I remember being nice: Self-enhancement memory bias in adults and children.
Shaina Rowell, PhD
July 2017
Adults tend to remember themselves in a positive way. For example, they are more likely to remember their past good deeds rather than their bad deeds, which may help them to maintain good mental health and high self-esteem. In the studies presented here, I ask whether children are also biased to remember their own good deeds better than their bad deeds. I additionally address whether this bias is linked to children’s developing self-concepts and to socialization practices during parent-child conversations about the past. In the studies, children heard a series of mean and nice verbs. They were asked to process half of the verbs with reference to themselves and half of the verbs with reference to another child. After a short delay, children completed a source memory test to assess how well they remembered the previously heard verbs.
Mentor: Vikram Jaswal
Link to full-text: https://doi.org/10.18130/V3VD2Z