The Company We Keep: Social Group Membership as a Facilitator of Associative Inference in Factual Knowledge Acquisition
(2026) PSYP01 20261Department of Psychology
- Abstract
- Social relationships and group membership shape cognitive functions, including memory. One memory function contributing to knowledge acquisition is the ability to draw novel conclusions by linking overlapping but distinct episodic memories, a process called associative inference. Prior research shows that both general memory and associative inference for arbitrary objects are enhanced when material is associated with a social ingroup (a group perceived as similar and likeable) rather than an outgroup.
Across two experiments (total N = 95), I examine whether this ingroup advantage extends to factual knowledge and whether it depends on an individual group member presenting the material or emerges from group-level associations alone.... (More) - Social relationships and group membership shape cognitive functions, including memory. One memory function contributing to knowledge acquisition is the ability to draw novel conclusions by linking overlapping but distinct episodic memories, a process called associative inference. Prior research shows that both general memory and associative inference for arbitrary objects are enhanced when material is associated with a social ingroup (a group perceived as similar and likeable) rather than an outgroup.
Across two experiments (total N = 95), I examine whether this ingroup advantage extends to factual knowledge and whether it depends on an individual group member presenting the material or emerges from group-level associations alone. Experiment 1 tests whether associative inference across overlapping stimuli is better when facts are presented by an ingroup compared to outgroup persona. Experiment 2 asks whether this advantage persists when the material is tied to the group itself, rather than one specific individual.
I find strong evidence for a general ingroup advantage in associative inference, and tentative evidence that this advantage holds even without an individual persona as the source. The findings are discussed in terms of proposed mechanisms such as source monitoring and novelty perception, along with implications for future research and societal contexts. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9241452
- author
- Blume, Joni Sofie LU
- supervisor
-
- Ines Bramao LU
- Marius Boeltzig LU
- organization
- course
- PSYP01 20261
- year
- 2026
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- episodic memory, associative inference, memory integration, social identity theory, semantic knowledge acquisition, social groups, source monitoring
- language
- English
- id
- 9241452
- date added to LUP
- 2026-06-22 14:32:14
- date last changed
- 2026-06-22 14:32:14
@misc{9241452,
abstract = {{Social relationships and group membership shape cognitive functions, including memory. One memory function contributing to knowledge acquisition is the ability to draw novel conclusions by linking overlapping but distinct episodic memories, a process called associative inference. Prior research shows that both general memory and associative inference for arbitrary objects are enhanced when material is associated with a social ingroup (a group perceived as similar and likeable) rather than an outgroup.
Across two experiments (total N = 95), I examine whether this ingroup advantage extends to factual knowledge and whether it depends on an individual group member presenting the material or emerges from group-level associations alone. Experiment 1 tests whether associative inference across overlapping stimuli is better when facts are presented by an ingroup compared to outgroup persona. Experiment 2 asks whether this advantage persists when the material is tied to the group itself, rather than one specific individual.
I find strong evidence for a general ingroup advantage in associative inference, and tentative evidence that this advantage holds even without an individual persona as the source. The findings are discussed in terms of proposed mechanisms such as source monitoring and novelty perception, along with implications for future research and societal contexts.}},
author = {{Blume, Joni Sofie}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{The Company We Keep: Social Group Membership as a Facilitator of Associative Inference in Factual Knowledge Acquisition}},
year = {{2026}},
}