Self-Prioritization Reconsidered: Scrutinizing Three Claims

Overview

Journal Perspect Psychol Sci

Specialty Psychology

Date 2022 Nov 10

PMID 36356105

Authors

Marius Golubickis

C Neil Macrae

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Such is the power of self-relevance, it has been argued that even arbitrary stimuli (e.g., shapes, lines, colors) with no prior personal connection are privileged during information processing following their association with the self (i.e., self-prioritization). This prioritization effect, moreover, is deemed to be stimulus driven (i.e., automatic), grounded in perception, and supported by specialized processing operations. Here, however, we scrutinize these claims and challenge this viewpoint. Although self-relevance unquestionably influences information processing, we contend that, at least at present, there is limited evidence to suggest that the prioritization of arbitrary self-related stimuli is compulsory, penetrates perception, and is underpinned by activity in a dedicated neural network. Rather, self-prioritization appears to be a task-dependent product of ordinary cognitive processes.

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