Neural Correlates of Direct and Reflected Self-Appraisals in ...
Neural Correlates of Direct and Reflected Self-Appraisals in ...
Neural Correlates of Direct and Reflected Self-Appraisals in ...
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Child Development, July/August 2009, Volume 80, Number 4, Pages 1016–1038<strong>Neural</strong> <strong>Correlates</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Direct</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Reflected</strong> <strong>Self</strong>-<strong>Appraisals</strong> <strong>in</strong> Adolescents <strong>and</strong>Adults: When Social Perspective Tak<strong>in</strong>g Informs <strong>Self</strong>-PerceptionJennifer H. PfeiferUniversity <strong>of</strong> OregonCarrie L. Masten, Larissa A. Bor<strong>of</strong>sky,Mirella Dapretto, Andrew J. Fuligni,<strong>and</strong> Matthew D. LiebermanUniversity <strong>of</strong> California, Los AngelesClassic theories <strong>of</strong> self-development suggest people def<strong>in</strong>e themselves <strong>in</strong> part through <strong>in</strong>ternalized perceptions<strong>of</strong> other people’s beliefs about them, known as reflected self-appraisals. This study uses functional magneticresonance imag<strong>in</strong>g to compare the neural correlates <strong>of</strong> direct <strong>and</strong> reflected self-appraisals <strong>in</strong> adolescence(N = 12, ages 11–14 years) <strong>and</strong> adulthood (N = 12, ages 23–30 years). Dur<strong>in</strong>g direct self-reflection, adolescentsdemonstrated greater activity than adults <strong>in</strong> networks relevant to self-perception (medial prefrontal <strong>and</strong> parietalcortices) <strong>and</strong> social-cognition (dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, temporal–parietal junction, <strong>and</strong> posteriorsuperior temporal sulcus), suggest<strong>in</strong>g adolescent self-construals may rely more heavily on others’ perspectivesabout the self. Activity <strong>in</strong> the medial fronto-parietal network was also enhanced when adolescents tookthe perspective <strong>of</strong> someone more relevant to a given doma<strong>in</strong>.Three highly active areas <strong>of</strong> current research<strong>in</strong> adolescent social development <strong>in</strong>clude familyrelations, peer relations, <strong>and</strong> self-development(Ste<strong>in</strong>berg & Morris, 2001). At the <strong>in</strong>tersection <strong>of</strong>these fields lies a question that has been debatedfor decades: To what extent is our self-image relatively<strong>in</strong>dependent versus be<strong>in</strong>g reliant on ourperceptions <strong>of</strong> how others (particularly peers <strong>and</strong>family members) view us (Baldw<strong>in</strong>, 1895; Cooley,1902; Mead, 1934)? On the one h<strong>and</strong>, adolescence isa time dur<strong>in</strong>g which autonomy <strong>in</strong>creases, particularly<strong>in</strong> the form <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>dependence from parentsThis research was supported by a National Research ServiceAward from the National Institute <strong>of</strong> Mental Health (MH075299)to J. H. Pfeifer <strong>and</strong> a UCLA Academic Senate Grant to M. Lieberman.It was also funded <strong>in</strong> part by the Foundation for PsychoculturalResearch through grants to the FPR-UCLA Centerfor Culture, Bra<strong>in</strong>, <strong>and</strong> Development <strong>and</strong> to A. J. Fuligni. Forgenerous support, the authors also wish to thank the Bra<strong>in</strong> Mapp<strong>in</strong>gMedical Research Organization, Bra<strong>in</strong> Mapp<strong>in</strong>g SupportFoundation, Pierson-Lovelace Foundation, the Ahmanson Foundation,William M. <strong>and</strong> L<strong>in</strong>da R. Dietel Philanthropic Fund atthe Northern Piedmont Community Foundation, Tamk<strong>in</strong> Foundation,Jennifer Jones-Simon Foundation, Capital Group CompaniesCharitable Foundation, Robson Family, <strong>and</strong> Northstar Fund.The project described was supported by Grants RR12169,RR13642, <strong>and</strong> RR00865 from the National Center for ResearchResources (NCRR), a component <strong>of</strong> the National Institutes <strong>of</strong>Health (NIH); its contents are solely the responsibility <strong>of</strong> theauthors <strong>and</strong> do not necessarily represent the <strong>of</strong>ficial views <strong>of</strong>NCR or NIH.Correspondence concern<strong>in</strong>g this article should be addressed toJennifer H. Pfeifer, Department <strong>of</strong> Psychology, 1227 University<strong>of</strong> Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403-1227. Electronic mail may be sentto jpfeifer@uoregon.edu.(Ste<strong>in</strong>berg & Silverberg, 1986). Yet on the otherh<strong>and</strong>, self-perceptions <strong>and</strong> associated behaviorsare clearly dependent on social contexts—teenagersview themselves <strong>and</strong> behave differently withfriends than with family members, <strong>and</strong> so on(Harter, Bresnick, Bouchey, & Whitesell, 1997;Harter, Waters, & Whitesell, 1998). In this study,we <strong>in</strong>vestigate how adolescent self-perceptionsare related to view<strong>in</strong>g oneself through the eyes<strong>of</strong> these important others, a valuable but frequentlyoverlooked way to exam<strong>in</strong>e the relationbetween social context <strong>and</strong> self-development.Furthermore, we do so us<strong>in</strong>g neuroimag<strong>in</strong>g techniques,for a novel ‘‘developmental social cognitiveneuroscience’’ perspective on the connectionbetween family relations, peer relations, <strong>and</strong> selfdevelopmentdur<strong>in</strong>g adolescence.BackgroundSymbolic <strong>in</strong>teractionism, one <strong>of</strong> the oldest <strong>and</strong>most <strong>in</strong>fluential psychological theories <strong>of</strong> selfdevelopment,focuses on others’ contributions tothe self-concept by propos<strong>in</strong>g that <strong>in</strong> variousways, we <strong>in</strong>ternalize others’ beliefs about ourselves(Baldw<strong>in</strong>, 1895; Cooley, 1902; Mead, 1934). Thisapproach emphasizes one <strong>in</strong>ternal process <strong>in</strong>Ó 2009, Copyright the Author(s)Journal Compilation Ó 2009, Society for Research <strong>in</strong> Child Development, Inc.All rights reserved. 0009-3920/2009/8004-0007
Neurodevelopmental Change <strong>in</strong> <strong>Self</strong>-<strong>Appraisals</strong> 1017particular that shapes self-knowledge: tak<strong>in</strong>g someoneelse’s perspective <strong>of</strong> the self, which producesreflected self-appraisals. Across development,reflected self-appraisals (what I th<strong>in</strong>k you th<strong>in</strong>k <strong>of</strong>me) were hypothesized to evolve <strong>in</strong>to directself-appraisals (what I th<strong>in</strong>k <strong>of</strong> myself), as theperspective-tak<strong>in</strong>g component was rout<strong>in</strong>ized,<strong>in</strong>ternalized, <strong>and</strong> then rendered unnecessary.Compar<strong>in</strong>g direct <strong>and</strong> reflected self-appraisals,particularly <strong>in</strong> children <strong>and</strong> adolescents, thusrepresents one straightforward way through whichto exam<strong>in</strong>e how other <strong>in</strong>dividuals may impact selfdevelopment.Influential studies <strong>and</strong> reviews <strong>of</strong>self-appraisal processes tend to suggest the effect <strong>of</strong>others on self-development is relatively m<strong>in</strong>or <strong>in</strong>practice—while direct self-appraisals may shapereflected self-appraisals <strong>and</strong> to a lesser extent viceversa, the actual appraisals <strong>of</strong> others have a limited<strong>in</strong>fluence on direct <strong>and</strong> reflected self-appraisals(Felson, 1993; Ichiyama, 1993; Kenny & DePaulo,1993; Shrauger & Schoeneman, 1979; Tice &Wallace, 2005). However, the samples relied on toderive these conclusions were weighted heavilytoward adults <strong>of</strong> college age or older. One exceptionis the programmatic work conducted on adolescentsby Felson <strong>and</strong> his colleagues (Felson, 1980,1981, 1985, 1993; Felson & Reed, 1986a, 1986b),which demonstrated that there was a high degree<strong>of</strong> shared variance between direct self-perceptions,objective <strong>in</strong>dicators <strong>of</strong> self-relevant evaluative <strong>in</strong>formation,<strong>and</strong> others’ perceptions <strong>of</strong> the self. Nevertheless,hav<strong>in</strong>g relatively few studies with child oradolescent samples may affect our <strong>in</strong>terpretations<strong>of</strong> previous work because theoretically, reflectedself-appraisals <strong>in</strong> basic doma<strong>in</strong>s should already be<strong>in</strong>corporated <strong>in</strong>to an <strong>in</strong>dividual’s self-concept byadulthood. Therefore, it is not surpris<strong>in</strong>g that theimportance <strong>of</strong> reflected self-appraisals has not beenfully evident <strong>in</strong> exist<strong>in</strong>g research. Some <strong>of</strong> the mostrecent work <strong>in</strong> younger samples cont<strong>in</strong>ues to supportthe proposition that actual appraisals made bypeers, parents, <strong>and</strong> teachers are associated withreflected <strong>and</strong> direct self-appraisals <strong>in</strong> primarydoma<strong>in</strong>s such as academics, athletics, social competence,<strong>and</strong> behavioral conduct (Harter, 1999)—<strong>and</strong><strong>in</strong> turn, these associations impact real developmentaloutcomes (Cole, 1991; Cole, Maxwell, & Mart<strong>in</strong>,1997; Harter et al., 1998). For example, adolescentswho reported believ<strong>in</strong>g that others saw them asrule violators were more likely to actually engage<strong>in</strong> del<strong>in</strong>quent behavior (Bartusch & Matsueda,1996), <strong>and</strong> adolescents who made positive reflectedself-appraisals from their parents’ perspectivesabout their academic competence demonstratedbetter performance <strong>in</strong> math <strong>and</strong> science (Bouchey &Harter, 2005).The potential consequences <strong>of</strong> reflected selfappraisalsfor adolescent development have neverthelessresulted <strong>in</strong> only a fraction <strong>of</strong> research whencompared with that conducted on direct selfappraisals(<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g self-concepts <strong>and</strong> self-esteem).Such a limited number <strong>of</strong> developmental studiesexam<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g reflected self-appraisal processes mayhave resulted <strong>in</strong> part from a relatively <strong>in</strong>tractablemethodological problem: <strong>Direct</strong> self-appraisals <strong>and</strong>reflected self-appraisals are reported by the same<strong>in</strong>dividual, mak<strong>in</strong>g it difficult to determ<strong>in</strong>e howeach colors the other at any given po<strong>in</strong>t <strong>in</strong> time. Inlight <strong>of</strong> this concern, we propose tak<strong>in</strong>g a developmentalsocial cognitive neuroscience approach tore<strong>in</strong>vigorate this l<strong>in</strong>e <strong>of</strong> research.Via neuroimag<strong>in</strong>g techniques, we can exam<strong>in</strong>ehow reflected appraisals are similar to or differentfrom direct appraisals at the neural level; <strong>in</strong> otherwords, we can potentially ameliorate the issuesassociated with self-report biases by transition<strong>in</strong>gfrom analyz<strong>in</strong>g the content <strong>of</strong> self-appraisals t<strong>of</strong>ocus<strong>in</strong>g on the neurocognitive systems that supportthe processes <strong>of</strong> mak<strong>in</strong>g direct <strong>and</strong> reflectedself-appraisals. Here, we utilize functional magneticresonance imag<strong>in</strong>g (fMRI) dur<strong>in</strong>g reflected <strong>and</strong>direct self-appraisal task conditions to quantify relativedifferences <strong>in</strong> the blood oxygenation leveldependent(BOLD) signal, an <strong>in</strong>direct measure <strong>of</strong>task-driven neuronal activity <strong>in</strong>fluenced by changes<strong>in</strong> cerebral blood volume, cerebral blood flow, <strong>and</strong>oxygen consumption (Logothetis & W<strong>and</strong>ell, 2004).Once the neural systems contribut<strong>in</strong>g to direct <strong>and</strong>reflected self-appraisals are identified by this mechanism,we can borrow from cognitive neuroscienceresearch to make <strong>in</strong>ferences about the common <strong>and</strong>unique processes <strong>in</strong>volved (Lieberman & Pfeifer,2005; Ochsner & Lieberman, 2001). This may helpus generate new hypotheses about the role <strong>of</strong>reflected self-appraisals dur<strong>in</strong>g adolescence, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>gtheir association with family <strong>and</strong> peer relationsas well as their impact on self-views.Relevant Neuroimag<strong>in</strong>g Research<strong>Self</strong>-perception. The neural systems support<strong>in</strong>gdirect self-appraisal processes, also referred to asself-reflection or self-knowledge retrieval, havebeen studied for over a decade. Neuroimag<strong>in</strong>gstudies <strong>of</strong> general self-knowledge retrieval typicallyask adults to respond whether trait words orphrases describe themselves, recall autobiographicalmemories, or reflect on one’s preferences (for a
1018 Pfeifer et al.review, see Lieberman, 2007). Retriev<strong>in</strong>g this k<strong>in</strong>d<strong>of</strong> self-knowledge, <strong>in</strong> contrast to other tasks (e.g.,semantic knowledge retrieval), is frequently associatedwith relatively greater activity <strong>in</strong> medial prefrontalcortex (MPFC; putative Brodmann’s area[BA] 10 <strong>and</strong> 32) as well as precuneus <strong>and</strong> posteriorc<strong>in</strong>gulate <strong>in</strong> medial posterior parietal cortex(MPPC; BA 7 <strong>and</strong> 31; D’Argembeau et al., 2005,2007; F<strong>in</strong>k et al., 1996; Heatherton et al., 2006; Johnsonet al., 2002; Kelley et al., 2002; Lieberman,Jarcho, & Satpute, 2004). In addition, the first<strong>in</strong>quiry <strong>in</strong>to the neural correlates <strong>of</strong> general selfknowledgeretrieval processes <strong>in</strong> a developmentalsample suggests that 9- to 10-year-old childrenhave demonstrated both similarities <strong>and</strong> differences<strong>in</strong> comparison to adults dur<strong>in</strong>g direct self-appraisals:The regions implicated (MPFC <strong>and</strong> MPPC) arethe same, but children show significantly enhancedactivity <strong>in</strong> MPFC compared to adults (Pfeifer,Lieberman, & Dapretto, 2007).The functions <strong>of</strong> this medial fronto-parietal network<strong>in</strong> MPFC <strong>and</strong> MPPC are probably not uniqueto direct self-appraisals (Gillihan & Farah, 2005).For example, <strong>in</strong> one study direct appraisals aboutthe self, appraisals <strong>of</strong> a close other, <strong>and</strong> reflectedappraisals from the perspective <strong>of</strong> that close otherabout oneself all engaged MPFC <strong>and</strong> MPPC to asimilar extent (Ochsner et al., 2005), althoughanother study found enhanced activity <strong>in</strong> MPFCdur<strong>in</strong>g direct self-appraisal compared to th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>gabout the traits possessed by one’s best friend(Heatherton et al., 2006). In addition, MPPC hasbeen implicated <strong>in</strong> other common social cognitivefunctions that are not exclusively relevant to theself, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g episodic memory, mental imagery,perspective tak<strong>in</strong>g, <strong>and</strong> a sense <strong>of</strong> agency (Cabeza& Nyberg, 2000; Cavanna & Trimble, 2006; Maguire,Frith, & Morris, 1999; Ruby & Decety, 2004;Vogeley et al., 2001). A work<strong>in</strong>g consensus <strong>of</strong> theresearch may be that MPFC is <strong>in</strong>deed a regionessential to self-knowledge processes, although itmay also support our underst<strong>and</strong><strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> other <strong>in</strong>dividualsunder certa<strong>in</strong> conditions (Mitchell, Banaji,& Macrae, 2005; Mitchell, Macrae, & Banaji, 2006),<strong>and</strong> MPPC is likewise implicated <strong>in</strong> both self <strong>and</strong><strong>in</strong>terpersonal underst<strong>and</strong><strong>in</strong>g.Social perception. In theory, reflected self-appraisalsshould <strong>in</strong>volve both self-focus <strong>and</strong> social perception,as they require consider<strong>in</strong>g the beliefs <strong>of</strong>another <strong>in</strong>dividual about the self. If this is <strong>in</strong>deedthe case, what neural systems might be <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong>reflected self-appraisals <strong>in</strong> addition to MPFC <strong>and</strong>MPPC? Thus far, only two studies have exam<strong>in</strong>edthe neural correlates <strong>of</strong> reflected self-appraisals.There is some degree <strong>of</strong> overlap <strong>in</strong> the f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gsacross the two studies: Both reported a high degree<strong>of</strong> similarity overall between direct <strong>and</strong> reflectedself-appraisals <strong>and</strong> both found that reflected selfappraisalsmay be associated with more activity <strong>in</strong>orbit<strong>of</strong>rontal <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>sular cortex, as well as the l<strong>in</strong>gualgyrus (D’Argembeau et al., 2007; Ochsneret al., 2005). However, we can also gather cluesabout c<strong>and</strong>idate regions that may be <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong>the reflected appraisal process from other l<strong>in</strong>es <strong>of</strong>research.Reviews <strong>of</strong> social cognitive neuroscience studieshave consistently highlighted four key regions<strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> mentaliz<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> other unique aspects<strong>of</strong> human social-cognition: temporal–parietal junction(TPJ), dorsal MPFC (DMPFC), posterior superiortemporal sulcus (pSTS), <strong>and</strong> the temporal poles(Frith & Frith, 2003, 2006; Saxe, 2006). Third-personperspective-tak<strong>in</strong>g processes, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g reason<strong>in</strong>gabout another <strong>in</strong>dividual’s beliefs or mental states,seem to engage a region at the <strong>in</strong>tersection <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>feriorparietal lobule <strong>and</strong> posterior superior temporalgyrus, also known as the TPJ (BA 22 ⁄ 39 ⁄ 40;Aichhorn, Perner, Kronbichler, Staffen, & Ladurner,2006; Apperly, Samson, Chiavar<strong>in</strong>o, & Humphreys,2004; D’Argembeau et al., 2007; Ruby &Decety, 2003; Samson, Apperly, Chiavar<strong>in</strong>o, &Humphreys, 2004; Saxe & Kanwisher, 2003; Saxe& Wexler, 2005). Similarly, DMPFC is <strong>of</strong>tenengaged <strong>in</strong> tasks <strong>of</strong> mental state attribution <strong>and</strong>impression formation (Mitchell, Macrae, & Banaji,2005; Mitchell et al., 2005, 2006). The pSTS is mostlikely responsible for extract<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>formation aboutgoals <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>tentions from biological motion with<strong>in</strong>a social context (Pelphrey, Morris, & McCarthy,2004; Pelphrey, Viola, & McCarthy, 2004). F<strong>in</strong>ally,the temporal poles may be a storehouse <strong>of</strong> social<strong>and</strong> personal semantic knowledge, provid<strong>in</strong>gl<strong>in</strong>kages between perceptions <strong>and</strong> emotions (Olson,Plotzker, & Ezzyat, 2007). Mak<strong>in</strong>g a reflected selfappraisalby def<strong>in</strong>ition <strong>in</strong>volves represent<strong>in</strong>g someoneelse’s beliefs—<strong>in</strong> particular, the perception <strong>of</strong>another’s belief about oneself—<strong>and</strong> thus thesetriadic processes revolv<strong>in</strong>g around mental states(what do I th<strong>in</strong>k you th<strong>in</strong>k <strong>of</strong> me?) may be particularlylikely to engage TPJ <strong>and</strong> ⁄ or DMPFC.Developmental trajectories.. Relatively little researchhas explored changes <strong>in</strong> the functionality <strong>of</strong> thebra<strong>in</strong> regions highlighted above (MPFC, MPPC,DMPFC, TPJ, pSTS, temporal poles, orbit<strong>of</strong>rontalcortex, <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>sula). One study exam<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g the neuralbases <strong>of</strong> communicative <strong>in</strong>tent found that taskrelatedactivity <strong>in</strong> DMPFC associated with ironycomprehension was negatively correlated with age,
