Date of Graduation

8-2017

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Psychological Science

Advisor/Mentor

Denise R. Beike

Committee Member

Douglas Behrend

Second Committee Member

James Lampinen

Third Committee Member

Matthew Feldner

Keywords

Impression Mangagment, Memory

Abstract

This paper presents the results of an experiment that tested a new impression management strategy, termed memory enhancement, and the long-term implications of using memory enhancement. People often share the events that occur in their everyday lives to others in the form of stories. This research was designed to determine if people will alter the way they share previous events to create a specific impression. It is possible that using the impression management strategy of memory enhancement will create long lasting changes to the actual memory of the event. This was tested in an experiment in which participants were put into a situation in which they wanted to create a particular impression. Participants were then given a questionnaire that included questions about general self-knowledge and specific autobiographical memories. It was hypothesized that participants would respond to the questionnaire in ways that promote the desired impression with both types of information. This hypothesis was somewhat supported and provides evidence for memory enhancement. A follow up questionnaire was also administered to measure the long-term impact of memory enhancement. It was hypothesized that memory enhancement would have lasting impacts on how the specific memory is recalled. This hypothesis was also supported. Long-term implications on the self-concept are discussed and presented in a model.

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