MEMORY FOR COMPLETED AND INCOMPLETED TASKS AS A FUNCTION OF PERSONALITY: CORRELATION BETWEEN EXPERIMENTAL AND PERSONALITY DATA

In an earlier paper (2) the writer reported on the group data from the first of two related experiments which had been designed to explain withm the framework of memory for completed and incompleted tasks some of the seemingly inconsistent findings of previous studies in selective recall The major premise on which the experiments were based was that the direction of selective recall is a function not so much of the objective fact of completion or mcompletion of the task, as Zeigamik (31) and others^ had suggested, as of the personality structure of the individual S In support of this premise three hypotheses were tested Hypothesis I stated that S's, unselected for personality factors, would recall lncompleted tasks no more frequently than completed tasks both imder conditions where self-esteem was not objectively threatened (task onentation) and where self-esteem was being objectively threatened (ego-onentation) This hypothesis was upheld in the analysis of the group data (2) The present paper will report on the correlation between the experimental and the personahty data Correlations of experimental and personality data support Hypotheses II and III as set up m the original experiment These hypotheses were stated as follows Hypothesis II Under conditions where equal numbers of completed and lncompleted tasks are to be recalled, S's who recall a preponderance of ccanpleted tasks will exhibit consistent differences m personality from S's who recall a preponderance of incompleted tasks Hypothesis III The direction of selective recall of a given S will differ m a non-self-esteem involving laboratory situation and in