Neurodevelopmental Change <strong>in</strong> <strong>Self</strong>-<strong>Appraisals</strong> 1019while task-related activity <strong>in</strong> the fusiform gyruswas positively correlated with age, suggest<strong>in</strong>g theremay be some automatization <strong>of</strong> basic mentaliz<strong>in</strong>gprocesses with development (Wang, Lee, Sigman,& Dapretto, 2006). Another review focus<strong>in</strong>g on rostralprefrontal cortex (both lateral <strong>and</strong> medialaspects <strong>of</strong> BA 10) reported a similar patternwhere<strong>in</strong> adults engaged this region less than childrenor adolescents, although this evidence wasdrawn primarily from tasks assess<strong>in</strong>g response<strong>in</strong>hibition <strong>and</strong> response competition (Dumontheil,Burgess, & Blakemore, 2008). F<strong>in</strong>ally, a recent longitud<strong>in</strong>alstudy <strong>of</strong> bra<strong>in</strong> structure <strong>in</strong> 375 typicallydevelop<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>dividuals found that MPFC, DMPFC,MPPC, TPJ, temporal poles, orbit<strong>of</strong>rontal cortex,<strong>and</strong> anterior <strong>in</strong>sula all follow cubic developmentaltrajectories <strong>of</strong> cortical thickness: <strong>in</strong>creases <strong>in</strong> childhoodfollowed by decreases <strong>in</strong> adolescence <strong>and</strong>eventual stability <strong>in</strong> young adulthood (Shaw et al.,2008). In summary, all <strong>of</strong> the regions identified byprevious neuroimag<strong>in</strong>g research as c<strong>and</strong>idateslikely to support reflected <strong>and</strong> direct self-appraisalprocesses may undergo structural <strong>and</strong> ⁄ or functionaldevelopment throughout childhood <strong>and</strong> adolescence.Rationale for the Present StudyThe above review demonstrates that conduct<strong>in</strong>gneuroimag<strong>in</strong>g studies compar<strong>in</strong>g reflected <strong>and</strong>direct self-appraisals is clearly warranted to <strong>in</strong>formcurrent research on self-development <strong>in</strong> adolescence,as well as to better underst<strong>and</strong> the neuralsystems support<strong>in</strong>g each process. We can th<strong>in</strong>k <strong>of</strong>at least three reasons for developmental research totake a social neuroscience perspective <strong>and</strong> socialneuroscience research to take a developmental perspective,as well as specifically for this l<strong>in</strong>e <strong>of</strong> workto <strong>in</strong>clude adolescent participants. The first is thatdur<strong>in</strong>g adolescence, the bra<strong>in</strong> regions <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong>self- <strong>and</strong> social perception are undergo<strong>in</strong>g importantchanges. Structurally, gray matter is stabiliz<strong>in</strong>gafter a decrease <strong>in</strong> the maximal cortical thicknesscharacteristic <strong>of</strong> childhood. Functionally, the cognitiveprocesses carried out by these neural systemsmay display <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g levels <strong>of</strong> efficiency, as abilitiesthat first emerge <strong>in</strong> childhood (such as mentaliz<strong>in</strong>gor social <strong>and</strong> temporal comparisons <strong>of</strong> the selfwith others) become more rout<strong>in</strong>e.Second, it is possible that ask<strong>in</strong>g a 26-year old tomake a self-appraisal may capture merely vestigialremnants <strong>of</strong> processes that 13-year olds engage <strong>in</strong>quite frequently. After all, the attributes tapped <strong>in</strong>previous studies were common personality traits,like sociable or dar<strong>in</strong>g. For nearly all <strong>of</strong> these qualities,it can be argued, adult participants likely hada strong sense <strong>of</strong> the degree to which each trait wasself-descriptive (while adolescents may still be <strong>in</strong>the process <strong>of</strong> determ<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g whether such a traitdescribes them or not). Therefore, exam<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g theneural processes support<strong>in</strong>g reflected <strong>and</strong> directself-appraisals <strong>in</strong> adolescents may enhance the psychologicalrelevance <strong>of</strong> the task dem<strong>and</strong>s <strong>and</strong>better demonstrate how reflected appraisals contributeto self-development. If <strong>in</strong>deed reflectedappraisals play a role <strong>in</strong> self-def<strong>in</strong>ition dur<strong>in</strong>g thisperiod, one might speculate that direct self-appraisalswill engage the additional neural systems thatreflected appraisals do, because <strong>of</strong> a propensity tocont<strong>in</strong>ue to employ the reflected appraisal processeven when not explicitly <strong>in</strong>structed to do so. Inother words, reflected self-appraisals may <strong>in</strong> factrepresent how teenagers answer direct self-appraisalquestions, whereas adults may no longer makethis process<strong>in</strong>g substitution (Kahneman, 2003). Perhapsadolescence could even be viewed as the apex<strong>of</strong> reflected appraisals’ <strong>in</strong>fluence due to social transitions,such as a grow<strong>in</strong>g reliance on peers <strong>and</strong> an<strong>in</strong>creased sensitivity to peer evaluations, as well asthe development <strong>of</strong> advanced perspective-tak<strong>in</strong>gskills that facilitate at least the ability to reasonabout others’ viewpo<strong>in</strong>ts, if not accurately discernthem (Lapsley, 1993; Vartanian, 1997, 2000; Vartanian& Powlishta, 1996).Third, adolescents must negotiate an escalat<strong>in</strong>gnumber <strong>of</strong> social contexts, <strong>and</strong> to do so mayemphasize feedback from the source(s) most relevantto each doma<strong>in</strong> (Harter, 1999). It is well establishedthat the self-concept is hierarchicallyorganized by doma<strong>in</strong>s, with<strong>in</strong> which perceptions <strong>of</strong>the self’s attributes <strong>and</strong> abilities contribute todoma<strong>in</strong>-relevant behaviors <strong>and</strong> outcomes, <strong>and</strong>across which give rise to one’s global self-image(Bracken, 1996; Damon & Hart, 1988; Harter, 1999;Marsh, 1990a, 1990b; Rosenberg, 1979; Wigfieldet al., 1997). Most pert<strong>in</strong>ent to this <strong>in</strong>vestigation isthe likelihood that on the one h<strong>and</strong>, reflected selfappraisalsfrom parental perspectives may be moreimportant <strong>in</strong> academic doma<strong>in</strong>s that adolescentsview as both more important to parents, <strong>and</strong> moreclosely monitored by them; on the other h<strong>and</strong>,reflected self-appraisals from peers’ perspectivesmay be more salient <strong>in</strong> social doma<strong>in</strong>s, whereop<strong>in</strong>ions <strong>of</strong> peers are likely to be more relevant toadolescents. Studies have shown that parents playan important role <strong>in</strong> foster<strong>in</strong>g academic achievementacross childhood <strong>and</strong> adolescence <strong>and</strong>that one <strong>of</strong> the primary ways parents <strong>in</strong>fluence
1020 Pfeifer et al.academic outcomes is through the perceptions thatadolescents form about their parents’ attitudes,expectations, <strong>and</strong> values related to school achievement,<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g their parents’ beliefs regard<strong>in</strong>gtheir school performance <strong>and</strong> ability (Bouchey &Harter, 2005; Chen & Lan, 1998; Shear<strong>in</strong>, 2002). Forexample, Bouchey <strong>and</strong> Harter (2005) found thatreflected self-appraisals related to competence <strong>in</strong>math <strong>and</strong> science made by middle school studentsfrom their parents’ perspectives predicted theirown self-appraisals <strong>of</strong> competence, academic values,<strong>and</strong> actual performance <strong>in</strong> math <strong>and</strong> science.In contrast, extensive research has suggested thatdur<strong>in</strong>g adolescence, peers have a greater <strong>in</strong>fluenceon social behaviors <strong>and</strong> self-views <strong>in</strong> socialdoma<strong>in</strong>s than do parents (Gardner & Ste<strong>in</strong>berg,2005; Hyatt & Coll<strong>in</strong>s, 2000; Marshal & Chass<strong>in</strong>,2000; Simons-Morton, Hartos, & Haynie, 2004). Particularlydur<strong>in</strong>g middle school, when peers take on<strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g importance (Brown, 2004; Ste<strong>in</strong>berg &Silverberg, 1986), this heightened <strong>in</strong>fluence is likelyrelated to a desire to ‘‘fit <strong>in</strong>’’ <strong>and</strong> atta<strong>in</strong> high socialstatus <strong>and</strong> popularity. For example, many <strong>of</strong> theantisocial <strong>and</strong> risky behaviors that <strong>in</strong>crease dur<strong>in</strong>gadolescence are associated with perceived popularityamong peers (Eccles et al., 1993; Juvonen, Graham,& Schuster, 2003), suggest<strong>in</strong>g what teenagersperceive themselves to be <strong>and</strong> do may be adjustedaccord<strong>in</strong>g to beliefs about what peers value, evenwhen it is maladaptive. If various evaluativesources <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>formation about the self (e.g., peers orfamily members) are differentially relevant acrossdoma<strong>in</strong>s, perhaps particular neural systemssupport<strong>in</strong>g self-reflection or other social cognitiveprocesses <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g mentaliz<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> perspectivetak<strong>in</strong>gmay be more engaged when adolescentsmake reflected self-appraisals <strong>in</strong> a doma<strong>in</strong> that‘‘matches’’ the source’s sphere <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>fluence accord<strong>in</strong>gto current behavioral research <strong>in</strong> developmentalpsychology (i.e., tak<strong>in</strong>g the perspective <strong>of</strong> a parentabout one’s academic abilities, <strong>and</strong> tak<strong>in</strong>g the perspective<strong>of</strong> a peer about one’s social attributes).Summary <strong>and</strong> HypothesesIn summary, this study will provide the follow<strong>in</strong>gsignificant advances to the body <strong>of</strong> researchexam<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g direct <strong>and</strong> reflected self-appraisal processes.First, this study represents a potential paradigmshift for developmental research, utiliz<strong>in</strong>g anew technique (fMRI) that shifts emphasis from thecontents <strong>of</strong> direct <strong>and</strong> reflected self-appraisals tothe processes <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> each. Second, we comparean adult sample with a younger sample: adolescents(11–14 years <strong>of</strong> age) attend<strong>in</strong>g middleschool. Focus<strong>in</strong>g on an age period when reflectedself-appraisals may be relatively more frequentlyengaged <strong>in</strong>, as well as more relevant to one’s selfimage,may be more likely to reveal significant neuralcontributions to these processes. Third, we use atask requir<strong>in</strong>g direct <strong>and</strong> reflected self-appraisals <strong>in</strong>two basic doma<strong>in</strong>s (academic <strong>and</strong> social), acrossmultiple perspectives (parents <strong>and</strong> peers), enabl<strong>in</strong>gus to focus on doma<strong>in</strong>s <strong>in</strong> which the perspectives<strong>of</strong> specific evaluative sources may be especially relevantfor adolescents.We hypothesize that:1. <strong>Direct</strong> <strong>and</strong> reflected appraisals will be moresimilar <strong>in</strong> adolescents than <strong>in</strong> adults, <strong>in</strong> thesense that direct self-appraisals will exhibitmore characteristics <strong>of</strong> reflected self-appraisals<strong>in</strong> adolescents than adults. Given that previousresearch suggests adolescent self-viewsare likely to be associated with the perceivedop<strong>in</strong>ions <strong>of</strong> others, adolescent (but not adult)direct self-appraisals may engage the neuralsystems associated with reflected self-appraisals<strong>and</strong> social-cognition more generally. Furthermore,direct self-appraisals made byadults <strong>in</strong> basic doma<strong>in</strong>s (i.e., those that havedeveloped many years earlier) may be relativelyrout<strong>in</strong>ized <strong>and</strong> thus <strong>in</strong>volve the leastamount <strong>of</strong> process<strong>in</strong>g, compared with allother conditions. Therefore, we hypothesizethat adult direct self-appraisals will elicitactivity <strong>in</strong> areas known to be <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> selfreferentialcognition (MPFC <strong>and</strong> MPPC),while adult reflected self-appraisals (<strong>and</strong> allself-appraisals made by adolescents) may alsoengage regions <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> social perception(TPJ, DMPFC, pSTS, <strong>and</strong> temporal poles) <strong>and</strong>those previously observed <strong>in</strong> studies <strong>of</strong>reflected self-appraisals <strong>in</strong> adults (orbit<strong>of</strong>rontal<strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>sular cortex). These eight areas constituteour a priori regions <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>terest (ROIs)throughout the study.2. Replicat<strong>in</strong>g our previous work, direct selfappraisalswill engage MPFC more strongly <strong>in</strong>adolescents than <strong>in</strong> adults.3. For our adolescent sample only, we made anadditional prediction that the match identified<strong>in</strong> previous behavioral literature between thesource <strong>of</strong> evaluation <strong>and</strong> the self-conceptdoma<strong>in</strong> may <strong>in</strong>fluence reflected self-appraisalprocesses. That is, tak<strong>in</strong>g the perspective <strong>of</strong> aparent <strong>in</strong> the academic doma<strong>in</strong>, <strong>and</strong> ⁄ or a peer<strong>in</strong> the social doma<strong>in</strong>, may more strongly
Neurodevelopmental Change <strong>in</strong> <strong>Self</strong>-<strong>Appraisals</strong> 1021engage the neural systems <strong>in</strong> our a priori ROIssupport<strong>in</strong>g self-reflection or other facets <strong>of</strong>social-cognition.ParticipantsMethodParticipants <strong>in</strong>cluded 12 typically develop<strong>in</strong>gadolescents (5 males <strong>and</strong> 7 females), rang<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> agefrom 11.3 to 13.7 years (M = 12.7, SD = 0.8 years),<strong>and</strong> 12 normal adults (6 males <strong>and</strong> 6 females), rang<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong> age from 22.6 to 30.4 years (M = 25.7, SD =2.1 years). Adolescents were recruited via flyersdistributed at summer camps <strong>and</strong> posted <strong>in</strong> thecommunity surround<strong>in</strong>g University <strong>of</strong> California,Los Angeles (UCLA), as well as from a pool <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>dividualswho had participated <strong>in</strong> previous neuroimag<strong>in</strong>gresearch <strong>and</strong> agreed to be contacted forfuture studies. All adolescents had begun middleschool by the time they participated <strong>in</strong> the study.Adults were recruited from the UCLA graduatestudent population, <strong>and</strong> were all enrolled <strong>in</strong> schoolat the time <strong>of</strong> their participation. All participantswere screened for significant psychiatric, medical,<strong>and</strong> neurological disorders us<strong>in</strong>g a medical questionnaire(completed by parents <strong>of</strong> adolescent participants)<strong>and</strong> a neurological exam performed bythe researchers on the day <strong>of</strong> participation (Mutti,Sterl<strong>in</strong>g, Mart<strong>in</strong>, & Spald<strong>in</strong>g, 1988). For a subset (8<strong>of</strong> 12) <strong>of</strong> the participat<strong>in</strong>g adolescents, verbal IQwas assessed with<strong>in</strong> 1–2 months <strong>of</strong> their scan viathe Wechsler Abbreviated Scale <strong>of</strong> Intelligence(Wechsler, 1999). All adolescent <strong>and</strong> adult participants<strong>in</strong>cluded were Caucasian, because ethnicity<strong>and</strong> cultural heritage may <strong>in</strong>teract with perceptions<strong>of</strong> family members <strong>and</strong> peers. Written <strong>in</strong>formedconsent (ages 13 <strong>and</strong> up) or assent (ages 11–12) wasobta<strong>in</strong>ed from every participant, <strong>and</strong> parents <strong>of</strong>adolescent participants provided written <strong>in</strong>formedparental consent, accord<strong>in</strong>g to guidel<strong>in</strong>es outl<strong>in</strong>edby the UCLA Institutional Review Board.ProceduresStimuli. The task used dur<strong>in</strong>g the fMRI scan consisted<strong>of</strong> 40 unique, self-descriptive phrasesadapted from stimuli used <strong>in</strong> Pfeifer et al. (2007).These stimuli <strong>in</strong>cluded an equal number <strong>of</strong> positively<strong>and</strong> negatively valenced phrases, <strong>and</strong> representedtwo doma<strong>in</strong>s relevant to adolescents’ schoolcontext—social competence <strong>and</strong> verbal academicability. By cross<strong>in</strong>g doma<strong>in</strong> <strong>and</strong> valence, stimuliwere designed to describe four stereotypical categories<strong>of</strong> adolescents: <strong>in</strong>dividuals with high socialcompetence, <strong>in</strong>dividuals with low social competence,<strong>in</strong>dividuals with high verbal academic ability,<strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>dividuals with low verbal academicability. Additional pilot test<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> the orig<strong>in</strong>al stimuliresulted <strong>in</strong> slight modifications <strong>of</strong> some phrasesto ensure their relevance to adolescent participants,<strong>and</strong> so as not to require the tak<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> more thanone additional perspective (e.g., to report whetheryour mother th<strong>in</strong>ks your teachers th<strong>in</strong>k you are abad speller). Sample phrases for each category<strong>in</strong>clude: ‘‘I am popular,’’ ‘‘I <strong>of</strong>ten get teased atschool,’’ ‘‘I read very quickly,’’ <strong>and</strong> ‘‘I always spellth<strong>in</strong>gs wrong.’’ Valence was varied to prevent participantsfrom develop<strong>in</strong>g a response strategy, thuspositive <strong>and</strong> negative items for each doma<strong>in</strong> were<strong>in</strong>termixed dur<strong>in</strong>g stimulus presentation.