SBP: Simulating other people shapes the self

Princeton University, Princeton NJ

Investigators

Abstract

A hallmark of human experience is a sense of self. People develop and maintain a unique set of personal memories and personality traits that define the essence of who they are. Important lines of psychological theory and research have shown that self-knowledge is distinct from other forms of knowledge. As an example, self-knowledge is more deeply and tightly stored in memory than other forms of knowledge. At the same time, it is known that self-knowledge is not rigid or fixed in memory; like other forms of knowledge, it can be malleable and change over time. An important focus of past research has considered the conditions under which a person's self-knowledge might change. This project focuses on one such potential condition: the act of thinking about or simulating other people. This focus recognizes that one's sense of self develops in and is influenced by social life. A child's sense of self develops partly as a result of imaginary companions and learning how to take the perspective of others. Comparing ourselves to others is also known to have a strong influence on one's own sense of self. This project integrates insights from basic memory research, social psychology, and neuroscience to gain insight into how it is that simulating other minds changes the content of self-knowledge. Because one's self-concept can be a powerful predictor of behaviors and life outcomes, this research offers important practical implications. One such application concerns the barriers to female participation and advancement in STEM education and occupations. Relative to their male counterparts, females see fewer successful role models (others) who are "like them." As a result, females have fewer opportunities to accumulate self-knowledge that encourages the valuing and pursuit of a career in STEM. This project offers a novel solution -- simulating successful others -- that may help diminish this barrier. The hypothesis that imagination can change self-knowledge derives naturally from two well-established research literatures. Social cognition research has found that people retrieve self-knowledge when imagining, or "simulating," how another person is thinking or feeling. Memory research has found that when information is retrieved, it enters a labile state and can be contaminated with newly presented information. Together, these two lines of research suggest that when simulating another person, retrieved self-knowledge may become temporarily labile. In this state, self-knowledge may blend together with information about the other person. As a result of simulation, self-knowledge may then incorporate information about the person one is simulating. The outcome is a change in the self to become more similar to the other. This phenomenon is Simulation-Induced Malleability (SIM). Preliminary studies offer evidence for SIM: people's personal episodic memories, personality traits, and physical traits become more similar to how they imagined another person's experiences and traits, and these changes are long-lasting. This project leverages diverse approaches to test specific predictions regarding the cognitive and neural mechanisms that underlie how SIM changes the self. It also considers the consequences and social applications of SIM. The research integrates insights from online, in-lab, and longitudinal behavioral methods, along with advanced multivariate neuroimaging techniques, to develop a comprehensive assessment of Simulation-Induced Malleability. It will inform the longstanding and widespread problem of gender disparities in STEM fields, thereby helping to advance the science of broadening participation. Open source data and analysis tools will be shared with research communities in social psychology and cognitive neuroscience to facilitate applications and future research. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.