{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,5]],"date-time":"2026-08-05T05:43:52Z","timestamp":1785908632794,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,5]],"date-time":"2026-08-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785888000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Liaoning Provincial Department of Education"},{"name":"China Ministry of Education"},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100003536","name":"Youth Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100003536","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>An inherent positive bias emerges when individuals perceive themselves compared to when they perceive others. However, for bilinguals, it has been suggested that this self-positivity bias may be sensitive to the language in which information is presented.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>In this study, we examine this hypothesis among a group of Chinese-English bilinguals who performed a lexical decision task in their first (L1, Chinese) and second (L2, English) language. During the experiment, brain activity was recorded using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Results showed faster responses and decreased activity in the right medial frontal gyrus (RMFG) for self-positivity compared to other-positivity conditions in the L2 context. However, this identified self-positivity bias in the L2 elicited less engagement of the RMFG than that in the L1.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>These findings reveal distinct mechanisms across languages that underpin the self-positivity bias. Self-positivity bias is processed more embodied in an L1, drawing on richer emotional associations, whereas self-positivity bias is processed in a disembodied way in an L2, which requires integration of affective and lexical information.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1749078","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,5]],"date-time":"2026-08-05T04:45:05Z","timestamp":1785905105000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Neural correlates of affective self-positivity bias in first and second languages"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Chao","family":"Kong","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, Renmin University of China","place":["Beijing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Huanhuan","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Liaoning Normal University","place":["Dalian, China"]},{"name":"Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience","place":["Dalian, Liaoning, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"John W.","family":"Schwieter","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Language Acquisition, Cognition, and Multilingualism Laboratory\/Bilingualism Matters, Wilfrid Laurier University","place":["Waterloo, ON, Canada"]},{"name":"Department of Linguistics and Languages, McMaster University","place":["Hamilton, ON, Canada"]},{"name":"School of Education, University College Dublin","place":["Dublin, Ireland"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Francisco","family":"Mu\u00f1oz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Human Evolution and Behavior, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Universidad Complutense de Madrid","place":["Madrid, Spain"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","volume-title":"Oxford Placement Test 2: Test Pack","author":"Allan","year":"2004"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"214","DOI":"10.1177\/0963721414566268","article-title":"Emotionality differences between a native and foreign language","volume":"24","author":"Caldwell-Harris","year":"2015","journal-title":"Curr. Dir. Psychol. Sci."},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"5222","DOI":"10.1093\/cercor\/bhw302","article-title":"Neural population decoding reveals the intrinsic positivity of the self","volume":"27","author":"Chavez","year":"2017","journal-title":"Cereb. Cortex"},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"985","DOI":"10.1007\/s00221-013-3810-z","article-title":"Evidence for implicit self-positivity bias: an event-related brain potential study","volume":"232","author":"Chen","year":"2014","journal-title":"Exp. Brain Res."},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"181","DOI":"10.1017\/s1366728911000095","article-title":"It matters how much you talk: on the automaticity of affective connotations of first and second language words","volume":"15","author":"Degner","year":"2012","journal-title":"Biling. Lang. Congn."},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"85","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tics.2010.11.004","article-title":"Emotional processing in anterior cingulate and medial prefrontal cortex","volume":"15","author":"Etkin","year":"2011","journal-title":"Trends Cogn. Sci."},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"315","DOI":"10.1080\/02699931.2017.1303451","article-title":"The automatic activation of emotion words measured using the emotional face-word Stroop task in late Chinese\u2013English bilinguals","volume":"32","author":"Fan","year":"2018","journal-title":"Cognit. Emot."