<strong>Direct</strong> <strong>and</strong> reflected self-appraisal task. While be<strong>in</strong>gscanned, participants heard verbal <strong>in</strong>structionsdirect<strong>in</strong>g them to make either direct self-appraisalsor reflected self-appraisals from the perspectives <strong>of</strong>their mom, best friend, or classmates. Before eachset <strong>of</strong> direct self-appraisals, participants heard the<strong>in</strong>structional cue: ‘‘What do I th<strong>in</strong>k about myself?True or false, I th<strong>in</strong>k…’’ followed by a series <strong>of</strong> 10phrases (5 positive <strong>and</strong> 5 negative from a givendoma<strong>in</strong>). Before each set <strong>of</strong> reflected appraisals,participants heard a similar <strong>in</strong>structional cue <strong>in</strong>dicat<strong>in</strong>gwhich perspective they should take, forexample: ‘‘What does my mom th<strong>in</strong>k about me?True or false, my mom th<strong>in</strong>ks…’’ followed by thesame series <strong>of</strong> 10 phrases. Participants heard eachseries <strong>of</strong> 10 phrases four times <strong>in</strong> a row, each timepreceded by an <strong>in</strong>structional cue direct<strong>in</strong>g them totake a different perspective. In total, participantsthus appraised each <strong>of</strong> the phrases once from each<strong>of</strong> the four possible perspectives [self (You), mom(Mom), best friend (Best), <strong>and</strong> classmates (Class)].The complete task was adm<strong>in</strong>istered dur<strong>in</strong>gtwo fMRI runs (see Figure 1). Participants heardauditory stimuli through headphones (ResonanceTechnology, Northridge, CA) <strong>and</strong> responded yes orno to each phrase us<strong>in</strong>g a button box. Stimuli werepresented <strong>and</strong> responses <strong>and</strong> reaction times wererecorded us<strong>in</strong>g MacStim 3.2 (WhiteAnt OccasionalPublish<strong>in</strong>g, West Melbourne, VIC, Australia). Eachrun conta<strong>in</strong>ed 8 blocks <strong>of</strong> 10 phrases (two sets <strong>of</strong> 10unique phrases repeated four times each), result<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong> a total <strong>of</strong> 160 phrases <strong>in</strong> 16 blocks. Each blocklasted 46 s <strong>and</strong> consisted <strong>of</strong> an <strong>in</strong>itial <strong>in</strong>structioncue last<strong>in</strong>g 6 s as well as 10 phrases, 1 phrase presentedevery 4 s. Phrases were 1 s long <strong>and</strong> participantshad 3 s to respond. Rest periods before <strong>and</strong>after each block lasted 12 s. Each block conta<strong>in</strong>ed
1022 Pfeifer et al.Figure 1. Task design. For each task block, participants heard a set <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>structions rem<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g them whose perspective they were to takeon themselves, followed by a series <strong>of</strong> 10 phrases. These stimuli <strong>in</strong>cluded both positive <strong>and</strong> negative items (<strong>in</strong>termixed with<strong>in</strong> blocks).10 stimuli from either the social or academicdoma<strong>in</strong>, <strong>and</strong> valence <strong>of</strong> the stimuli was distributedequally with<strong>in</strong> each series <strong>of</strong> 10 phrases so thateach block <strong>in</strong>cluded 5 positive <strong>and</strong> 5 negative stimulirelevant to the given doma<strong>in</strong>. Because the same10 stimuli were used <strong>in</strong> 4 consecutive blocks, eachrun conta<strong>in</strong>ed a total <strong>of</strong> 4 blocks from the socialdoma<strong>in</strong> <strong>and</strong> 4 blocks from the academic doma<strong>in</strong>.Order <strong>of</strong> doma<strong>in</strong>s with<strong>in</strong> runs <strong>and</strong> order <strong>of</strong> perspectivesappraised with<strong>in</strong> each set <strong>of</strong> 4 blockswere counterbalanced between participants us<strong>in</strong>g aLat<strong>in</strong> Square design.Prior to the scan, participants were providedwith extensive verbal <strong>in</strong>structions for the task.They were told to remember ‘‘it’s always aboutyou, just different people’s op<strong>in</strong>ion <strong>of</strong> you—yourown, your mother’s, your best friend’s, <strong>and</strong> yourclassmates.’’ Both adolescents <strong>and</strong> adults were<strong>in</strong>structed to th<strong>in</strong>k about their current behaviors atschool when report<strong>in</strong>g about the phrases, <strong>and</strong>adults were specifically told to focus on their currentexperiences <strong>in</strong> graduate school, rather thanrely<strong>in</strong>g on memories from childhood. When mak<strong>in</strong>greflected appraisals from the perspective <strong>of</strong>their best friend, adolescents were told to choosetheir best (same-gender) friend <strong>in</strong> their grade atschool <strong>and</strong> to always th<strong>in</strong>k about the same personwhen mak<strong>in</strong>g these appraisals, while adults weretold to choose their best (same-gender) friend <strong>in</strong>their graduate school cohort. When mak<strong>in</strong>greflected appraisals from the perspective <strong>of</strong> theirclassmates, adolescents were told to th<strong>in</strong>k abouttheir same-grade classmates when mak<strong>in</strong>g theseappraisals, while adults were told to th<strong>in</strong>k aboutthe other students <strong>in</strong> their graduate school cohort.Due to computer malfunctions, behavioral datawere not recorded for 2 adult <strong>and</strong> 2 adolescentparticipants. Both adults <strong>and</strong> adolescents showedconsiderable variation <strong>in</strong> their responses to thestimuli, both with<strong>in</strong> each set <strong>of</strong> stimuli correspond<strong>in</strong>gto a specific doma<strong>in</strong>, as well as across perspectiveswhen mak<strong>in</strong>g reflected appraisals. That is,while participants tended to endorse positive itemsmore than negative items, the specific itemsendorsed varied across participants (<strong>and</strong> to a lesserextent, with<strong>in</strong> participants but across perspectives).This suggests that neither social desirability norstatic rat<strong>in</strong>gs across perspectives drove participants’responses.Follow<strong>in</strong>g the scan, participants were asked aquestion tapp<strong>in</strong>g the degree to which the directself-appraisals were answered <strong>in</strong>tuitively: ‘‘Todaywhen you were answer<strong>in</strong>g the questions aboutyourself, how much did you just know the
Neurodevelopmental Change <strong>in</strong> <strong>Self</strong>-<strong>Appraisals</strong> 1023answers’’? Participants responded on a scale from 1(not at all) to 5 (a lot). They were also asked to freelydescribe how they went about answer<strong>in</strong>g items <strong>in</strong>the reflected self-appraisal conditions. These datawere not coded but suggested that participantsused a comb<strong>in</strong>ation <strong>of</strong> strategies to perform thetask, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g social perspective tak<strong>in</strong>g as well asrecall <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>tegration <strong>of</strong> multiple relevant episodicmemories. For example, adults reported ‘‘I thoughtabout what other people th<strong>in</strong>k <strong>of</strong> me,’’ ‘‘I k<strong>in</strong>d <strong>of</strong>imag<strong>in</strong>ed them describ<strong>in</strong>g me to someone else <strong>and</strong>what they would say,’’ ‘‘I was try<strong>in</strong>g to put myself<strong>in</strong> their shoes <strong>and</strong> figure out how they wouldanswer,’’ <strong>and</strong> ‘‘I was try<strong>in</strong>g to remember <strong>in</strong>teractionswe had had that they might th<strong>in</strong>k <strong>of</strong>, or th<strong>in</strong>gsthey might have said to me.’’ Adolescents reported‘‘Sometimes they just tell me, or you can figure outfrom what they are say<strong>in</strong>g,’’ ‘‘I based it on theirpersonalities <strong>and</strong> what I th<strong>in</strong>k they would say,’’ ‘‘Ijust looked at my self with another perspective,’’<strong>and</strong> ‘‘I thought about what they would th<strong>in</strong>k aboutme.’’fMRI data acquisition. Images were acquiredus<strong>in</strong>g a Siemens Allegra 3.0 Tesla head-only MRI(Erlangen, Germany) scanner. A 2-D sp<strong>in</strong>-echoscout (repetition time [TR] = 4,000 ms, echo time[TE] = 40 ms, matrix size 256 · 256, 4-mm thick,1-mm gap) was acquired <strong>in</strong> the sagittal plane toallow prescription <strong>of</strong> the slices to be obta<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong> therema<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g scans. The entire appraisal task consisted<strong>of</strong> two functional scans, each last<strong>in</strong>g 7 m<strong>in</strong> 56 s,dur<strong>in</strong>g each <strong>of</strong> which 238 images were acquired.These 238 images were collected over 33 axial slicescover<strong>in</strong>g the whole cerebral volume us<strong>in</strong>g a T2*-weighted gradient-echo sequence (TR = 2,000 ms,TE = 30 ms, flip angle = 90°, matrix size 64 · 64,field <strong>of</strong> view [FOV] = 20 cm; 3.125-mm <strong>in</strong>-planeresolution, 4-mm thick, 1-mm gap). For each participant,a high-resolution structural echo-planarimag<strong>in</strong>g volume was acquired coplanar with thefunctional scans (TR = 5,000 ms, TE = 33 ms,matrix size 128 · 128, FOV = 20 cm, 1.56-mm <strong>in</strong>planeresolution, 3-mm thick).fMRI data analysis. Us<strong>in</strong>g Automated Image Registration(AIR 5.2.5; Woods, Grafton, Holmes,Cherry, & Mazziotta, 1998; Woods, Grafton, Watson,Sicotte, & Mazziotta, 1998) with<strong>in</strong> the LONIpipel<strong>in</strong>e environment (http://www.pipel<strong>in</strong>e.loni.ucla.edu; Rex, Ma, & Toga, 2003), all functionalimages for each participant were: (a) realigned tocorrect for head motion <strong>and</strong> coregistered to theirrespective high-resolution structural images us<strong>in</strong>g asix-parameter rigid-body transformation model, (b)spatially normalized <strong>in</strong>to a Talairach-compatibleMR atlas (Woods, Dapretto, Sicotte, Toga, &Mazziotta, 1999) us<strong>in</strong>g polynom<strong>in</strong>al nonl<strong>in</strong>earwarp<strong>in</strong>g, <strong>and</strong> (c) smoothed us<strong>in</strong>g a 6-mm fullwidth,half-maximum isotropic Gaussian kernel.Follow<strong>in</strong>g image conversion <strong>and</strong> preprocess<strong>in</strong>g, theimag<strong>in</strong>g data were analyzed us<strong>in</strong>g