title: Arousal-induced self-awareness: an artifactual relationship?
abstract: The present research was designed to test an alternative explanation for the arousal-self-awareness link found by Wegner and Giuliano (1980). Specifically, it was suggested that the running-in-place manipulation used by Wegner and Giuliano may have increased self-awareness, not because of the increased arousal it engendered, but because of its "unusual" nature. To test this hypothesis, subjects were assigned to one of three conditions: (a) fast running (both arousing and unusual), (b) slow running (unusual but not arousing), (c) control (neither arousing nor unusual). Results supported the unusual-behavior hypothesis; subjects in both running groups, regardless of speed (and arousal), showed more self-awareness on a sentence completion form than did those subjects in the control condition. The implications of these results for self-awareness theory are considered.
mesh_terms: D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology; D001364:Awareness; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011674:Pulse; D012420:Running; D012649:Self Concept