title: Self-reference effect in perceptual judgments by individuals and groups.
abstract: The existence of a "self-reference" effect in perception, such as that found in memory, was tested in groups and individuals. Subjects who judged a self-relevant stimulus were more accurate than those who judged a stimulus which was not self-relevant. No differences were found in the perceptual accuracy of groups versus individuals, and the self-reference effect was not more pronounced in groups or individuals. The effect may be explained in terms of the greater epistemic curiosity aroused by a self-referent stimulus and by the activation of hypothesized central nodes in the neural networks which produce perceptual judgments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Sciences, Del Mar College, Corpus Christi, Texas 78404-3879, USA.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bovasso
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rettig
mesh_terms: D004532:Ego; D006126:Group Processes; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment; D008568:Memory; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009903:Optical Illusions; D010465:Perception; D011897:Random Allocation; D019455:Self Psychology