Statistical ParametricMapp<strong>in</strong>g (SPM; Wellcome Department <strong>of</strong>Cognitive Neurology, Institute <strong>of</strong> Neurology,London, UK; http://www.fil.ion.ucl.ac.uk/spm)<strong>and</strong> SPM toolboxes <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g MarsBaR, SnPM, <strong>and</strong>the WFU Pick Atlas. Importantly, there were nosignificant differences between age groups <strong>in</strong>amount <strong>of</strong> motion dur<strong>in</strong>g runs (no participantevidenced greater than 2 mm <strong>of</strong> motion on average<strong>in</strong> either run), <strong>and</strong> all spatial normalizations werecarefully exam<strong>in</strong>ed to assure equal quality <strong>of</strong> databetween age groups.For each participant, condition effects were estimatedaccord<strong>in</strong>g to the general l<strong>in</strong>ear model, us<strong>in</strong>ga canonical hemodynamic response function convolvedwith the block design described above,high-pass filter<strong>in</strong>g to remove low-frequency noise,<strong>and</strong> an autoregressive model, AR(1), to estimate<strong>in</strong>tr<strong>in</strong>sic autocorrelation <strong>of</strong> the data. The result<strong>in</strong>gcontrast images were entered <strong>in</strong>to second-levelanalyses us<strong>in</strong>g a r<strong>and</strong>om effects model to allow for<strong>in</strong>ferences to be made at the population level (Friston,Holmes, Price, Buchel, & Worsley, 1999). Comparisonsbetween each condition <strong>and</strong> rest, directcomparisons between conditions with<strong>in</strong> groups,<strong>and</strong> between-group comparisons <strong>of</strong> adolescents<strong>and</strong> adults were all corrected for multiple comparisons(p < .05) across the entire bra<strong>in</strong> volume at thelevel <strong>of</strong> spatial extent, <strong>and</strong> thresholded at p < .005for magnitude. In these unmasked, whole-bra<strong>in</strong>analyses, a m<strong>in</strong>imum extent <strong>of</strong> 10 voxels wasallowed only for clusters determ<strong>in</strong>ed to be located<strong>in</strong> our a priori ROIs (MPFC, MPPC, TPJ, DMPFC,pSTS, temporal poles, orbit<strong>of</strong>rontal cortex, <strong>and</strong><strong>in</strong>sula); see Forman et al. (1995) for a discussion <strong>of</strong>jo<strong>in</strong>t threshold<strong>in</strong>g procedures. To facilitate our<strong>in</strong>terrogation <strong>of</strong> s<strong>in</strong>gle-subject conjunction analyses<strong>and</strong> confirm our analyses <strong>of</strong> functionally derivedclusters <strong>in</strong> a priori ROIs, we also constructed anatomicalROIs us<strong>in</strong>g the advanced module <strong>of</strong> theWFU Pick Atlas. This was accomplished via unions,<strong>in</strong>tersections, <strong>and</strong> subtractions <strong>of</strong> relevant structuresfrom the BAs putatively identified by theTalairach Daemon <strong>and</strong> the regions <strong>in</strong>cluded <strong>in</strong> theAutomated Anatomic Label<strong>in</strong>g atlas, so as to notrely exclusively on either def<strong>in</strong>ition. We confirmedthat our functionally derived clusters were conta<strong>in</strong>edwith<strong>in</strong> our anatomical ROIs (<strong>in</strong> all cases, thelatter were larger than the former) by view<strong>in</strong>g them
1024 Pfeifer et al.simultaneously <strong>in</strong> MarsBaR. For display purposes,all images <strong>in</strong> the figures are thresholded at p < .005for magnitude (uncorrected for multiple comparisons),with a m<strong>in</strong>imum cluster extent <strong>of</strong> 10 voxels.Behavioral DataResultsResponses <strong>and</strong> reaction times were each entered<strong>in</strong>to a repeated measures analysis <strong>of</strong> variance(ANOVA) hav<strong>in</strong>g three with<strong>in</strong>-subject factors—appraisalcondition (source: You, Mom, Best,<strong>and</strong> Class), doma<strong>in</strong> (social <strong>and</strong> academic), <strong>and</strong>valence (positive <strong>and</strong> negative) as well as onebetween-subject factor—age group (adolescents <strong>and</strong>adults). With respect to responses, there were ma<strong>in</strong>effects <strong>of</strong> source, F(3, 54) = 4.98, p < .005, <strong>and</strong>valence, F(1, 18) = 174.47, p < .001, which werequalified by the <strong>in</strong>teraction between source <strong>and</strong>valence, F(3, 54) = 4.31, p < .05. Post hoc multiplecomparisons <strong>in</strong>dicated that while for positive items,participants answered ‘‘true’’ significantly more<strong>of</strong>ten <strong>in</strong> the Mom condition than when tak<strong>in</strong>g anyother perspective on the self, there were no significantdifferences among conditions for negativeitems. With respect to reaction times, there werema<strong>in</strong> effects <strong>of</strong> source, F(3, 54) = 8.55, p < .001;doma<strong>in</strong>, F(1, 18) = 10.24, p = .005; <strong>and</strong> valence, F(1,18) = 15.55, p = .001, but no significant higher order<strong>in</strong>teractions. Post hoc multiple comparisons <strong>in</strong>dicatedthat latencies were significantly shorter <strong>in</strong> theYou <strong>and</strong> Mom conditions (which did not differfrom each other) than <strong>in</strong> the Best <strong>and</strong> Class conditions(which also did not differ from each other).Latencies were also significantly shorter <strong>in</strong> thesocial than the academic doma<strong>in</strong>, as well as shorterfor positive than negative items. In neither analysiswere there any significant ma<strong>in</strong> effects <strong>of</strong> agegroup, nor were there any significant <strong>in</strong>teractionswith age group. Therefore at the behavioral level,no differences <strong>in</strong> the cognitive processes engagedby adolescents <strong>and</strong> adults dur<strong>in</strong>g direct <strong>and</strong>reflected self-appraisals could be observed.fMRI—Interactions Between Appraisal Conditions <strong>and</strong>Age GroupTo <strong>in</strong>vestigate the similarities <strong>and</strong> differencesamong the neural systems support<strong>in</strong>g direct <strong>and</strong>reflected self-appraisals <strong>in</strong> adolescents <strong>and</strong> adults,we conducted three whole-bra<strong>in</strong>, unmasked analysestest<strong>in</strong>g our predicted <strong>in</strong>teractions between agegroup <strong>and</strong> source (appraisal condition). The firsttwo analyses addressed our first hypothesis, whichwas that direct self-appraisals would <strong>in</strong>clude morecomponents <strong>of</strong> reflected self-appraisals <strong>in</strong> adolescentsthan adults. In these analyses, we did not considerdifferences among reflected appraisals typesbut rather averaged across tak<strong>in</strong>g the perspective <strong>of</strong>mothers, best friends, <strong>and</strong> classmates on the self.The third analysis exam<strong>in</strong>ed our second hypothesisthat we would replicate our previous work, <strong>in</strong>which a child sample engaged MPFC more dur<strong>in</strong>gdirect self-knowledge retrieval (relative to a rest<strong>in</strong>gbasel<strong>in</strong>e) than did adults.We first conducted a two-sample t test <strong>of</strong> thecontrast compar<strong>in</strong>g what was more active dur<strong>in</strong>gdirect self-appraisals than reflected self-appraisals<strong>in</strong> adolescents versus adults, that is, Adolescent(You > (Mom, Best, Class)) > Adult (You > (Mom,Best, Class)). In other words, this analysis representeda full crossover <strong>in</strong>teraction between agegroup (adolescent or adult) <strong>and</strong> self-appraisal type(direct or reflected). This analysis identified severalprefrontal clusters (see Figure 2A): MPFC (BA 10[14, 66, 4] t = 3.29 <strong>and</strong> BA 9 ⁄ 10 [)4 50 28] t = 3.64),DMPFC (BA 9 [)8 46 36] t = 3.50), the left frontalpole (BA 10 [)26 60 2] t = 3.11), <strong>and</strong> anterior c<strong>in</strong>gulatecortex (ACC) <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g both rostral <strong>and</strong> dorsalanterior c<strong>in</strong>gulate (BA 32 [10 40 22] t = 3.20 <strong>and</strong> [)232 32] t = 3.11). To decompose this <strong>in</strong>teraction,parameter estimates (mean levels <strong>of</strong> BOLD signal)were extracted from these clusters dur<strong>in</strong>g direct<strong>and</strong> reflected appraisals <strong>in</strong> adolescents <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>adults. The results demonstrated that these effectswere generally caused by greater recruitment <strong>of</strong>these regions dur<strong>in</strong>g direct self-appraisals <strong>in</strong> adolescents,relative to all other conditions, as well as atrend toward enhanced activity <strong>in</strong> these regionsdur<strong>in</strong>g adult <strong>and</strong> ⁄ or adolescent reflected selfappraisals,relative to adult direct self-appraisals(see Figure 2B). The reverse contrast—that is Adult(You > Mom, Best, Class) > Adolescent (You >Mom, Best, Class)—did not result <strong>in</strong> any significantclusters <strong>of</strong> activation. When an equivalent analysiswas conducted us<strong>in</strong>g an ANOVA with onebetween-subjects factor (age group: adolescent <strong>and</strong>adult) <strong>and</strong> one with<strong>in</strong>-subjects factor (source: You,Mom, Best, <strong>and</strong> Class), a virtually identical pattern<strong>of</strong> results was obta<strong>in</strong>ed. Post hoc permutation analysesconducted <strong>in</strong> SnPM confirmed the significance<strong>of</strong> the clusters <strong>of</strong> activation <strong>in</strong> MPFC (BA 10 [10 664] t = 3.32 <strong>and</strong> BA 9 ⁄ 10 [)4 50 28] t = 3.53), DMPFC(BA 9 [)6 46 36] t = 3.03), <strong>and</strong> ACC (BA 24 [)2 3030] t = 3.61, <strong>and</strong> BA 32 [10 36 20] t = 2.97), givenour data <strong>and</strong> experimental design. We also conducteda specific permutation analysis that replaced
