title: The effects of gender and self-insight on early semantic processing.
abstract: This event-related potential (ERP) study explored individual differences associated with gender and level of self-insight in early semantic processing. Forty-eight Chinese native speakers completed a semantic judgment task with three different categories of words: abstract neutral words (e.g., logic, effect), concrete neutral words (e.g., teapot, table), and emotion words (e.g., despair, guilt). They then assessed their levels of self-insight. Results showed that women engaged in greater processing than did men. Gender differences also manifested in the relationship between level of self-insight and word processing. For women, level of self-insight was associated with level of semantic activation for emotion words and abstract neutral words, but not for concrete neutral words. For men, level of self-insight was related to processing speed, particularly in response to abstract and concrete neutral words. These findings provide electrophysiological evidence for the effects of gender and self-insight on semantic processing and highlight the need to take into consideration subject variables in related research.
authors.affiliation: School of Behavioral Sciences and Education, Pennsylvania State University at Harrisburg, Middletown, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
authors.forename: Xu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Chunyan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, People's Republic of China; Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Taomei
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Guo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005071:Evoked Potentials; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012660:Semantics; D012737:Sex Factors; D055815:Young Adult