Selective Memory and the Persistence of Paradoxical Self-Esteem

Previous research suggests that paradoxical self-esteem (contrasting levels of self-liking and self-competence) is associated with selective memory for self-relevant information. The form and function of this bias was examined here. College students classified as paradoxical or nonparadoxical viewed a series of trait adjectives. Recognition memory for the words was later tested. Results revealed that heightened selectivity in paradoxicals was limited to words conveying low social worth. Those paradoxically low in self-liking showed distinctively good memory and those paradoxically high in self-liking showed distinctively bad memory for these words. The claim that memory bias contributes to the persistence of paradoxical self-esteem also was tested. As expected, the self-liking of paradoxicals with the strongest memory bias showed the least shift toward self-competence 4 months later.