1. Introduction Increased attention to the self as an object influences performance on a variety of tasks, although the mechanism behind this effect remains obscure. Duval and Wicklund’s self- awareness theory (1972) suggests that self-focus directs attention to the self, which is automatically compared to socially accepted standards of performance (Carver & Scheier, 1978, 1981. Duval & Silvia, 2002. Duval & Lalwani, 1999). This process is believed to absorb attention to the processing of information about the self, therefore leaving few resources available for task processing and impairing performance on certain tasks. It may alternatively cause narrowing of attention so that only a few cues can be processed. This leads to facilitation of simple tasks, that only require æYXO§O°IA, 2007, 14 (4) ◆ 424-434 PSYCHOLOGY, 2007, 14 (4) ◆ 424-434 Effects of self-focused attention on recognizing previously presented self-relevant and irrelevant stimuli GEORGIA PANAYIOTOU 1 SCOTT R. VRANA 2 1. Address: Dept. of Psychology, University of Cyprus, P.O. Box 20537, 1678 Nicosia, Cyprus, Tel: 357-22- 892081, Fax: 357-22-892071, e-mail: georgiap@ucy.ac.cy 2. Address: Dept. of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, 808 West Franklin St., Richmond VA 23284- 2018, Tel.: 804 828 6273, Fax: 804 828 2237. Self-focused attention elevates individuals’ awareness of the self as an object and directs attentional resources toward it. It facilitates the performance of well- learned tasks or the recall of information pertaining to the self, but undermines performance of difficult tasks especially among evaluatively anxious individuals. This study examines the effects of self-focused attention and evaluation on recognition memory of words varying in self-relevance, among normal individuals. Based on previous findings, it was hypothesized that the presence of self- focus and evaluation would affect performance, in a positive direction since participants were normal and the task easy. An alternative hypothesis predicts that self-focus would enhance processing of self-relevant information only. Self-focus and evaluation led to greater recognition of distractor words, i.e. to more false alarms, indicating that both manipulations may induce performance pressure and may affect the strategy participants employ to achieve positive evaluation, rather than influencing information processing itself. Key words: Self-focused attention, Recognition memory, Priming. ABSTRACT 424-434 28-01-08 11:04 ™ÂÏ›‰· 424