Neurodevelopmental Change <strong>in</strong> <strong>Self</strong>-<strong>Appraisals</strong> 1025Figure 2. Full crossover <strong>in</strong>teraction between appraisal source(direct or reflected) <strong>and</strong> age (adolescent or adult). Panel Aillustrates activity <strong>in</strong> medial <strong>and</strong> dorsomedial prefrontal cortex(MPFC <strong>and</strong> DMPFC) <strong>and</strong> anterior c<strong>in</strong>gulate cortex that wasrelatively greater <strong>in</strong> the crossover <strong>in</strong>teraction captur<strong>in</strong>g regionsthat were differentially active dur<strong>in</strong>g direct <strong>and</strong> reflected selfappraisals<strong>in</strong> children versus adults. Panel B depicts meanactivity <strong>in</strong> MPFC <strong>and</strong> DMPFC, demonstrat<strong>in</strong>g that these regionswere generally more active <strong>in</strong> direct than reflected appraisals <strong>in</strong>adolescents, <strong>and</strong> vice versa <strong>in</strong> adults to a lesser extent.age with gender, <strong>and</strong> produced only one significantresult: MPPC (BA 7 [)4 )64 32] t = 3.42) was moreactive dur<strong>in</strong>g direct than reflected self-appraisals <strong>in</strong>females compared with males. This suggests agewas a more relevant dimension <strong>in</strong> this analysis thangender.Next, we entered an alternative contrast <strong>in</strong>to thisANOVA with one between-subjects factor (agegroup: adolescent <strong>and</strong> adult) <strong>and</strong> one with<strong>in</strong>-subjectsfactor (source: You, Mom, Best, <strong>and</strong> Class).This <strong>in</strong>teraction term identified which regions wereequally active among adult reflected self-appraisals<strong>and</strong> all adolescent appraisals, more so than dur<strong>in</strong>gadult direct self-appraisals, that is, ((Adolescent(You, Mom, Best, Class) = Adult (Mom, Best,Class) > Adult (You)). In other words, this contrastwas built to identify regions that were less active <strong>in</strong>particular dur<strong>in</strong>g adult direct self-appraisals, comparedwith all other conditions. This <strong>in</strong>teractionanalysis produced only two significant resultsacross the entire bra<strong>in</strong> volume (see Figure 3A):MPPC (BA 31 [)8 )40 30] t = 3.09) <strong>and</strong> a cluster <strong>in</strong>the region <strong>of</strong> left TPJ (BA 39 ⁄ 22 [)44 )60 36]t = 2.85). To decompose this <strong>in</strong>teraction, parameterFigure 3. Regions commonly activated by all conditions exceptdirect self-appraisals <strong>in</strong> adults. Panel A illustrates activity <strong>in</strong>medial posterior parietal cortex (MPPC) <strong>and</strong> left temporal–parietal junction (L TPJ) that was relatively greater <strong>in</strong> the<strong>in</strong>teraction identify<strong>in</strong>g regions that were active dur<strong>in</strong>g allappraisal conditions except direct self-appraisals <strong>in</strong> adults. PanelB depicts mean activity <strong>in</strong> these two regions, demonstrat<strong>in</strong>g thatthese regions were <strong>in</strong>deed more active <strong>in</strong> all appraisals <strong>in</strong>adolescents <strong>and</strong> reflected self-appraisals <strong>in</strong> adults, whencompared with direct self-appraisals <strong>in</strong> adults.estimates (mean levels <strong>of</strong> BOLD signal) wereextracted from these clusters dur<strong>in</strong>g direct <strong>and</strong>reflected self-appraisals <strong>in</strong> adolescents <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>adults. The results demonstrated that these effectswere generally caused by greater recruitment <strong>of</strong>these regions dur<strong>in</strong>g all conditions relative to direct
1026 Pfeifer et al.self-appraisals <strong>in</strong> adults (see Figure 3B). The reversecontrast—that is, Adult (You) > (Adult (Mom, Best,Class) = Adolescent (You, Mom, Best, Class))—didnot result <strong>in</strong> any significant clusters <strong>of</strong> activation.The appropriate post hoc permutation analysescould not be conducted <strong>in</strong> SnPM. However, weaga<strong>in</strong> conducted a specific permutation analysisthat replaced age with gender. This produced nosignificant results <strong>in</strong> either direction, suggest<strong>in</strong>gage is a much more relevant dimension for thiscontrast than gender.F<strong>in</strong>ally, we conducted a two-sample t test on thecontrast compar<strong>in</strong>g what was more active dur<strong>in</strong>gdirect self-appraisals than a rest<strong>in</strong>g basel<strong>in</strong>e <strong>in</strong> adolescents<strong>and</strong> adults, that is, Adolescent (You) >Adult (You). In l<strong>in</strong>e with our second hypothesis<strong>and</strong> replicat<strong>in</strong>g our previous work (Pfeifer et al.,2007), we observed that dur<strong>in</strong>g direct self-appraisalsrelative to a rest<strong>in</strong>g basel<strong>in</strong>e, adolescents activatedseveral regions more than adults, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g(see Figure 4): ACC (BA 32 [4 30 36] t = 5.57),MPFC (BA 10 [12 64 2] t = 4.11 [)12 62 14] t = 3.25)extend<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>to DMPFC (BA 9 [4 50 32] t = 3.32),<strong>and</strong> MPPC (posterior c<strong>in</strong>gulate <strong>in</strong> BA 31 [)8 )4030] t = 3.70). Furthermore, there was also greateractivity for adolescents than adults dur<strong>in</strong>g directself-appraisals <strong>in</strong> an <strong>in</strong>ferior parietal region <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>gleft TPJ (BA 39 ⁄ 22 [)54 )62 26] t = 3.42) as wellas <strong>in</strong> pSTS (BA 22 [)48 )38 2] t = 3.44), a patternthat was not observed <strong>in</strong> our previous study <strong>of</strong> childrenwho were approximately 2.5 years youngeron average (9.5–10.8 years old, M = 10.2 years)than the adolescent sample <strong>in</strong> the current study(11.3–13.7 years old, M = 12.7 years). The reversecontrast—that is, Adult (You) > Adolescent (You)—did not result <strong>in</strong> any significant clusters <strong>of</strong> activation.Post hoc permutation analyses conducted <strong>in</strong>SnPM confirmed the significance <strong>of</strong> the clusters <strong>of</strong>activation <strong>in</strong> MPFC (BA 10 [10 66 2] t = 4.03),DMPFC (BA 9 [)4 50 30] t = 3.79); right frontal pole(BA 10 [18 50 34] t = 3.92), ACC (BA 32 ⁄ 24 [)2 3034] t = 4.85); <strong>and</strong> left TPJ (BA 39 ⁄ 22 [)54 )62 26]t = 3.38), given our data <strong>and</strong> experimental design.We also conducted a specific permutation analysisthat replaced age with gender, <strong>and</strong> produced onlyone significant result: MPPC (BA 7 [2 )48 48]t = 3.63) was more active dur<strong>in</strong>g direct thanreflected self-appraisals <strong>in</strong> females compared withmales. As before, this suggests age was a muchmore relevant dimension <strong>in</strong> this analysis thangender.To confirm our <strong>in</strong>terpretations <strong>of</strong> the clustersresult<strong>in</strong>g from these <strong>in</strong>teraction analyses, we alsoconducted post hoc analyses <strong>in</strong> the anatomical apriori ROIs we def<strong>in</strong>ed us<strong>in</strong>g the advanced module<strong>of</strong> the WFU Pick Atlas (for more details refer to theMethod section). Mean parameter estimates foreach participant dur<strong>in</strong>g direct <strong>and</strong> reflected selfappraisalsversus rest were extracted from theseROIs <strong>and</strong> compared us<strong>in</strong>g ANOVAs <strong>and</strong> two-samplet test. Unfortunately, due to the substantiallylarger volume <strong>of</strong> these ROIs relative to the clustersobserved <strong>in</strong> our <strong>in</strong>teraction analyses, very few significantdifferences were observed. The results weobserved above <strong>in</strong> our <strong>in</strong>teraction analyses forDMPFC <strong>and</strong> MPFC generalized across the entireanatomical region. That is, whether the functionallyderived cluster or anatomical ROI was <strong>in</strong>terrogated,adolescents engaged MPFC <strong>and</strong> DMPFC significantlymore dur<strong>in</strong>g direct than reflectedself-appraisals, <strong>in</strong> comparison to adults; <strong>and</strong> adolescentslikewise engaged these regions dur<strong>in</strong>g directself-appraisals relative to a rest<strong>in</strong>g basel<strong>in</strong>e morethan did adults. On the other h<strong>and</strong>, the results <strong>in</strong>MPPC <strong>and</strong> TPJ did not generalize across the entireanatomical ROI we def<strong>in</strong>ed. However, the patterns<strong>of</strong> means <strong>in</strong> MPPC <strong>and</strong> TPJ were consistent withthe <strong>in</strong>teraction effects reported above.Figure 4. Regions more active dur<strong>in</strong>g direct self-appraisals <strong>in</strong>adolescents than <strong>in</strong> adults. Medial <strong>and</strong> dorsomedial prefrontalcortex, posterior superior temporal sulcus, left temporal–parietaljunction, <strong>and</strong> anterior c<strong>in</strong>gulate cortex were all more activedur<strong>in</strong>g direct self-appraisals <strong>in</strong> adolescents than <strong>in</strong> adults.fMRI—Supplementary Analyses <strong>of</strong> AppraisalConditionsTo further <strong>in</strong>terrogate the <strong>in</strong>teraction analysesbetween age group <strong>and</strong> condition (source) reportedabove, we describe next supplementary analysesthat exam<strong>in</strong>e each appraisal condition separately,relative to a rest<strong>in</strong>g basel<strong>in</strong>e, <strong>in</strong> each age group, aswell as conjunction analyses conducted across conditions<strong>in</strong> each age group <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong> s<strong>in</strong>gle subject data.Each conjunction analysis tested aga<strong>in</strong>st the conjunctionnull (<strong>and</strong> not the <strong>in</strong>termediate or globalnull; see Friston, Penny, & Glaser, 2005; Nichols,Brett, Andersson, Wager, & Pol<strong>in</strong>e, 2005), <strong>in</strong> other
