Applying the self in learning

This research assessed potential educational applications of the ‘self-reference effect’ in memory. 42 six- to eight-year old children were asked to learn novel words (alien names) and information (alien characteristics) in one of two conditions: ‘self-referent’ (generate sentences describing how they would spend a day with each alien) or ‘other-referent’ (generate sentences describing how another character would spend a day with each alien). Memory for the aliens’ names and characteristics was then assessed. Results showed that participants who encoded the information under self-referent conditions performed better on the memory test. This novel finding suggests that self-referencing could improve children’s learning.