Name letter effect
Encyclopedia
The name letter effect is one of the widest used measures of implicit self esteem. It represents the idea that an individual prefers the letters belonging to their own name and will select these above other letters in choice tasks.
This effect has been found in a vast range of studies. In one such scenario, participants were given a list of letters, one of which contained letters from their own name and the other of which contained other letters, and asked them to circle the preferred letter. This study found that, even when accounting for all other variables, letters belonging to the participants' own names were preferred.
Similar results have been found in cross-cultural studies, using different alphabets.
The name letter effect differs from "implicit egotism", the latter being attributed to the way people allegedly gravitate towards places, people and situations that reflect themselves, including perhaps similarities with their own name.
The effect is hypothesized to result not just from writing one's own name repeatedly, because the effect is observed for Latin alphabet
letters in people who write their names in the Cyrillic alphabet
.
s and numbers.
.
This effect has been found in a vast range of studies. In one such scenario, participants were given a list of letters, one of which contained letters from their own name and the other of which contained other letters, and asked them to circle the preferred letter. This study found that, even when accounting for all other variables, letters belonging to the participants' own names were preferred.
Similar results have been found in cross-cultural studies, using different alphabets.
The name letter effect differs from "implicit egotism", the latter being attributed to the way people allegedly gravitate towards places, people and situations that reflect themselves, including perhaps similarities with their own name.
Causation
The effect is argued by some researchers to arise from "implicit egotism": Because people tend to hold a positive self-regard, they tend to like what is associated with themselves. The fact that the name letter effect correlates only weakly with questionnaire measures of self-esteem is consistent with the view that these measures assess different components of self-esteem and predict different behaviors.The effect is hypothesized to result not just from writing one's own name repeatedly, because the effect is observed for Latin alphabet
Latin alphabet
The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most recognized alphabet used in the world today. It evolved from a western variety of the Greek alphabet called the Cumaean alphabet, which was adopted and modified by the Etruscans who ruled early Rome...
letters in people who write their names in the Cyrillic alphabet
Cyrillic alphabet
The Cyrillic script or azbuka is an alphabetic writing system developed in the First Bulgarian Empire during the 10th century AD at the Preslav Literary School...
.
Birthdays and numbers
The birthday-number effect is a similar bias hypothesized for birthdayBirthday
A birthday is a day or anniversary where a person celebrates his or her date of birth. Birthdays are celebrated in numerous cultures, often with a gift, party or rite of passage. Although the major religions celebrate the birth of their founders , Christmas – which is celebrated widely by...
s and numbers.
Criticism
Its implications for major life decisions are controversial. If people have a preference for the letters of their name, do they also prefer jobs, cities, and relationship partners with similar names? Whereas some studies have suggested that this might be the case, other researchers have pointed out that these effects are nothing other than statistical artifactsArtifact (error)
In natural science and signal processing, an artifact is any error in the perception or representation of any visual or aural information introduced by the involved equipment or technique....
.
External links
- Mixing Memory (blog): The Name-Letter Effect, Or Why Chris is a Cognitive Psychologist (scienceblogs.com)