Abstract Differences in valenced self‐evaluation refer to positive and negative coexistence in the process of self‐evaluation, while there is a clear difference in cognitive processes. The present study aimed to uncover the differences in the latent cognitive parameters (e.g., processing speed) in valenced self‐evaluation using the hierarchical drift‐diffusion model in two independent experiments. A self‐referential decision‐making task was applied in both experiments, and a self‐descriptiveness task plus the rating of related emotions (e.g., pride and shame) were also used but only in Experiment 2. Results of Experiments 1 &amp; 2 showed a faster processing speed for accepting positive attributes and longer times for encoding and response execution in negative self‐evaluation. Moreover, Experiment 2 found cognitive parameters had predictive effects on subsequent decisional outcomes such as self‐descriptiveness and self‐related emotions via Bayesian inference. The current study provided findings that help to understand the cognitive mechanism behind self‐positivity and self‐accuracy biases. 

Hierarchical drift‐diffusion modelling uncovers differences of valenced self‐evaluation

Self-ambivalence, a prevalent phenomenon in daily life, has been increasingly substantiated by research. It refers to conflicting self-views and evaluations, primarily concerning self-worth and morality. Previous behavioral research has distinguished self-worth and moral ambivalence, but it remains unclear whether they have separable neural bases. The present study addressed this question by examining resting-state brain activity (i.e., the fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations, fALFF) and connectivity (i.e., resting-state functional connectivity, RSFC) in 112 college students. The results found that self-worth ambivalence was positively related to the fALFF in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and left superior parietal lobule (SPL). The RSFC strength between the SPL and precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) was positively related to self-worth ambivalence. Moral ambivalence was positively associated with the fALFF in the left SPL (extending into the temporoparietal junction) and right SPL. The RSFC strengths between the left SPL/TPJ and OFC, as well as the RSFC strengths between the right SPL as a seed and the bilateral middle and inferior temporal gyrus, were associated with moral ambivalence. Overall, the neural bases of self-worth and moral ambivalence are associated with the SPL and OFC, involved in attentional alertness and value representation, respectively. Additionally, the neural basis of moral ambivalence is associated with the TPJ, responsible for mentalizing. 

Identifying the Shared and Dissociable Neural Bases between Self-Worth and Moral Ambivalence

Personal self-esteem (PSE) has been well recognized as a buffer against stress; however, the effects of other types of self-esteem, such as relational self-esteem (RSE) and collective self-esteem (CSE), on stress have not been adequately explored. This study investigated the roles of PSE, RSE, and CSE in reducing stress response. The Rosenberg, Relational, and Collective Self-Esteem Scales were adopted to assess PSE, RSE, and CSE, respectively. Participants underwent an acute social stress paradigm, and their acute stress response was assessed using subjective stress reports and salivary cortisol levels. Chronic stress level was estimated using the Perceived Stress Scale and hair cortisol concentration. The results showed that PSE was negatively correlated with salivary cortisol response during acute social stress; however, no significant associations were found between any type of self-esteem and subjective stress reports. For chronic stress, all types of self-esteem were negatively associated with perceived stress level, but not with hair cortisol concentration. Further hierarchical regression analyses suggested that only PSE negatively predicted acute salivary cortisol response and perceived stress level. Overall, the findings suggest the essential role of PSE in predicting acute salivary cortisol responses and perceived stress.

The role of personal, relational, and collective self-esteem in predicting acute salivary cortisol response and perceived stress.

Stress resilience has been largely regarded as a process in which individuals actively cope with and recover from stress. Over the past decade, the emergence of large-scale brain networks has provided a new perspective for the study of the neural mechanisms of stress. However, the role of inter-network functional-connectivity (FC) and its temporal fluctuations in stress resilience is still unclear. To bridge this knowledge gap, seventy-seven participants (age, 17-22 years, 37 women) were recruited for a ScanSTRESS brain imaging study. A static perspective was initially adopted, using changes in FC that obtained from stress vs. control condition during the entire stress induction phase as a static indicator. Further, changes in FC between different stress runs were analyzed as an index of temporal dynamics. Stress resilience was gauged using salivary cortisol levels, while trait resilience was measured via behavioral-activation-system (BAS) sensitivity. Results found that, for the static index, enhanced FC between the salience-network (SN), default-mode-network (DMN) and limbic-network (LBN) during acute stress could negatively signal stress resilience. For the temporal dynamics index, FC among the dorsal-attention-network (DAN), central-executive-network (CEN) and visual-network (VN) decreased significantly during repeated stress induction. Moreover, the decline of FC positively signaled stress resilience, and this relationship only exist in people with high BAS. The current research elucidates the intricate neural underpinnings of stress resilience, offering insights into the adaptive mechanisms underlying effective stress responses. 

Static and temporal dynamic in functional connectivity of large-scale brain networks during acute stress regulate stress resilience differently: the promotion role of trait resilience

Priming moral self-ambivalence facilitates cognitive flexibility in young adults

Abstract. People have different tendencies when responding to positive and negative self-related stimuli, which can be referred to as positive-negative asymmetry. People are generally biased toward self-positivity on the one hand and display a self-focus on negative information on the other. Studies found that the positive-negative asymmetry exists in the cognitive processing of the self, but research on emotional self-related processing has been scant. In the current study, 635 participants rated the extent to which an adjective describes themselves and how much pride or shame they feel during such an evaluation. For positive items, results showed an increasing tendency in participants’ self-descriptive ratings, from 1 (= very low) to 7 (=  very high), which can positively predict pride but negatively predict shame. Meanwhile, for negative items, participants’ ratings, which show a decreasing trend, can positively predict pride and shame. Overall, the current study suggests a valence asymmetry in both cognitive and emotional self-related processing.

Positive-Negative Asymmetry in Self-Related Processing

BACKGROUND
A blunted hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis response to acute stress is associated with psychiatric symptoms. Although the prefrontal cortex and limbic areas are important regulators of the HPA axis, whether the neural habituation of these regions during stress signals both blunted HPA axis responses and psychiatric symptoms remains unclear. In this study, neural habituation during acute stress and its associations with the stress cortisol response, resilience, and depression were evaluated.


METHODS
Seventy-seven participants (17-22 years old, 37 women) were recruited for a ScanSTRESS brain imaging study, and the activation changes between the first and last stress blocks were used as the neural habituation index. Meanwhile, participants' salivary cortisol during test was collected. Individual-level resilience and depression were measured using questionnaires. Correlation and moderation analyses were conducted to investigate the association between neural habituation and endocrine data and mental symptoms. Validated analyses were conducted using a Montreal Image Stress Test dataset in another independent sample (48 participants; 17-22 years old, 24 women).


RESULTS
Neural habituation of the prefrontal cortex and limbic area was negatively correlated with cortisol responses in both datasets. In the ScanSTRESS paradigm, neural habituation was both positively correlated with depression and negatively correlated with resilience. Moreover, resilience moderated the relationship between neural habituation in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and cortisol response.


CONCLUSIONS
This study suggested that neural habituation of the prefrontal cortex and limbic area could reflect motivation dysregulation during repeated failures and negative feedback, which might further lead to maladaptive mental states.

Neural habituation during acute stress signals a blunted endocrine response and poor resilience.

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Positive-Negative Asymmetry in Self-Related Processing

Neural habituation during acute stress signals a blunted endocrine response and poor resilience.