Final Report Summary - SELF (Studying Developmental, Neural, Cognitive and Affective Aspects of the Self in Humans)
We set out to explore how humans parse information on the basis of its relevance to self. Specifically, how these processes are localised in the brain, how they are manifest in behaviour and how they are linked to development. To do so we devised new methods based around the notion of temporary ownership. The formation of temporary owner-item relationships allowed us to explore these important issues and to explain how self-referential encoding enhances memory across the lifespan. In particular, we were able to identify the brain areas that appear to be uniquely activated during the establishment of owner-item relationships and how these same regions might predict subsequent memory advantages for self-owned items as well as the order in which these regions become maximally active. In addition, we have developed a novel technique to measure an individuals bias in their valuation of owned objects and have used this to begin to understand the impact that culture plays on this relationship. Or to put it another way, we have been able to use ownership to explore cultural variation in the very nature of the self. during the course of this project we were also able to establish reliable self-referential encoding in children from the age of 4. This represents a major advance on previous research and provides a platform to further extend our understanding of the development of self in early childhood. We were also able use our laboratory findings with regard self-referential encoding during early childhood to design a successful classroom encoding task to enhance spelling performance. Given the importance of early literacy in all aspects of education and the current failure in the UK and USA to meet literacy targets by the end of primary education, this may represent an important first step in designing an intervention to improve literacy attainment that could have a lifelong impact on the individual.
By applying converging methods from neuroscience and psychology we have been able to gain an insight into the mechanisms that support what is a quintessentially human sense - the sense of self. Finally, and perhaps most significantly, we have begun to apply our theoretical findings to real world concerns in literacy attainment with some spectacular successes. We hope in the coming years to develop useful teaching interventions to improve literacy skills in early education, and perhaps to apply the same methods to improve very early mathematics understanding.
By applying converging methods from neuroscience and psychology we have been able to gain an insight into the mechanisms that support what is a quintessentially human sense - the sense of self. Finally, and perhaps most significantly, we have begun to apply our theoretical findings to real world concerns in literacy attainment with some spectacular successes. We hope in the coming years to develop useful teaching interventions to improve literacy skills in early education, and perhaps to apply the same methods to improve very early mathematics understanding.