Self-referential processing accounts for cultural variation in self-enhancement versus criticism: An electrocortical investigation.

Abstract

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 upperalpha 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 selfenhancement (vs. criticism). The role of self-referential processing in self-enhancement is discussed.

Emotionally expressive interdependence in Latin America: Triangulating through a comparison of three cultural zones.

“…Hence, the propensity of European Americans to express disengaging emotions, especially positive emotions such as pride, might be more pronounced than their expression of negative socially disengaging emotions like anger. This effect is likely to be observed primarily in situations that allow for self-enhancement, such as instances where individuals experience personal success rather than failure (Kitayama et al, 1997; Salvador et al, 2022).…”

Influence of Acculturation and Cultural Values on the Self-Reference Effect

“…In addition, future work should incorporate neural measures, as previous research has indicated that these may be more sensitive markers of the in uence of culture than behavioral measures [42]. Previous work using ERP and fMRI has demonstrated that cultural groups differ in the neural response to self versus close others [39,43,44].…”

Different functions of emotion regulation in linking harmony seeking and rejection avoidance to life satisfaction and social support in Germany, Hong Kong, and Japan

“…The positive link between harmony seeking and rumination in the Japanese sample fits with past research, suggesting that Japanese may engage in self‐critical thinking to promote social adjustment and maintain harmonious relationships (Heine et al., 1999; Schunk et al., 2021). In contrast, focusing on negative information about the self is presumed to be less desirable in a Western cultural context due to social norms that promote self‐enhancement (Heine et al., 1999; Salvador et al., 2021). The negative link between harmony seeking and rumination for HKC would be in line with this Western interpretation.…”