positive Traits, 2) Self-Rating and Negative Traits, 3) Friend-Rating and Positive Traits, and 4) Friend-Rating and Negative Traits. The manipulation experiment was conducted by employing the condition of gender to determine the total number or male and females participants The independent valuable in the  demographic experiment ucluded male or female) -and the participant’s ability to primacy as the dependent variable. The results indicated that the chi square was significant, X²(2) = 24.940, p < .001. A total of 121 participants recorded a 60.8% within independent variable of primacy effect. A total of 123 participants  indicated  “yes” to speaking English which counted to 61.5% (n=123), 21.0%  were rated under the category of “If no, specify your first language” (n=42) and 17.5% indicated “No” to speaking English (n=35) and Table 6

Gender Crosstabs and Chi Square – Study Two

 

 

 

Tests of Between-Subjects Effects
Dependent Variable:   Total Word Score - Positive
Source	Type III Sum of Squares	df	Mean Square	F	Sig.
Corrected Model	16.700a	3	5.567	1.709	.166
Intercept	5596.820	1	5596.820	1718.107	<.001
IVSRE	14.580	1	14.580	4.476	.036
IVPrimacy	.500	1	.500	.153	.696
IVSRE * IVPrimacy	1.620	1	1.620	.497	.482
Error	638.480	196	3.258
Total	6252.000	200
Corrected Total	655.180	199
R Squared = .025 (Adjusted R Squared = .011)

 

The results from the second ANOVA test showed that those who saw positive first and were in the self were said to have more recall. However, the results were not supported. The Self-rating mean was recorded at 4.05 while the mean for president-rating was recorded at 3.66. Similarly, the “pos first” mean was recorded at 3.9 while the “neg first” mean totaled to 3.8. However, the report showed means of self and president IV first (alone) to determine the significance level of the interactions (positive and negative)

 

Table 9

ANOVA Number of Counterfactuals – Study Two

 

Descriptive Statistics
Dependent Variable:   Part B: Ratings 3. I believe I remember things better when I think about how they relate to myself.
Independent Variable - SRE (Self-Reference Effect)	Independent Variable - Primacy Effect	Mean	Std. Deviation	N
Self-Rating	Positive First	3.96	2.176	50
	Negative First	4.14	2.129	50
	Total	4.05	2.143	100
President-Rating	Positive First	3.84	2.093	50
	Negative First	3.48	2.163	48
	Total	3.66	2.125	98
Total	Positive First	3.90	2.125	100
	Negative First	3.82	2.160	98
	Total	3.86	2.137	198

 

 

 

 

 

Tests of Between-Subjects Effects
Dependent Variable:   Part B: Ratings 3. I believe I remember things better when I think about how they relate to myself.
Source	Type III Sum of Squares	df	Mean Square	F	Sig.
Corrected Model	11.401a	3	3.800	.830	.479
Intercept	2941.246	1	2941.246	642.107	<.001
IVSRE	7.543	1	7.543	1.647	.201
IVPrimacy	.405	1	.405	.088	.767
IVSRE * IVPrimacy	3.619	1	3.619	.790	.375
Error	888.639	194	4.581
Total	3848.000	198
Corrected Total	900.040	197
a. R Squared = .013 (Adjusted R Squared = -.003)

 

Discussion Study Two

            The first part of the analysis was conducted by determining the participant’s demographic information, including race gender, age and ethnicity.We also determined whether the language used by the participants was English or not to gather more information about the demographics we also conducted a manipulation check asking participants conduct an attention check to determine the level of self-primacy. We predicted that the participants would rate responsibility and sincerity higher for women, however it was not supported by the results which showed that gender did not generate a main effect in either dependent variable. The test utilized a Chi square to determine if the manipulation worked (only need primacy one) and if it was significant

To assess gender, we considered that the participants would be able to respond to the question “I believe I remember things better when I think about how they relate to myself”. The results from the chi square test of independence supported the results for the primacy test among the 200 participants. Despite the manipulation check, the gender condition did not seem to significantly influence participants’ Self-Reference Effect, at least in terms of our dependent variables. Although the manipulation check for gender was accurately recalled for most participants, there was no significant difference between the levels of Self-Reference Effect based on their ethnicity and gender which was expected to influence participants’ judgments. Sincerity did produce a main effect in both dependent variables, replicating study one. Part four of the study asked for

However, there was no evident interaction between self- reference and president rating gender in either rating to the primacy test. While we predicted that a sincere apology coming from a woman would receive the highest ratings for self- reference. We it was also expected that men would receive the lowest ratings among the participants; the results did not support this hypothesis.  The results from the second ANOVA test showed that those who saw positive first and were in the self were said to have more recall. However, the results were not supported. However, the report showed means of self and president IV first (alone) to determine the significance level of the interactions (positive and negative). The list started with positive words and ended with negative words. Once the study was completed, the participants were debriefed on the purpose, procedures, and hypotheses of the study.