RESUMEN
Self-relevant material has been shown to be prioritized over stimuli relating to others (e.g., friend, stranger), generating benefits in attention, memory, and decision-making. What is not yet understood, however, is whether the conditions under which self-related knowledge is acquired impacts the emergence of self-bias. To address this matter, here we used an associative-learning paradigm in combination with a stimulus-classification task to explore the effects of different learning experiences (i.e., deterministic vs. probabilistic) on self-prioritization. The results revealed an effect of prior learning on task performance, with self-prioritization only emerging when participants acquired target-related associations (i.e., self vs. friend) under conditions of certainty (vs. uncertainty). A further computational (i.e., drift diffusion model) analysis indicated that differences in the efficiency of stimulus processing (i.e., rate of information uptake) underpinned this self-prioritization effect. The implications of these findings for accounts of self-function are considered.
Asunto(s)
Atención , Aprendizaje , HumanosRESUMEN
Personally relevant stimuli exert a powerful influence on social cognition. What is not yet fully understood, however, is how early in the processing stream self-relevance influences decisional operations. Here we used a shape-label matching task in conjunction with electroencephalography and computational modeling to explore this issue. A theoretically important pattern of results was observed. First, a standard self-prioritization effect emerged indicating that responses to self-related items were faster and more accurate than responses to other-related stimuli. Second, a hierarchical drift diffusion model analysis revealed that this effect was underpinned by the enhanced uptake of evidence from self-related stimuli. Third, self-other discrimination during matching trials was observed at both early posterior N1 and late centro-parietal P3 components. Fourth, whereas the N1 was associated with the rate of information accumulation during decisional processing, P3 activity was linked with the evidential requirements of response selection. These findings elucidate the electrophysiological correlates of self-prioritization.
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Electroencefalografía , Cognición Social , HumanosRESUMEN
An emerging literature has suggested that self-relevance automatically enhances stimulus processing (i.e., the self-prioritization effect). Specifically, during shape-label matching tasks, geometric shapes associated with the self are identified more rapidly than comparable stimuli paired with other targets (e.g., friend, stranger). Replicating and extending work that challenges the putative automaticity of this effect, here we hypothesized that self-relevance facilitates stimulus processing only when task sets draw attention to previously formed shape-label associations in memory. The results of a shape-classification task confirmed this prediction. Compared to shapes associated with a friend, those paired with the self were classified more rapidly when participants were required to report who the stimulus denoted (i.e., self or friend). In contrast, self-relevance failed to facilitate performance when participants judged either what the shape was (i.e., triangle or square, diamond or circle) or where it was located on the screen (i.e., above or below fixation). These findings further elucidate the conditions under which self-relevance does-and does not-influence stimulus processing.
Asunto(s)
Percepción Auditiva/fisiología , Desempeño Psicomotor/fisiología , Reconocimiento en Psicología/fisiología , Autoimagen , Adulto , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Percepción Social , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
Recent research has revealed a pervasive bias for self-relevant information during decision-making, a phenomenon termed the self-prioritization effect. Focusing almost exclusively on between-target (e.g., self vs. friend) differences in task performance, however, this work has overlooked the influence stimulus factors potentially exert during decisional processing. Accordingly, based on pertinent social-psychological theorizing (i.e., Identity-Based Motivation Theory), here we explored the possibility that self-prioritization is sensitive to the identity-based relevance of stimuli. The results of three experiments supported this hypothesis. In a perceptual-matching task, stimulus enhancement was greatest when geometric shapes were associated with identity-related information that was important (vs. unimportant) to participants. In addition, hierarchical drift-diffusion modeling revealed this effect was underpinned by differences in the efficiency of visual processing. Specifically, evidence was extracted more rapidly from stimuli paired with consequential compared to inconsequential identity-related components. These findings demonstrate how identity-relevance moderates self-prioritization.
