Effects of Self-Monitoring on Processing of Self-Presentation Information

Self-monitoring is a key element in interpersonal interactions, guiding how people monitor and adjust their social behavior. Compared to low self-monitors, high self-monitors are more sensitive to and use social cues to direct their self-presentations. However, little work has examined whether high self-monitors possess a heightened capacity to cognitively process self-presentation information. The goal of the current work is to address this question. After exposure to impression-related (vs. control) words, high (vs. low) self-monitors were faster to link positive (vs. neutral) traits to the self. The results show that high self-monitors have greater cognitive access to self-presentation information, a finding that has heretofore been absent from the literature.