More or less of me and you: self-relevance augments the effects of item probability on stimulus prioritization

Cognitive and neural underpinnings of friend-prioritization in a perceptual matching task

Previous findings of better behavioral responses to self- over other-related stimuli suggest prioritized cognitive processes of self-related information. However, it is unclear whether the processing of information related to important others (e.g.friends) may be prioritized over that related to the self in certain subpopulations and, if yes, whether friend-prioritization and self-prioritization engage distinct cognitive and neural mechanisms. We collected behavioral and electroencephalography (EEG) data from a large sample (N = 1006) during learning associations between shapes and person labels (self or a friend). Analyses of response times and sensitivities revealed two subpopulations who performed better to friend-shape or self-shape associations, respectively (N = 216 for each group). Drift diffusion model (DDM) analyses unraveled faster information acquisition for friend-shape (vs. self-shape) associations in the friend-prioritization group but an opposite pattern in the self-prioritization group. Trial-by-trial regression analyses of EEG data showed that the greater amplitudes of a frontal/central activity at 180-240 ms poststimulus were correlated with faster information acquisition from friend-shape associations in the friend-prioritization group but from self-shape associations in the self-prioritization group. However, the frontal/central neural oscillations at 8-18 Hz during perceptual learning were specifically associated with speed of information acquisition from friend-shape associations in the friend-prioritization-group. Our findings provide evidence for friend-prioritization in perceptual learning in a subpopulation of adults and clarify the underlying cognitive and neural mechanisms.

A multiverse assessment of the reliability of the self-matching task as a measurement of the self-prioritization effect

The self-matching task (SMT) is widely used to investigate the cognitive mechanisms underlying the self-prioritization effect (SPE), wherein performance is enhanced for self-associated stimuli compared to other-associated ones. Although the SMT robustly elicits the SPE, there is a lack of data quantifying the reliability of this paradigm. This is problematic, given the prevalence of the reliability paradox in cognitive tasks: many well-established cognitive tasks demonstrate relatively low reliability when used to evaluate individual differences, despite exhibiting replicable effects at the group level. To fill this gap, this preregistered study investigated the reliability of SPE derived from the SMT using a multiverse approach, combining all possible indicators and baselines reported in the literature. We first examined the robustness of 24 SPE measures across 42 datasets (N = 2250) using a meta-analytical approach. We then calculated the split-half reliability (r) and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC2) for each SPE measure. Our findings revealed a robust group-level SPE across datasets. However, when evaluating individual differences, SPE indices derived from reaction time (RT) and efficiency exhibited relatively higher, compared to other SPE indices, but still unsatisfied split-half reliability (approximately 0.5). The reliability across multiple time points, as assessed by ICC2, RT, and efficiency, demonstrated moderate levels of test-retest reliability (close to 0.5). These findings revealed the presence of a reliability paradox in the context of SMT-based SPE assessment. We discussed the implications of how to enhance individual-level reliability using this paradigm for future study design.

The temporal profile of self-prioritization

Personal relevance exerts a powerful influence on decisional processing, such that arbitrary stimuli associated with the self are classified more rapidly than identical material linked with other people. Notwithstanding numerous demonstrations of this facilitatory effect, it remains unclear whether self-prioritization is a temporally stable outcome of decision-making. Accordingly, using a shape-label matching task in combination with computational modeling, the current experiment investigated this matter. The results were informative. First, regardless of the target of comparison (i.e., friend or stranger), self-prioritization was a persistent product of decision-making across the testing session. Second, a variant of the standard drift diffusion model in which decisional boundaries collapsed gradually over the course of the task best fit the observed data. Third, whereas the efficiency of stimulus processing increased for other-related stimuli during the task, it decreased for self-related material. Collectively, these findings advance understanding of the temporal profile of self-prioritization.

Stimulus valence moderates self-learning

Self-relevance has been demonstrated to impair instrumental learning. Compared to unfamiliar symbols associated with a friend, analogous stimuli linked with the self are learned more slowly. What is not yet understood, however, is whether this effect extends beyond arbitrary stimuli to material with intrinsically meaningful properties. Take, for example, stimulus valence an established moderator of self-bias. Does the desirability of to-be-learned material influence self-learning? Here, in conjunction with computational modelling (i.e. Reinforcement Learning Drift Diffusion Model analysis), a probabilistic selection task was used to establish if and how stimulus valence (i.e. desirable/undesirable posters) impacts the acquisition of knowledge relating to object-ownership (i.e. owned-by-self vs. owned-by-friend). Several interesting results were observed. First, undesirable posters were learned more rapidly for self compared to friend, an effect that was reversed for desirable posters. Second, learning rates were accompanied by associated differences in reward sensitivity toward desirable and undesirable choice selections as a function of ownership. Third, decisional caution was greater for self-relevant (vs. friend relevant) responses. Collectively, these findings inform understanding of self-function and how valence and stimulus relevance mutually influence probabilistic learning.