Asunto(s)
Asociación , Toma de Decisiones/fisiología , Modelos Psicológicos , Reconocimiento Visual de Modelos/fisiología , Desempeño Psicomotor/fisiología , Autoimagen , Identificación Social , Adulto , Femenino , Percepción de Forma/fisiología , Humanos , Masculino , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
The temporal coordination of interpersonal behavior is a foundation for effective joint action with synchronized movement moderating core components of person perception and social exchange. Questions remain, however, regarding the precise conditions under which interpersonal synchrony emerges. In particular, with whom do people reliably synchronize their movements? The current investigation explored the effects of arbitrary group membership (i.e., minimal groups) on the emergence of interpersonal coordination. Participants performed a repetitive rhythmic action together with a member of the same or a different minimal group. Of interest was the extent to which participants spontaneously synchronized their movements with those of the target. Results revealed that stable coordination (i.e., in-phase synchrony) was most pronounced when participants interacted with a member of a different minimal group. These findings are discussed with respect to the functional role of interpersonal synchrony and the potential avenues by which the dynamics of rhythmic coordination may be influenced by group status.
Asunto(s)
Relaciones Interpersonales , Movimiento , Desempeño Psicomotor , Identificación Social , Femenino , Humanos , Percepción Visual , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
An important function of the self is to identify external objects that are potentially personally relevant. We suggest that such objects may be identified through mere ownership. Extant research suggests that encoding information in a self-relevant context enhances memory (the so-called 'self-reference effect'), thus an experiment was designed to test the impact of ownership on memory performance. Participants either moved or observed the movement of picture cards into two baskets; one of which belonged to self and one which belonged to another participant. A subsequent recognition test revealed that there was a significant memory advantage for objects that were owned by self. Acting on items (i.e., moving them) had no impact on memory. Results are discussed with reference to the importance of self-object associations in cognition.
Asunto(s)
Asociación , Ego , Memoria , Propiedad , Percepción Social , Adulto , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Tiempo de Reacción , Reconocimiento en PsicologíaRESUMEN
Previous research has demonstrated that self-involvement enhances the memorability of information (i.e., self>other) encountered in the past. The emergence of this effect, however, is dependent on guided evaluative processing and the explicit association of items with self. It remains to be seen, therefore, whether self-memory effects would emerge in task contexts characterized by incidental-encoding and minimal self-involvement. Integrating insights from work on source monitoring and action recognition, we hypothesized that the effects of self-involvement on memory function may be moderated by the extent to which encoding experiences entail volitional (i.e., choice-based) processing. The results of three experiments supported this prediction. Despite the adoption of an incidental task context and stimulus materials that were inconsequential to participants, the act of selection enhanced the memorability and accessibility of information. The implications of these findings for contemporary treatments of self are considered.
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Conducta de Elección , Cognición , Ego , Control Interno-Externo , Memoria , Análisis de Varianza , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Recuerdo Mental , Reconocimiento en PsicologíaRESUMEN
Cognitive theories of how people regulate their thoughts have suggested the involvement of two control processes that occur over different time courses. These cognitive accounts parallel recent neural models of executive control, which suggest that the prefrontal cortex (PFC) mediates sustained changes in the allocation of control processes, whereas the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) relays a transient need for additional control. Combining these cognitive and neural models of control, we used recently developed analysis techniques to distinguish transient from sustained changes in brain activation while subjects attempted to suppress an unwanted thought. Results were consistent with both models: Dorsolateral PFC demonstrated sustained increases in activation during attempts at thought suppression, whereas bilateral ACC demonstrated transient increases associated with occurrences of unwanted thoughts. These data support proposals regarding the different contributions made by the PFC and ACC to executive control and provide initial neuroimaging support for dual-process models of how individuals regulate their thoughts.
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Cognición , Represión Psicológica , Autoeficacia , Pensamiento , Adulto , Encéfalo/anatomía & histología , Encéfalo/fisiología , Femenino , Humanos , Imagen por Resonancia Magnética , Masculino , Teoría PsicológicaRESUMEN
Recent neuroimaging research has linked the task of forming a "person impression" to a distinct pattern of neural activation that includes dorsal regions of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Although this result suggests the distinctiveness of social cognition - the processes that support inferences about the psychological aspects of other people - it remains unclear whether mPFC contributions to this impression formation task were person specific or if they would extend to other stimulus targets. To address this unresolved issue, participants in the current study underwent fMRI scanning while performing impression formation or a control task for two types of target: other people and inanimate objects. Specifically, participants were asked to use experimentally-provided information either to form an impression of a person or an object or to intentionally encode the sequence in which the information was presented. Results demonstrated that activation in an extensive region of dorsal mPFC was greater for impression formation of other people than for all other trial types, suggesting that this region specifically indexes the social-cognitive aspects of impression formation (i.e., understanding the psychological characteristics of another mental agent). These findings underscore the extent to which social cognition relies on distinct neural mechanisms.