Positive bias in self-appraisals from friend's perspective: an event-related potential study. Issue 9 (15th June 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Li, Shifeng; Xu, Kepeng; Xu, Qiongying; Xia, Ruixue; Ren, Deyun; Zhou, Aibao
• Is Part Of: NeuroReport. Volume 27:Issue 9(2016)
• Publication Date: 2016-06-15
• Subjects: closeness -- event-related potentials -- self-appraisal -- self-positivity bias; Neurosciences -- Periodicals; Nervous system -- Periodicals; Neurophysiology -- Periodicals; Nervous System Diseases -- Periodicals; Nervous System Physiological Phenomena -- Periodicals; Neurosciences -- Periodicals; 616.805
• DOI: 10.1097/WNR.0000000000000599
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0959-4965

Abstract

Abstract : The present study investigated how positive bias in self-appraisals is differentially modulated when taking a friend's versus a stranger's perspective. Reaction time and event-related potentials were recorded while the participants performed a self-descriptiveness task with positive and negative trait adjectives from one's own perspective, a friend's perspective, or a stranger's perspective. The results showed that faster reaction times and reduced N400 amplitudes were induced by positive relative to negative words both in the self-perspective and friend-perspective conditions, but not in the stranger-perspective condition. This suggests that the perceived closeness between oneself and the other may modulate the neural basis of positive bias in self-appraisals during perspective taking.