An ERP Study Of Development Characteristics Of Self And Idol-reference Effect About Teenagers

Self-reference effect is that the individual will carry out faster processing and better memory when there is a correlation between the stimulus information and self.Using ERP technique, the development of characteristics of self-reference effect and idol-reference effect about teenagers is checked, and the brain mechanism of self-reference effect and idol-reference effect is revealed by the personality traits judgment task and Oddball paradigm respectively.41 students who have idols and are sophomores from middle school, high school and university were selected as subjects in the study. The average age of students is 13, 16, 19-year-old respectively. Experiment I used trait words as stimulus material, and Experiment II used own name and idol name of subjects as stimulus material. We employed a mixed experimental design two factors,i.e.3(age group: sophomores group from middle school, high school and university) ×2(reference types: self, idol).the age is subjects variables, and the reference type is subjects internal variables.The dependent variable is subjects of electrical components of the main amplitudes and latency so as to investigate development of characteristics and of brain mechanism self-reference processing and idol-reference processing about teenagers under the different experimental tasks and stimulus materials.The main conclusions in the study are as follows:First, under the word judgment task, sophomores group from middle school was less than sophomores group from high school and college in the reaction time of self and idol-reference processing; The self-reference processing reaction time was longer than idol-reference processing reaction time to sophomores group from high school, but two kinds of reference processing reaction time difference was not significant to sophomores group from middle school and university.Second, under the self-reference processing, teenagers in two experiments respectively induced the greater amplitude and longer latency of LPC and P300. Teenagers showed self-reference effect.Third, under the word judgment task, the difference of LPC amplitude was not significant between self and idol-reference processing to sophomores group from middle school and university, but it was significant to sophomores group from high school. This results instructed that sophomores from middle school and college showed idol-reference effect, sophomores from high school did not show the idol-reference effect. Under the Oddball paradigm, the difference about P300 amplitude of 3 groups of students was significant between self and idol-reference processing, which instructed that 3 groups of students did not show the idol-reference effect.Fourth, under the self-reference processing, the difference of 3 groups of students about the amplitude of LPC and P300 in two experiments was not significant.It showed self-reference effect was stablely performed as the growth of the age; however, there was significant difference among different age groups about the latency of LPC and P300. The latency of sophomores group from college was shortest.Under the idol-reference processing, the difference of 3 groups of students about the amplitude of LPC and P300 in two experiments was not also significant, but the difference of the latency was significant and the latency of sophomores group from college was shortest.Fifth, Two experiments all concluded teenagers show the advantage of the midline processing under self-reference processing.Under the word judgment task, among different age groups, the difference of LPC amplitude about self-reference processing is in left brain.Under the Oddball paradigm, the P300 peak value of teenagers about self-reference processing in the midbrain and back of the brain was larger, and it showed the advantages of the midbrain and the back of the brain processing.