Electrophysiological correlates of self-related processing in adults with autism

The term "self-bias" refers to the human propensity to prioritize self- over other-related stimuli and is believed to influence various stages of the processing stream. By means of event-related potentials (ERPs), it was recently shown that the self-bias in a shape-label matching task modulates early as well as later phases of information processing in neurotypicals. Recent claims suggest autism-related deficits to specifically impact later stages of self-related processing; however, it is unclear whether these claims hold based on current findings. Using the shape-label matching task while recording ERPs in individuals with autism can clarify which stage of self-related processing is specifically affected in this condition. Therefore, this study sought to investigate the temporal course of self-related processing in adults with and without autism. Thirty-two adults with autism and 27 neurotypicals completed a shape-label matching task while ERPs were concomitantly recorded. At the behavioral level, results furnished evidence for a comparable self-bias across groups, with no differences in task performance between adults with and without autism. At the ERP level, the two groups showed a similar self-bias at early stages of self-related information processing (the N1 component). Conversely, the autism group manifested a lessened differentiation between self- and other-related stimuli at later stages (the parietal P3 component). In line with recent claims of later phases of self-related processing being altered in autism, we found an equivalent self-bias between groups at an early, sensory stage of processing, yet a strongly diminished self-bias at a later, cognitive stage in adults with autism.

Learning about me and you: Only deterministic stimulus associations elicit self-prioritization

Self-relevant material has been shown to be prioritized over stimuli relating to others (e.g., friend, stranger), generating benefits in attention, memory, and decision-making. What is not yet understood, however, is whether the conditions under which self-related knowledge is acquired impacts the emergence of self-bias. To address this matter, here we used an associative-learning paradigm in combination with a stimulus-classification task to explore the effects of different learning experiences (i.e., deterministic vs. probabilistic) on self-prioritization. The results revealed an effect of prior learning on task performance, with self-prioritization only emerging when participants acquired target-related associations (i.e., self vs. friend) under conditions of certainty (vs. uncertainty). A further computational (i.e., drift diffusion model) analysis indicated that differences in the efficiency of stimulus processing (i.e., rate of information uptake) underpinned this self-prioritization effect. The implications of these findings for accounts of self-function are considered.

Self-Prioritization Reconsidered: Scrutinizing Three Claims

Such is the power of self-relevance, it has been argued that even arbitrary stimuli (e.g., shapes, lines, colors) with no prior personal connection are privileged during information processing following their association with the self (i.e., self-prioritization). This prioritization effect, moreover, is deemed to be stimulus driven (i.e., automatic), grounded in perception, and supported by specialized processing operations. Here, however, we scrutinize these claims and challenge this viewpoint. Although self-relevance unquestionably influences information processing, we contend that, at least at present, there is limited evidence to suggest that the prioritization of arbitrary self-related stimuli is compulsory, penetrates perception, and is underpinned by activity in a dedicated neural network. Rather, self-prioritization appears to be a task-dependent product of ordinary cognitive processes.

Specific Neural Mechanisms of Self-Cognition and the Application of Brainprint Recognition

The important identity attribute of self-information presents unique cognitive processing advantages in psychological experiments and has become a research hotspot in psychology and brain science. The unique processing mode of own information has been widely verified in visual and auditory experiments, which is a unique neural processing method for own name, face, voice and other information. In the study of individual behavior, the behavioral uniqueness of self-information is reflected in the faster response of the human brain to self-information, the higher attention to self-information, and the stronger memory level of self-reference. Brain imaging studies have also presented the uniqueness of self-cognition in the brain. EEG studies have shown that self-information induces significant P300 components. fMRI and PET results show that the differences in self and non-self working patterns were located in the frontal and parietal lobes. In addition, this paper combines the self-uniqueness theory and brain-print recognition technology to explore the application of self-information in experimental design, channel combination strategy and identity feature selection of brainprints.

Electrophysiological correlates of self-prioritization

Personally relevant stimuli exert a powerful influence on social cognition. What is not yet fully understood, however, is how early in the processing stream self-relevance influences decisional operations. Here we used a shape-label matching task in conjunction with electroencephalography and computational modeling to explore this issue. A theoretically important pattern of results was observed. First, a standard self-prioritization effect emerged indicating that responses to self-related items were faster and more accurate than responses to other-related stimuli. Second, a hierarchical drift diffusion model analysis revealed that this effect was underpinned by the enhanced uptake of evidence from self-related stimuli. Third, self-other discrimination during matching trials was observed at both early posterior N1 and late centro-parietal P3 components. Fourth, whereas the N1 was associated with the rate of information accumulation during decisional processing, P3 activity was linked with the evidential requirements of response selection. These findings elucidate the electrophysiological correlates of self-prioritization.

Knock yourself out: Brief mindfulness-based meditation eliminates self-prioritization

Recent research has asserted that self-prioritization is an inescapable facet of mental life, but is this viewpoint correct? Acknowledging the flexibility of social-cognitive functioning, here we considered the extent to which mindfulness-based meditation-an intervention known to reduce egocentric responding-attenuates self-bias. Across two experiments (Expt. 1, N = 160; Expt. 2, N = 160), using an object-classification task, participants reported the ownership of previously assigned items (i.e., owned-by-self vs. owned-by-friend) following a 5-minute period of mindfulness-based meditation compared with control meditation (Expt. 1) or no meditation (Expt. 2). The results revealed that mindfulness meditation abolished the emergence of the self-ownership effect during decision-making. An additional computational (i.e., drift diffusion model) analysis indicated that mindfulness meditation eliminated a prestimulus bias toward self-relevant (vs. friend-relevant) responses, increased response caution, and facilitated the rate at which evidence was accumulated from friend-related (vs. self-related) objects. Collectively, these findings elucidate the stimulus and response-related operations through which brief mindfulness-based meditation tempers self-prioritization.