Department of Psychology, University of Oregon.
Department of Psychology, Brock University.
Cultur Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol. 2017 Jan;23(1):45-58. doi: 10.1037/cdp0000122.
Although cortical midline structures (CMS) are the most commonly identified neural foundations of self-appraisals, research is beginning to implicate the temporal-parietal junction (TPJ) in more interdependent self-construals. The goal of this study was to extend this research in an understudied population by (a) examining both direct (first-person) and reflected (third-person) self-appraisals across 2 domains (social and academics), and (b) exploring individual differences in recruitment of the TPJ during reflected self-appraisals.
The neural correlates of direct and reflected self-appraisals in social and academic domains were examined in 16 Chinese young adults (8 males, 8 females; aged 18-23 years) using functional MRI.
As expected, when making reflected self-appraisals (i.e., reporting what they believed others thought about them, regardless of domain), Chinese participants recruited both CMSs and the TPJ. Similar to previous research in East Asian and interdependent samples, CMSs and the TPJ were relatively more active during direct self-appraisals in the social than in the academic domain. We additionally found that, to the extent participants reported that reflected academic self-appraisals differed from direct academic self-appraisals, they demonstrated greater engagement of the TPJ during reflected academic self-appraisals. Exploratory cross-national comparisons with previously published data from American participants revealed that Chinese young adults engaged the TPJ relatively more during reflected self-appraisals made from peer perspectives.
In combination with previous research, these findings increase support for a role of the TPJ in self-appraisal processes, particularly when Chinese young adults consider peer perspectives. The possible functional contributions provided by the TPJ are explored and discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record
尽管皮质中线结构（CMS）是自我评估最常被识别的神经基础，但研究开始将颞顶联合区（TPJ）牵连到更具相互依存性的自我构建中。本研究的目的是通过（a）在两个领域（社会和学术）中检查直接（第一人称）和反射（第三人称）自我评估，以及（b）探索在反射自我评估过程中 TPJ 的个体差异，在一个研究较少的人群中扩展这项研究。
使用功能磁共振成像（fMRI）检查了 16 名中国年轻人（8 名男性，8 名女性；年龄 18-23 岁）在社会和学术领域中直接和反射自我评估的神经相关性。
正如预期的那样，当进行反射性自我评估（即，报告他们认为他人对他们的看法，无论领域如何）时，中国参与者招募了 CMS 和 TPJ。与东亚和相互依存样本的先前研究相似，CMS 和 TPJ 在社会领域的直接自我评估中比在学术领域更活跃。我们还发现，参与者报告反射性学术自我评估与直接学术自我评估的差异越大，他们在反射性学术自我评估期间表现出更大的 TPJ 参与度。与来自美国参与者的先前发表数据进行的探索性跨国比较表明，中国年轻人在从同龄人角度进行反射性自我评估时相对更多地参与 TPJ。
这些发现与先前的研究相结合，为 TPJ 在自我评估过程中的作用提供了更多支持，特别是当中国年轻人考虑同龄人的观点时。探讨并讨论了 TPJ 提供的可能功能贡献。
