title: Neural manifestations of implicit self-esteem: an ERP study.
abstract: Behavioral research has established that humans implicitly tend to hold a positive view toward themselves. In this study, we employed the event-related potential (ERP) technique to explore neural manifestations of positive implicit self-esteem using the Go/Nogo association task (GNAT). Participants generated a response (Go) or withheld a response (Nogo) to self or others words and good or bad attributes. Behavioral data showed that participants responded faster to the self paired with good than the self paired with bad, whereas the opposite proved true for others, reflecting the positive nature of implicit self-esteem. ERP results showed an augmented N200 over the frontal areas in Nogo responses relative to Go responses. Moreover, the positive implicit self-positivity bias delayed the onset time of the N200 wave difference between Nogo and Go trials, suggesting that positive implicit self-esteem is manifested on neural activity about 270 ms after the presentation of self-relevant stimuli. These findings provide neural evidence for the positivity and automaticity of implicit self-esteem.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Lili
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Huajian
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Ruolei
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yu L L
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jianxin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yuanyuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, United States of America.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ding
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D044466:Asian People / Q000523:psychology; D001519:Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D002681:China; D005071:Evoked Potentials; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012649:Self Concept; D055815:Young Adult