Cited by 189Neural and Behavioral Psychology StudiesDeath Anxiety and Social ExclusionNeurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior

Self-esteem modulates medial prefrontal cortical responses to evaluative social feedback

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Somerville, L. H., Kelley, W. M., Heatherton, T. F.·2010·Cerebral Cortex

Abstract

Self-esteem is a facet of personality that influences perception of social standing and modulates the salience of social acceptance and rejection. As such, self-esteem may bias neural responses to positive and negative social feedback across individuals. During functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning, participants (n = 42) engaged in a social evaluation task whereby they ostensibly received feedback from peers indicating they were liked or disliked. Results demonstrated that individuals with low self-esteem believed that they received less positive feedback from others and showed enhanced activity to positive versus negative social feedback in the ventral anterior cingulate cortex/medial prefrontal cortex (vACC/mPFC). By contrast, vACC/mPFC activity was insensitive to positive versus negative feedback in individuals with high self-esteem, and these individuals consistently overestimated the amount of positive feedback received from peers. Voxelwise analyses supported these findings; lower self-esteem predicted a linear increase in vACC/mPFC response to positive versus negative social feedback. Taken together, the present findings propose a functional role for the vACC/mPFC in representing the salience of social feedback and shaping perceptions of relative social standing.

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Research works printed but not linked: 3

  1. Brockner J. 1983. Low self-esteem and behavioral plasticity: some implications. In: White L, Shaver PR, editors. Review of personality and social psychology Beverly Hills (CA): Sage. Vol. 4. p. 237--271.
  2. Mitchell J, Heatherton TF. 2009. Components of a social brain. In: Gazzaniga MS, editor. Cognitive neurosciences IV. 4th ed. Cambridge (MA): MIT Press. p. 951--958.
  3. Rosenberg M. 1989. Society and the adolescent self-image: revised edition. Middletown (CT): Wesleyan University Press.

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Authors
Somerville, L. H., Kelley, W. M., & Heatherton, T. F.
Affiliations
Dartmouth College (US)
Venue
Cerebral Cortex
Published
2010-03-29
Volume
20
Issue
12
Pages
3005-3013
ISSN
  • 1047-3211 (ISSN-L)
  • 1460-2199
OpenAlex
W2149595770
Cited by
189
References
83
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 16 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 24 · 2014: 17 · 2013: 15 · 2012: 16
FWCI
7.55
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Cerebral Cortex (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institute of Mental Health (K99MH087813, R01MH059282, MH059282)
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse (DA007274, T32DA007274)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
Keywords
self-esteem, social feedback, medial prefrontal cortex, ventral anterior cingulate cortex, social evaluation, social acceptance, social rejection, social status, individual differences
MeSH terms
Brain Mapping, Feedback, Female, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Self Concept, Social Perception, Prefrontal Cortex, Young Adult

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