Gullible or Streetwise: How does the self bias information processing?

Although the self is acknowledged to exert a potent influence on various aspects of thinking and doing, quite how many of these effects arise remains largely unknown. For example, is the mind easily deceived or does it function to optimize self-serving outcomes? Based on the demonstration that self-relevance facilitates perceptual judgments (i.e., the self-prioritization effect), here we describe a series of experiments that explore the effects of ownership on object categorization. Consideration is given to the impact that the value and valence of objects exert on decision-making, together with an examination of the cultural determinants of self-prioritization. To identify the processes that underpin self-prioritization, data in each experiment is interrogated using computational modeling. These analyses pinpoint the extent to which self-referential processing triggers stimulus and/or response biases, and hence elucidate the pathways through which the self influences decision-making.