Self-Referencing Bias in Psychiatric Inpatients
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Self-Referencing Bias in Psychiatric Inpatients
IRAS ID
268174
Contact name
Chang Hong Liu
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Bournemouth University
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
People tend to detect and recognise self-related information more quickly and efficiently than other kinds of information. For example, in a cocktail party, people are usually able to attend to just one conversation at a time. Messages from unattended conversations are rarely registered. However, most people would still hear their own name mentioned in unattended conversations. Research has shown that this self-referencing advantage manifests an individual's normal cognitive function and emotional wellbeing. It may be influenced by self-worth and strength of self-esteem.
Changes in self-related processing are hypothesised in different psychiatric conditions such as dissociative identity disorder and affective disorders, but the connection is poorly understood. Existing research mainly relies on self-report measures, which can be subjective and time consuming. This project will initiate a new approach that we have developed to objectively measure self-related processing. The aim is to investigate how patients suffering from common psychiatric disorders respond to self-related information relative to age-matched control participants. We also hope to establish whether the objective measurement of the self can form a new pathway to improve early diagnosis.
REC name
South West - Frenchay Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/SW/0189
Date of REC Opinion
24 Oct 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion