Self–nonself-segregation and reality monitoring.

Differentiated, field independent individuals are presumably better able to separate the self from the nonself than less differentiated, field dependent individuals (Witkin, Goodenough, & Oilman, 1979). This should have important implications for reality monitoring (Johnson & Raye, 1981): the process of determining whether a memory originated in thought processes (internal) or in perception (external). In Experiment 1, field dependent and independent subjects were asked to discriminate between internal and external sources of memories. Field independent subjects were more accurate at identifying the origin of their memories (they made fewer reality monitoring confusions) than were field dependent subjects. When subjects were asked to discriminate between two external sources of memories (Experiment 2) or between two internal sources of memories (Experiment 3), field independent subjects did not show the source discrimination advantage. Recognition memory also varied across experiments with field independent subjects showing an advantage in some (Experiments 1 & 2) but not all (Experiment 3) cases. The results are discussed in terms of an overreliance by field dependent subjects on the sensory, semantic, and contextual detail characteristic of externally derived memories; and, a lesser awareness by these subjects of their own cognitive operations.