TESTING A HIERARCHICAL MODEL OF SELF-KNOWLEDGE

A printing procedure (e.g., Klein, Loftus, Trafton, & Fuhrman, 1992) w as used to test a hierarchical model of self-knowledge. According to t his model, people simultaneously hold multiple representations of them selves that differ both in their context specificity and in the type o f knowledge of which they consist. Specifically, context-independent s elf-knowledge is assumed to be represented abstractly without referenc e to any particular behaviors, whereas the representation of contest-d ependent self-knowledge includes knowledge of one's behavior in specif ic situations. Our results support a hierarchical model: Subjects acce ssed abstract knowledge when describing their context-independent pers onality characteristics, but accessed behavioral episodes when describ ing themselves in a specific context. Possible implications of this re search are discussed, as is the relation of a hierarchical model of se lf-knowledge to a mixed model of self-knowledge (e.g., Klein & Loftus, 1993b).