Much research has found that information encoded according to its self-relevance is more easily recalled than information encoded according to other formats. Two experiments were conducted to examine potential moderators of the processes involved in self-relevant memory. In the first study, the hypothesis was tested that self-relevant encoding is a joint function of: (1) the nature of the task; (2) variables that affect the cognitive availability of information about the self; and (3) the pre-existing nature of the self. The results from 48 college students involved in the study revealed that the traditional effect, namely, that processing information according to its self-relevance facilitates incidental recall, depended on the individual's level of self-consciousness and the degree to which the target information was consistent with the pre-existing experiences of the self. Experiment 2 examined the hypothesis that self-consciousness affects behavior because it is associated with an increased facility in processing information according to its self-relevance. The results from 38 college students revealed that private self-consciousness was associated with heightened affective reactions to performance feedback; individual differences in recall of self-relevant information were associated with heightened affective reactions to performance feedback; and partialling out the effects of self-relevant memory skills eliminated the effects of private self-consciousness. (Author/NB)