Abstract
Self-referencing benefits item memory, but few studies have investigated the level of detail accurately encoded in these memories. Experiment 1a tested the hypothesis that self-referencing would not only enhance general memory for objects but also memory for specific details of objects. Thirty-two American participants encoded objects in reference to either the self, a close other (one’s mother), or a familiar other (Bill Clinton). Following a two-day retention interval, participants indicated whether objects were the same as a previously encoded object, similar to an encoded object, or new. Main effects of encoding Condition and Memory type (Specific, General) emerged. General memory was significantly better than specific memory and objects encoded with the self or mother were better remembered than objects encoded with Clinton. Experiment 1b replicated the study with an East Asian sample and results were compared across culture. Americans performed better than Asians in specific memory but both cultures showed the same memory pattern across encoding conditions. We conclude that self- and mother-referencing only enhance memory for object details for Americans.