},{"key":"ref9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"565","DOI":"10.3758\/BF03198281","article-title":"Automatic and controlled processes in the first-and second-language reading of fluent bilinguals","volume":"11","author":"Favreau","year":"1983","journal-title":"Mem. Cogn."},{"key":"ref10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1202","DOI":"10.1093\/scan\/nsv004","article-title":"Loving yourself more than your neighbor: ERPs reveal online effects of a self-positivity bias","volume":"10","author":"Fields","year":"2015","journal-title":"Soc. Cogn. Affect. Neurosci."},{"key":"ref11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"613","DOI":"10.1093\/scan\/nsz035","article-title":"Functional MRI reveals evidence of a self-positivity bias in the medial prefrontal cortex during the comprehension of social vignettes","volume":"14","author":"Fields","year":"2019","journal-title":"Soc. Cogn. Affect. Neurosci."},{"key":"ref13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"257","DOI":"10.21832\/9781853598746-012","article-title":"When is a first language more emotional? Psychophysiological evidence from bilingual speakers","volume":"56","author":"Harris","year":"2006","journal-title":"Biling. Educ. Biling."},{"key":"ref14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2947","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuropsychologia.2011.06.026","article-title":"Emotional self-reference: brain structures involved in the processing of words describing one's own emotions","volume":"49","author":"Herbert","year":"2011","journal-title":"Neuropsychologia"},{"key":"ref16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"76","DOI":"10.1177\/1747021818781017","article-title":"Self positive bias and the emotionality of foreign languages","volume":"72","author":"Ivaz","year":"2019","journal-title":"Q. J. Exp. Psychol."},{"key":"ref18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.17632\/vgg5dnk4yn.1","article-title":"Data: the underpinning of self positive bias","author":"Kong","year":"2020","journal-title":"Mendeley Data"},{"key":"ref19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"259","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev.psych.58.110405.085654","article-title":"Social cognitive neuroscience: a review of core processes","volume":"58","author":"Lieberman","year":"2007","journal-title":"Annu. Rev. Psychol."},{"key":"ref20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3720","DOI":"10.1002\/hbm.25044","article-title":"Interactive influence of self and other language behaviors: evidence from switching between bilingual production and comprehension","volume":"41","author":"Liu","year":"2020","journal-title":"Hum. Brain Mapp."},{"key":"ref22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"264","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cognition.2015.10.004","article-title":"The effect of domain-general inhibition-related training on language switching: an ERP study","volume":"146","author":"Liu","year":"2016","journal-title":"Cognition"},{"key":"ref21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3224","DOI":"10.1093\/cercor\/bhab411","article-title":"Cross-task adaptation effects of bilingual language control on cognitive control: a dual-brain eeg examination of simultaneous production and comprehension","volume":"32","author":"Liu","year":"2022","journal-title":"Cereb. Cortex"},{"key":"ref23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e14145","DOI":"10.1111\/psyp.14145","article-title":"An event-related potential study of self-positivity bias in native and foreign language contexts","volume":"60","author":"Liu","year":"2023","journal-title":"Psychophysiology"},{"key":"ref25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"242","DOI":"10.1016\/j.biopsycho.2013.06.005","article-title":"Core disgust and moral disgust are related to distinct spatiotemporal patterns of neural processing: an event-related potential study","volume":"94","author":"Luo","year":"2013","journal-title":"Biol. Psychol."},{"key":"ref24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1117","DOI":"10.1017\/s1366728924000981","article-title":"Second language embodiment of action verbs: the impact of bilingual experience as a multidimensional spectrum","volume":"28","author":"Lu","year":"2025","journal-title":"Biling. Lang. Cogn."},{"key":"ref27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1019","DOI":"10.1016\/j.biopsych.2010.12.014","article-title":"Is our self nothing but reward?","volume":"69","author":"Northoff","year":"2011","journal-title":"Biol. Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref9001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"440","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuroimage.2005.12.002","article-title":"Self-referential processing in our brain: A meta-analysis of imaging studies on the self","volume":"31","author":"Northoff","year":"2006","journal-title":"NeuroImage"},{"key":"ref28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"405","DOI":"10.1080\/00207594.2012.743665","article-title":"Affective processing in bilingual speakers: disembodied cognition?","volume":"47","author":"Pavlenko","year":"2012","journal-title":"Int. J. Psychol."},{"key":"ref29","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2256","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2017.02256","article-title":"Word naming in the L1 and L2: a dynamic perspective on automatization and the degree of semantic involvement in naming","volume":"8","author":"Plat","year":"2018","journal-title":"Front. Psychol."