The Relational Self-reference Effect And It’s Brain Mechanism

With the self reference effect (SRE) proposed by Rogers&Kuiper et al.(1977), especially in recent years, people has made extensive and in-depth research on the individual self and collective self reference effects.After the concept of the relational self between the self was first put forward by Brewer and Sedikedes (1996), people realize that the relationship between self,collective self and the individual self is several different components of the self. The study adopts the self reference processing paradigm to discuss whether the Chinese existing relational self reference effect and its characteristics of self.This study has four experiments, experiment1and experiment2belong to the behavioral experiments, experiment3and experiment4are the event related potential (ERP) experiments. Experiment1and experiment3respectively through behavior and ERP experiments discusses whether there exists the relational self reference effect. Experiment2and experiment4respectively through behavior and ERP experiments discusses the relationship between the relational self reference effect and the self reference effect (SRE).In experiment1, it compares the processing reaction time of the testees to different titer adjectives (two conditions of the adjectives are a good match) under the processing of relation self reference and the familiar with others reference conditions. The task of the testees is to look the adjective on the computer screen carefully and make judgments quickly and accurately with reference to the object (experiment designated) whether to conform to the judgment. The results show that relationship with reference to the reaction of self processing time is significantly below the processing time of familiar with others reference, which shows the existing relationships self reference to effect. The judgment time of the object which is meeting the requirements was significantly shorter than that not meeting the requirements. But the main effect of the adjectives titer is not significant The interaction between the object and the judge which is meeting the requirements is extremely significant, in accord with reference to the object conditions, the relationship between the response of the self with general familiar with others tell time difference was not significant; in reference to the object does not conform to the conditions, the relationship between the response of the self in significantly short in the general familiar with others tell time, this shows that people generally hard to make refused judgments to others. The interaction among object, adjectives titer and the judgment meeting the requirements was significant, showing the interaction of three factors.The experiment2adopts the same behavior research paradigm as the experiment1, and further explores the relationship between self and individual self and the characteristics. The results show that the processing reaction time between self and individual self reference has no significant difference, which is confirmed the assumption that the relationship between the Chinese themselves and individual self is similar. The experiment is also found that, the object and the judge have significant interaction effects, In accord with reference to the object conditions, the relationship between the self with the judgment of the individual self reaction time difference was not significant, In reference to the object does not conform to the conditions, the judgment of the self is significantly shorter than the individual reaction of the self judgment time, this, to a certain extent, reflects that the individual to the close relationship of evaluation of knowledge of people in certain degree of clarity is greater than the individual to the self knowledge.The behavioral experiment results of the experiment3are similar to the experiment1through the brain electrical research. The LPC with reference to self processing is significantly higher than that (LPC) with reference to general others, confirmed that the basic hypothesis of the experiment, which shows the existing relationships self reference effect. On relationship with reference to the self when processing the brain electrical LPC’s unilateral analysis showed that, in reference to process the brain electrical LPC of left brain is significantly less than that in midbrain and right brain, the difference of central part of the brain and the right brain in electrical LPC is not significant, which shows the advantages between the right brain and the axis of the brain in the relational self processing.The behavioral experiment results of the experiment4are inconsistent to the experiment2through the brain electrical research. The LPC with reference to self processing is significantly higher than that (LPC) to the individual self reference process, shows the characteristics of relationship self reference processing in Chinese culture.We can reach the following conclusions based on the research of the four experimental results,(1) Chinese have relational self reference effect,(2) Under certain conditions, the processing level of the Chinese in relation referent to the Chinese themselves is higher than that in the individual self reference.(3) There exists advantages between the right brain and the axis of the brain in the relational self processing.(4) There exists interaction in self reference processing and adjectives titer for Chinese.(5) There exists interaction in self processing and judgment for Chinese.