Internal and External Encoding Style

Internal and External Encoding Style
A summary of the Concept and Results
(and a test that measures the style)

CONCEPT. There are individual differences in how encoding is affected by preexisting schemata (vs. cues from the outside world). These differences are related to how "hasty" (or "internal" – i.e., based on internal encoding categories) vs. conservative (or "external" – i.e., based on data from external stimuli – the environment) are the encoding processes. Put another way, the hypothesized encoding style determines the validation threshold for schemata, that is, the relative amount of supportive evidence a perceiver needs to collect before imposing an interpretive category (schema) on a stimulus (i.e., perceiving the stimulus as an instantiation of the category). The more internal the style of encoding, the greater the probability that the environmental cues will be interpreted in terms of preexisting (internal) encoding categories, thus providing support for those categories and contributing to their reinforcement through the process of self-perpetuation.

A SIMPLE TEST. Our data indicate that the encoding style can be relatively easily measured using a questionnaire in which participants are asked simple questions about the frequency of having "split-second illusion" experiences in everyday life (indicative of "internal" encoding). Such questions do not correlate with social desirability and they do not seem to elicit any systematic response sets. In several replicated studies, participants' responses to those questions were found to correlate reliably with objective, cognitive performance measures of internal encoding style (such as participants' ability to correctly recognize tachistoscopically presented pictures of common objects, or their ability to recognize letters in briefly exposed patterns of dots). The following are three example items from the (Internal/External) Encoding Style Questionnaire that measures the style (the entire test is included below):

8. Sometimes when I’m driving, I see a piece of paper or a leaf being moved by the wind and for a split second think it might be an animal (e.g., a squirrel or a cat). 1…2…3…4…5…6

11. When I’m on a walk, I sometimes see a rock or piece of wood and for a split second mistake it for something else (or have a similar experience in other conditions). 1…2…3…4…5…6

15. Sometimes when I try to call someone I think for a split second I hear their voice before realizing that someone else actually answered. 1…2…3…4…5…6

RESULTS.    Internal encoders (as opposed to External encoders):
  1. Are better at identifying tachistoscopically exposed pictures and words.
  2. Are better at identifying patterns in incomplete displays (e.g., "dot-letters").
  3. Show more and faster self-perpetuation of encoding dispositions in laboratory conditions.
  4. Are more susceptible to effects of priming on encoding of subsequently presented information.
  5. Are more prone to priming-biases in person perception (e.g., in impression formation studies will ignore adjectives that are inconsistent with the expectations).
  6. Need less information before they can guess a word/target in various tasks.

Case studies of "extremely internal" and "extremely external" encoders and other data appear to confirm the notion that neither style leads to superior intellectual functioning. Instead, they represent distinctively different cognitive approaches to reality and each of them has its strengths and weaknesses. For example, the internal style may facilitate various forms of creativity but at the expense of losing "touch with reality" and even a proneness to develop disorders.

THE QUESTIONNAIRE. The (Internal/External) Encoding Style Questionnaire (presented to participants as the "NISROE"), that measures the style is listed below. This test was used in many studies, including those summarized above.

DIAGNOSTIC ITEMS. The questionnaire includes many "filler" items or items only marginally related to the main concept (of internal/external style) that were designed to make the crucial items less salient. The six diagnostic items are items number: 5, 8, 15, 11, 15, 18, and 21.

SCORING: The simplest way to score the test is to add the ratings from the six diagnostic items (5, 8, 15, 11, 15, 18, and 21). There is a possibility that when using this simple scoring method, some participants may appear "internal" mostly because of their general tendency to answer YES to questions asking if they have had any types of experiences. Thus, an alternative scoring method can be used, where the average rating on the six diagnostic items is divided by the average rating on all items (note that many other items also ask about having different types of experiences). In our experience, however, the two scoring methods typically produce very similar results.

If you are downloading or copying this
questionnaire, please send us a note,
to: PPL@myfastmail.com.

Download NISROE in PDF format

NISROE

Age: __________ Sex (M or F): _____________ Date: _____________

DIRECTIONS. Please respond to the following items using this six-point scale:
1	2	3	4	5	6
Strongly Disagree	Disagree	Slightly Disagree	Slightly Agree	Agree	Strongly Agree

1.	I do not have very vivid dreams.	1	2	3	4	5	6
2.	In general, I like to keep control over my thoughts rather than let them wander.	1	2	3	4	5	6
3.	I often do double-takes; I check again to see if I really saw what I thought I saw.	1	2	3	4	5	6
4.	I do not believe in mental telepathy.	1	2	3	4	5	6
5.	Sometimes I hear a rhythm in repetitive noises like dripping water from a faucet.	1	2	3	4	5	6
6.	I am easily distracted.	1	2	3	4	5	6
7.	I often have déjà vu; the feeling that I’ve been in the same situation before even though I can’t quite remember it.	1	2	3	4	5	6
8.	Sometimes when I’m driving, I see a piece of paper or a leaf being moved by the wind. and for a split second think it might be an animal (e.g., a squirrel or a cat).	1	2	3	4	5	6
9.	I never or rarely finish others’ sentences when they’re speaking.	1	2	3	4	5	6
10.	My imagination gives me satisfaction even when things in my life aren’t going that well.	1	2	3	4	5	6
11.	When I’m on a walk, I sometimes see a rock or piece of wood and for a split second mistake it for something else (or have a similar experience in other conditions).	1	2	3	4	5	6
12.	I make quick impressions of people.	1	2	3	4	5	6
13.	Sometimes I feel my dreams are prophetic and foretell future events.	1	2	3	4	5	6
14.	I very rarely rely on my intuition in coming to conclusions or making decisions.	1	2	3	4	5	6
15.	Sometimes when I try to call someone I think for a split second I hear their voice before realizing that someone else actually answered.	1	2	3	4	5	6
16.	I often get so wrapped up in a stream of thought or what I’m reading that I become more or less oblivious to my surroundings.	1	2	3	4	5	6
17.	I rarely feel my dreams would make a great story.	1	2	3	4	5	6
18.	For a split second from a distance, I sometimes mistake strangers for people I know.	1	2	3	4	5	6
19.	I sometimes feel my dreams contain breakthroughs or insights.	1	2	3	4	5	6
20.	If I get depressed, it’s only because something obvious in my life has gone wrong.	1	2	3	4	5	6
21.	I’ve sometimes noticed a particular object to my left or right, and only after I turned my head I realized it was something else.	1	2	3	4	5	6

- End (21 items)

Paul Lewicki
Psychology Department, University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK 74104, USA
phone: (918) 631-2248, fax: (918) 631-2094, e-mail: PPL@myfastmail.com