Self-construal priming modulates visual activity underlying global/local perception.
Behavioral studies suggest that self-construals play a key role in modulation of cognitive processing styles, leading to context-dependent or -independent mode of processing. The current work investigated whether the neural activity in the extrastriate cortex underlying global/local perception of compound stimuli can be modulated by self-construal priming that shifts self-construal towards the Eastern interdependent or Western independent self in Chinese participants. After primed with independent or interdependent self-construals, subjects were asked to discriminate global/local letters in a compound stimulus while event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded. We found that, while the independent self-construal priming resulted in enlarged P1 amplitude to local than global targets at lateral occipital electrodes, a reverse pattern was observed after the interdependent self-construal priming. Our findings provide electrophysiological evidence that self-construal priming modulates visual perceptual processing in the extrastriate cortex.
Lin
Zhicheng
Z
Department of Psychology, Peking University, Beijing, China.
Lin
Yan
Y
Han
Shihui
S
D000328:Adult; D002681:China; D003463:Cues; D003469:Culture; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological / Q000502:physiology; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004594:Electrophysiology; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012649:Self Concept; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*