title: Self-distancing improves interpersonal perceptions and behavior by decreasing medial prefrontal cortex activity during the provision of criticism.
abstract: Previous research suggests that people show increased self-referential processing when they provide criticism to others, and that this self-referential processing can have negative effects on interpersonal perceptions and behavior. The current research hypothesized that adopting a self-distanced perspective (i.e. thinking about a situation from a non-first person point of view), as compared with a typical self-immersed perspective (i.e. thinking about a situation from a first-person point of view), would reduce self-referential processing during the provision of criticism, and in turn improve interpersonal perceptions and behavior. We tested this hypothesis in an interracial context since research suggests that self-referential processing plays a role in damaging interracial relations. White participants prepared for mentorship from a self-immersed or self-distanced perspective. They then conveyed negative and positive evaluations to a Black mentee while electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded. Source analysis revealed that priming a self-distanced (vs self-immersed) perspective predicted decreased activity in regions linked to self-referential processing (medial prefrontal cortex; MPFC) when providing negative evaluations. This decreased MPFC activity during negative evaluations, in turn, predicted verbal feedback that was perceived to be more positive, warm and helpful. Results suggest that self-distancing can improve interpersonal perceptions and behavior by decreasing self-referential processing during the provision of criticism.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Jordan B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Leitner
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Ozlem
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ayduk
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Rodolfo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mendoza-Denton
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA.
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Magerman
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA.
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Amey
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Ethan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kross
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA.
authors.forename: Chad E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Forbes
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D044383:Black People / Q000523:psychology*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008611:Mentors / Q000523:psychology; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D011287:Prejudice; D012929:Psychological Distance; D011822:Race Relations; D012649:Self Concept; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D012919:Social Behavior; D012938:Social Perception; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: electrophysiology; intergroup dynamics; mentorship; prejudice; racial and ethnic attitudes and relations