},{"key":"ref9002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"147","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tics.2012.01.005","article-title":"Ventromedial prefrontal-subcortical systems and the generation of affective meaning","volume":"16","author":"Roy","year":"2012","journal-title":"Trends in Cognitive Sciences"},{"key":"ref31","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1038\/s41398-017-0004-7","article-title":"The real-life costs of emotion regulation in anorexia nervosa: a combined ecological momentary assessment and fMRI study","volume":"8","author":"Seidel","year":"2018","journal-title":"Transl. Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref32","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"18","DOI":"10.1177\/1073858410379268","article-title":"The neural bases for empathy","volume":"17","author":"Shamay-Tsoory","year":"2011","journal-title":"Neuroscientist"},{"key":"ref33","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1060","DOI":"10.1093\/cercor\/bht302","article-title":"The salient self: the left intraparietal sulcus responds to social as well as perceptual-salience after self-association","volume":"25","author":"Sui","year":"2015","journal-title":"Cereb. Cortex"},{"key":"ref34","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"7607","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1221862110","article-title":"Coupling social attention to the self forms a network for personal significance","volume":"110","author":"Sui","year":"2013","journal-title":"Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA"},{"key":"ref35","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e0192143","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0192143","article-title":"The foreign language effect on the self-serving bias: a field experiment in the high school classroom","volume":"13","author":"Van Hugten","year":"2018","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"key":"ref36","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"106","DOI":"10.1016\/j.brainres.2007.03.049","article-title":"Seeing yourself in a positive light: brain correlates of the self-positivity bias","volume":"1152","author":"Watson","year":"2007","journal-title":"Brain Res."},{"key":"ref37","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"412","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuroimage.2013.12.058","article-title":"Cluster-extent based thresholding in fMRI analyses: pitfalls and recommendations","volume":"91","author":"Woo","year":"2014","journal-title":"NeuroImage"},{"key":"ref38","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"135625","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neulet.2021.135625","article-title":"Evidence for self-positivity bias in a subliminal self-cue: an event-related potential study","volume":"744","author":"Xia","year":"2021","journal-title":"Neurosci. Lett."},{"key":"ref39","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"339","DOI":"10.1007\/s12021-016-9299-4","article-title":"DPABI: data processing & analysis for (resting-state) brain imaging","volume":"14","author":"Yan","year":"2016","journal-title":"Neuroinformatics"},{"key":"ref9003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"72","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jesp.2016.01.012","article-title":"When possessions become part of the self: Ownership and implicit self-object linking","volume":"64","author":"Ye","year":"2016","journal-title":"Journal of Experimental Social Psychology"},{"key":"ref40","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"570","DOI":"10.1017\/s1366728922000827","article-title":"The foreign-language effect on self-positivity bias: behavioral and electrophysiological evidence","volume":"26","author":"Zhang","year":"2023","journal-title":"Biling. Lang. Cogn."},{"key":"ref41","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1908","DOI":"10.3724\/sp.j.1042.2012.01908","article-title":"The mechanism and variability of implicit self-positivity bias","volume":"20","author":"Zhong","year":"2012","journal-title":"Adv. Psychol. Sci."},{"key":"ref42","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"451","DOI":"10.3389\/fnhum.2017.00451","article-title":"Self-reference emerges earlier than emotion during an implicit self-referential emotion processing task: event-related potential evidence","volume":"11","author":"Zhou","year":"2017","journal-title":"Front. Hum. Neurosci."}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Psychology"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1749078\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,5]],"date-time":"2026-08-05T04:45:10Z","timestamp":1785905110000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1749078\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,5]]},"references-count":39,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1749078"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1749078","relation":{},"ISSN":["1664-1078"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1664-1078","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,5]]},"article-number":"1749078"}}