The relationship between dispositional self-construal and empathy for ingroup and outgroup members’ pain: evidence from ERPs

doi:10.3724/SP.J.1041.2021.00629

Abstract

Abstract:

Previous studies have found that temporary shifts in self-construals modulate neural correlates of empathy for pain. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between the dispositional self-construal and empathic neural responses to ingroup and outgroup members’ pain. Using a priming paradigm, event-related potentials were recorded for pictures depicting the faces in painful or no-painful situations while subjects performed a pain judgment task. The results showed a significant ingroup bias in empathy in the early N2 component where painful stimuli elicited a greater negative shift relative to non-painful stimuli in response to ingroup members’ pain only. It suggests that group factors influence automatic emotion sharing stage of pain empathy. Regardless of whether it is ingroup priming or outgroup priming, the painful picture evoked greater P3 amplitudes than the non-painful picture. More importantly, there were significantly positive correlations between self-construal scores (interdependence minus independence scores) and P3 amplitudes induced by ingroup or outgroup pain empathy (painful minus non-painful conditions), but their correlation coefficients were similar. This finding suggests that trait self-construal is closely related to the late cognitive appraisal process in pain empathy, and the degree of correlation was similar between internal and external group conditions.

Key words: pain empathy, dispositional self-construal, ingroup, event-related potentials, N2, P3

CHEN Jie, WU Ke, SHI Yupeng, AI Xiaoqing. (2021). The relationship between dispositional self-construal and empathy for ingroup and outgroup members’ pain: evidence from ERPs. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 53(6), 629-638.

Figures/Tables 6

Figure 1 Flow chart of the experiment.

Table 1 The reaction time and accuracy under different conditions (M ± SE)

Stimulus type	Accuracy (%)	Reaction Time (MS)
Pain
Intragroup	88.33 ± 3.55	555.82 ± 13.96
Outgroup	88.89 ± 3.26	565.02 ± 9.74
Non-pain
Intragroup	93.15 ± 1.87	578.20 ± 8.20
Outgroup	93.15 ± 1.86	575.00 ± 8.12

Table 2 Rating scores of pain intensity and self-unpleasantness (M ± SE)

Stimulus type	Pain Intensity	Self-unpleasantness
Pain
Intragroup	3.18 ± 1.13	3.23 ± 1.23
Outgroup	3.15 ± 1.14	3.23 ± 1.32
No Pain
Intragroup	1.65 ± 0.62	1.55 ± 0.58
Outgroup	1.59 ± 0.55	1.51 ± 0.54

Figure 2. (a-b) scatter plot with correlation analysis between self-construal scores and rating score of pain intensity under ingroup and outgroup priming conditions; (c-d) scatter plot with correlation analysis between self-construal scores and rating score of unpleasantness under ingroup and outgroup priming conditions.

Figure 3. Averaged ERPs at FCz and Pz to painful (solid line) and non-painful (dotted line) stimuli and topographical maps of voltage amplitudes for painful minus non-painful stimuli difference at the N2 and P3 components.

Figure 4. (a-b) scatter plot with correlation analysis between self-construal scores and differential N2 amplitude (painful minus non-painful stimuli); (c-d) scatter plot with correlation analysis between self-construal scores and differential P3 amplitude (painful minus non-painful stimuli).

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