Self-Schemata and Scripts

Abstract

The concept of self-schema implies an abstraction of many and varied experiences. It is argued that a self-schema differs from other structural concepts such as scripts and prototypes of persons, which represent abstractions of a more limited range of experience. This difference has implications for remembering information about one's self versus information about situations or other people. According to the levels-of-processing approach to memory, the richer the existing information base involved in cognitive processing, the stronger the memory trace and the higher subsequent retention. It was therefore predicted that self-oriented information would be better remembered than situation-oriented information. This prediction was confirmed in the present study, which utilized the levels of processing incidental learning paradigm.