Self-Referential Processing Accounts for Cultural Variation in Self-Enhancement Versus Criticism: An Electrocortical Investigation

European Americans are self-enhancing, whereas East Asians are sometimes self-critical. However, the mechanisms underlying this cultural difference remain unclear. Here, we addressed this gap by testing 32 Taiwanese and 32 American young adults, who indicated whether their self-esteem would change i...

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Veröffentlicht in:Journal of experimental psychology. General 2022-08, Vol.151 (8), p.1904-1918
Hauptverfasser: Salvador, Cristina E., Kamikubo, Aya, Kraus, Brian, Hsiao, Nai-Ching, Hu, Jon-Fan, Karasawa, Mayumi, Kitayama, Shinobu
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Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:European Americans are self-enhancing, whereas East Asians are sometimes self-critical. However, the mechanisms underlying this cultural difference remain unclear. Here, we addressed this gap by testing 32 Taiwanese and 32 American young adults, who indicated whether their self-esteem would change in various episodes involving success or failure. We monitored their electroencephalogram (EEG) and assessed upper-alpha band power in response to the outcome information. An increase in upper-alpha power indicates internally directed attention; therefore, it is an index of self-referential processing when assessed during a judgment about the self. As predicted, Americans judged that their self-esteem (but not another's) would increase more after a success than it would decrease after a failure, thereby showing the previously observed self-enhancing pattern. Taiwanese tended to show the opposite pattern, self-criticism. Notably, Americans, but not Taiwanese, showed an increase in upper-alpha band power in response to the self's successes (vs. failures). This bias in the EEG index of self-referential processing predicted the cultural difference in self-enhancement (vs. criticism). The role of self-referential processing in self-enhancement is discussed.
ISSN:0096-3445
1939-2222
DOI:10.1037/xge0001154