Tolerating dissimilar other when primed with death: neural evidence of self-control engaged by interdependent people in Japan.
Mortality salience (MS) has been shown to lead to derogation of others with dissimilar worldviews, yet recent research has shown that Asian-Americans who presumably adopt an interdependent self-construal (SC) tend to reveal greater tolerance after MS induction. In the present study, we demonstrated that Japanese individuals who are high on interdependent SC indeed show greater tolerance toward worldview-threatening other in the MS (vs control) condition, thus replicating the prior research. Extending this research, we also found that interdependent people's tolerance toward worldview-threatening other was mediated by increased activity in the right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex in the MS condition. These data suggested that when exposed to death-related stimuli, highly interdependent individuals may spontaneously activate their neural self-control system which may serve to increase tolerance toward others.
Kokoro Research Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
Kuniaki
K
Yanagisawa
School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Australia.
Emiko S
ES
Kashima
Graduate School of Integrated Arts and Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan.
Hiroki
H
Moriya
Department of Psychology, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan.
Keita
K
Masui
Department of Management Information, Hokkai Gakuen University, Hokkaido, Japan.
Kaichiro
K
Furutani
Department of Social and Clinical Psychology, Hijiyama University, Hiroshima, Japan.
Hiroshi
H
Yoshida
Department of Psychology, Otemon Gakuin University, Osaka, Japan.
Mitsuhiro
M
Ura
Graduate School of Education, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
Michio
M
Nomura
D044466:Asian People; D001293:Attitude to Death / Q000208:ethnology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005260:Female; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D012649:Self Concept; D000068356:Self-Control; D012931:Social Environment; D019265:Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared; D055815:Young Adult
D006454:Hemoglobins; D010100:Oxygen
interdependent self-construal; mortality salience; rVLPFC activity; self-control