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Dynamic bicultural brains: fMRI study of their flexible neural representation of self and significant others in response to culture primes
Author(s) -
Ng Sik Hung,
Han Shihui,
Mao Lihua,
Lai Julian C. L.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
asian journal of social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.5
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1467-839X
pISSN - 1367-2223
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-839x.2010.01303.x
Subject(s) - psychology , priming (agriculture) , functional magnetic resonance imaging , self construal , trait , representation (politics) , cognitive psychology , social psychology , interdependence , neuroscience , politics , political science , law , botany , germination , computer science , biology , programming language
Where in the brain are the self and significant others (e.g. mother) represented? Neuroscientists have traced self‐representation to the ventral medial prefrontal cortex for both Westerners and East Asians. However, significant others were represented alongside the self in the same brain area for East Asians but not for Westerners. In this experiment, Westernized bicultural Chinese were scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging while performing trait judgments that referenced the self, mother, or a non‐identified person (NIP) after Western or Chinese culture priming. Consistent with Western independent self‐construals and Chinese interdependent self‐construals, Western priming increased, whereas Chinese priming decreased the neural differentiation of mother and NIP from self.