Egocentric bias (memory)

Biological Parallel

Self-referential memory bias appears across social species that must track their own contributions to group efforts. Chimpanzees in cooperative hunts show enhanced recall for their own pursuit paths—studies of Taï Forest chimps reveal individuals position themselves in subsequent hunts based on past 'personal best' performances rather than observed group patterns. Gray wolves returning from pack hunts exhibit similar self-referential patterns, with individuals favoring roles they've previously succeeded in. Even cleaner wrasse fish show preferential memory for their own client interactions over observed ones—they remember which clients they've cheated versus those they've treated fairly. The pattern converges: memory evolved not as an objective recording device but as a prediction engine, and your own actions predict your future rewards better than observations of others. Across social mammals and fish, first-person experience receives stronger encoding than third-person observation because 'what I did' matters more for learning what to do next.