Symons & Johnson (1997) meta-analysis — self-reference effect: information encoded in relation to the self is better recalled; the self is a well-developed elaboration construct
Created 2026-06-20
Summary
Claim: Symons & Johnson (1997) meta-analysis confirms: information encoded in relation to the self is better recalled; the self is a well-developed construct that promotes elaboration and organization of encoded information.
Source: Symons & Johnson (1997), Psychological Bulletin.
Confidence: Verified (meta-analysis).
Why this matters for Candid: Foundation of the personalization mechanism. A tool's output is self-relevant by construction — computed from the user's own inputs — making the output structurally stickier than any "average customer" prose.
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Referenced by (6)
- reference Research brief: why interactive tools deepen a business's relationship with its audience — a mechanism-level research package (June 2026) relates-to
- reference Svensson et al. (2022), Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology — self-relevance modulates attentional processing (narrowing of visual attention / executive control) even for arbitrary stimuli depends-on
- reference Tam & Ho (2006), Information Systems Research — content relevance + self-reference mediate the effect of web personalization on attention, processing, decisions; users clicked self-referent offers far more depends-on
- reference De Keyzer et al. (2025), Journal of Advertising — meta-analysis: actual personalization outperforms imagined / scenario personalization via stronger self-referencing and perceived relevance depends-on
- rule R3 — Maximise self-relevance in the output: show the user's own number, not "people like you average X"; the personalization mechanism is the best-evidenced lever in the brief depends-on
- reference Gruber, Gelman & Ranganath (2014), Neuron 84(2) — high-curiosity states enhanced midbrain (SN/VTA) + nucleus accumbens activity; improved memory for target AND incidental information relates-to