Neurodevelopmental Change <strong>in</strong> <strong>Self</strong>-<strong>Appraisals</strong> 1027words identify<strong>in</strong>g voxels that were significantlyactive <strong>in</strong> each appraisal condition <strong>in</strong>dividually (YouAND Mom AND Best AND Class). There were noma<strong>in</strong> effects <strong>of</strong> doma<strong>in</strong> for adolescents or adults, asdemonstrated by a one-sample t test (Social vs.Academic) conducted separately <strong>in</strong> each age group.For additional with<strong>in</strong>-group comparisons betweeneach appraisal condition across doma<strong>in</strong>s, however,see the Table S1 <strong>in</strong>cluded for <strong>in</strong>terested readers.Adults. A conjunction analysis identified commonactivations <strong>in</strong> bilateral superior temporal cortex,left <strong>in</strong>ferior frontal gyrus, primary motor ⁄premotor cortex, DMPFC <strong>and</strong> MPFC, <strong>and</strong> thefrontal poles, MPPC, caudate, putamen, thalamus,<strong>and</strong> cerebellum. See Table 1 <strong>and</strong> Figure 5 for resultsfrom a one-sample t test conducted on each appraisalcondition (You, Mom, Best, <strong>and</strong> Class) <strong>in</strong> comparisonto rest. An ANOVA with one with<strong>in</strong>subjectfactor (source: You, Mom, Best, <strong>and</strong> Class)demonstrated that no regions were significantlymore active dur<strong>in</strong>g direct than reflected selfappraisals.In contrast, three regions were significantlymore active on average across all threereflected perspectives compared to dur<strong>in</strong>g directself-appraisals: MPPC (BA 23 ⁄ 31 [)6, )34, 28],t = 3.97), the left frontal pole extend<strong>in</strong>g mediallyTable 1Regions Activated Dur<strong>in</strong>g Each Appraisal Condition Versus Rest <strong>in</strong> AdultsYou-rest Mom-rest Best-rest Class-restAnatomical region BA Hemispherex y z t x y z t x y z t x y z tSuperior temporal 22 L )60 )16 )4 11.21 )60 )6 )4 13.59 )58 )28 0 6.11 )56 )30 0 11.56R 60 )14 )2 12.83 50 )14 2 12.63 60 )14 )2 6.68 50 )14 2 8.06Medial temporal 21 L )48 )6 )20 8.34 )52 2 )16 12.52 )66 )20 )12 5.10 )54 4 )14 5.86R 50 )32 2 11.03 48 )32 4 12.31 52 )24 )8 4.58Primary ⁄ secondary 41 ⁄ 42 L )56 )24 8 8.43 )60 )24 10 8.61 )60 )32 6 4.32 )48 )26 6 6.08auditory41 ⁄ 42 R 42 )22 10 5.48 44 )16 8 8.24 40 )20 10 8.29 40 )20 10 7.33Temporal pole 38 L )46 12 )22 5.63 )44 2 )26 7.57 )48 6 )30 4.94 )46 4 )30 6.20R 38 12 )26 7.87 40 12 )28 5.92Inferior frontal 47 L )46 22 )4 7.10 )46 18 )4 9.28 )46 24 0 4.51 )42 26 0 5.54R 42 26 )8 5.03 40 26 )8 5.71 48 22 )2 4.0645 L )56 22 8 6.37 )54 26 10 6.56 )56 26 6 8.41 )56 26 6 10.88R44 ⁄ 45 L )54 10 10 5.84 )54 18 12 5.28 )56 20 6 7.97 )50 18 4 6.34MPFC 10 )2 58 10 6.19 14 50 12 4.84 2 54 10 4.749 ⁄ 10 )6 54 28 6.40 )10 50 26 6.04 )10 42 26 3.17 )6 54 28 7.46DMPFC 8 ⁄ 9 10 40 48 6.78 6 42 36 5.30 )8 50 34 10.46 )10 36 48 6.976 ⁄ 8 )6 16 50 8.97 )6 14 50 8.88 )6 24 56 7.74 )12 12 52 9.02ACC 32 )2 32 30 5.20 4 20 36 3.74 4 20 34 5.25MPPC 7 ⁄ 31 )14 )58 36 5.20 )10 )52 34 8.45 )8 )58 30 6.95 )16 )60 38 4.97TPJ 39 ⁄ 40 ⁄ 22 L )48 )64 36 4.33 )50 )56 36 5.10 )48 )58 40 5.0639 ⁄ 40 ⁄ 22 R 40 )56 36 5.41Inferior parietal40 L )58 )20 34 6.35 )50 )28 44 4.69 )52 )34 40 5.21lobuleInsula L )34 20 0 5.56 )36 22 )4 8.32 )34 2 0 6.25 )32 4 0 5.1130 16 )6 5.09 34 24 2 3.42Putamen L )24 8 14 8.02 )20 6 16 10.39 )22 10 12 6.52 )20 12 6 4.88R 14 6 )4 6.47Thalamus L )12 )4 6 4.78 )10 )4 6 5.61Caudate L )12 )2 16 4.51R 14 4 12 5.22 16 8 8 6.39 12 12 12 4.97 14 14 6 5.42Premotor cortex 6 L )46 2 48 7.83 )44 4 50 5.75 )42 2 52 5.47 )42 6 52 5.03Primary motor cortex 4 L )34 )14 60 7.69 )42 )14 58 5.48 )38 )18 56 5.84 )24 )14 50 4.80Cerebellum )28 )62 )16 7.24 28 )70 )22 13.02 26 )72 )22 4.97 30 )70 )22 6.57Note. BA = Brodmann’s area; L <strong>and</strong> R = left <strong>and</strong> right hemispheres; x, y, <strong>and</strong> z = left–right, anterior–posterior, <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>ferior–superiordimensions, respectively; t = t score at those coord<strong>in</strong>ates (local maxima or submaxima); MPFC = medial prefrontal cortex;DMPFC = dorsal MPFC; ACC = anterior c<strong>in</strong>gulate cortex; MPPC = medial posterior parietal cortex; TPJ = temporal–parietal junction.
1028 Pfeifer et al.Figure 5. Comparison <strong>of</strong> all appraisal conditions <strong>and</strong> rest <strong>in</strong> adults. Images depict activation <strong>in</strong> adults dur<strong>in</strong>g direct selfappraisals(You) <strong>and</strong> reflected self-appraisals from three perspectives—mother (Mom), best friend (Best), <strong>and</strong> classmates (Class)—<strong>in</strong>comparison to a rest<strong>in</strong>g basel<strong>in</strong>e. Medial prefrontal cortex, medial posterior parietal cortex, <strong>and</strong> left temporal–parietal junction areencircled.<strong>in</strong>to MPFC (BA 10 [)24 64 0], t = 3.76), <strong>and</strong> left TPJat the <strong>in</strong>tersection <strong>of</strong> the posterior superior temporal,angular, <strong>and</strong> supramarg<strong>in</strong>al gyri (BA 40 [)42,)60, 38], t = 3.57).Adolescents. As <strong>in</strong> adults, a conjunction analysisidentified common activations <strong>in</strong> bilateral superiortemporal cortex, left <strong>in</strong>ferior frontal gyrus, primarymotor ⁄ premotor cortex, DMPFC <strong>and</strong> MPFC,<strong>and</strong> the frontal poles, MPPC, caudate, putamen,thalamus, <strong>and</strong> cerebellum. See Table 2 <strong>and</strong>Figure 6 for results from a one-sample t test conductedon each appraisal condition (You, Mom,Best, <strong>and</strong> Class) <strong>in</strong> comparison to rest. However,only <strong>in</strong> adolescents did the conjunction analysisalso identify significant activity <strong>in</strong> left TPJ at the<strong>in</strong>tersection <strong>of</strong> the posterior superior temporal,angular, <strong>and</strong> supramarg<strong>in</strong>al gyri. An ANOVAwith one with<strong>in</strong>-subject factor (source: You, Mom,Best, <strong>and</strong> Class) demonstrated that, contrary tothe f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>in</strong> adults, no regions were significantlymore active dur<strong>in</strong>g reflected than directself-appraisals, <strong>and</strong> neither were any regions significantlymore active dur<strong>in</strong>g direct than reflectedself-appraisals at our statistical thresholds.Post hoc correlations <strong>in</strong> left TPJ. To <strong>in</strong>terrogate furtherthe pattern <strong>of</strong> results observed <strong>in</strong> left TPJ, aregion engaged dur<strong>in</strong>g direct self-appraisals <strong>in</strong> adolescentsbut not adults, parameter estimates (meanlevels <strong>of</strong> BOLD signal for each participant) wereextracted from this cluster <strong>and</strong> correlated with variousbehavioral measures <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>terest that were availablefor most adolescent participants. Importantly,we observed that the activity <strong>in</strong> left TPJ dur<strong>in</strong>g directself-appraisals was unrelated to verbal IQ, r(6) =).099, ns; reaction times dur<strong>in</strong>g that condition,r(8) = 0.115, ns; or age, r(10) = .238, ns. However, weobserved a marg<strong>in</strong>ally significant association withthe question asked <strong>of</strong> them follow<strong>in</strong>g the scantapp<strong>in</strong>g the <strong>in</strong>tuitive nature <strong>of</strong> their responses (howmuch did you just know the answers?): Specifically,to the extent adolescents reported that direct selfappraisalsfelt <strong>in</strong>tuitive, less activity was observed <strong>in</strong>the left TPJ, r(10) = )0.469, p = .062.S<strong>in</strong>gle subject overlap analyses. We also conductedconjunction analyses at the <strong>in</strong>dividual subject level,which tested for significant overlap <strong>in</strong> our a prioriROIs dur<strong>in</strong>g all four appraisal conditions <strong>in</strong> eachsubject (aga<strong>in</strong>st the conjunction null). In these analysesonly, we used a mask that <strong>in</strong>cluded just oureight ROIs, constructed <strong>in</strong> a way that was anatomically⁄ functionally <strong>in</strong>dependent from our study dataus<strong>in</strong>g the advanced module <strong>of</strong> the WFU Pick Atlas(for more details, refer to the Method section). Am<strong>in</strong>imum <strong>of</strong> 8 <strong>of</strong> 12 participants <strong>in</strong> each age groupevidenced statistically significant activation <strong>in</strong> all <strong>of</strong>our ROIs dur<strong>in</strong>g each appraisal condition, except <strong>in</strong>TPJ (4 <strong>of</strong> 12 participants for adults vs. 9 <strong>of</strong> 12 participantsfor adolescents).fMRI—Interactions Between Sources <strong>and</strong> Doma<strong>in</strong>s <strong>in</strong>AdolescentsF<strong>in</strong>ally, we wanted to explore whether thedoma<strong>in</strong> <strong>of</strong> self-concept <strong>and</strong> source <strong>of</strong> reflected selfappraisalimpacted the patterns we observed <strong>in</strong> ourearly adolescent sample, as our third hypothesispredicted. In particular, we aimed to contrastpatterns <strong>of</strong> activity when the source <strong>of</strong> reflectedself-appraisal was most relevant to the self-conceptdoma<strong>in</strong> accord<strong>in</strong>g to previous developmental
Neurodevelopmental Change <strong>in</strong> <strong>Self</strong>-<strong>Appraisals</strong> 1029Table 2Regions Activated Dur<strong>in</strong>g Each Appraisal Condition Versus Rest <strong>in</strong> AdolescentsYou-rest Mom-rest Best-rest Class-restAnatomical region BA Hemispherex y z t x y z t x y z t x y z tSuperior temporal 22 L )64 )18 0 8.78 )62 )26 2 7.30 )62 )18 2 10.85 )58 )24 0 13.33R 56 )10 2 18.41 58 )10 )2 4.02 52 )30 6 9.10 56 )16 )2 8.61Medial temporal 21 L )56 )34 2 7.23 )54 )32 0 5.60 )62 )26 2 9.83 )62 )32 0 7.66R 58 )20 )12 3.26 50 )24 )6 3.21 58 )20 )12 4.76 62 )34 4 7.07Primary ⁄ secondary 41 ⁄ 42 L )54 )8 )10 3.97 )46 )28 10 5.84 )44 )28 10 4.95auditory41 ⁄ 42 R 36 )34 10 5.55 50 )18 4 4.53Temporal pole 38 L )42 18 )14 5.20RInferior frontal 47 L )54 24 0 9.58 )50 24 )4 5.04 )50 18 )4 8.00 )46 22 )4 7.18R 42 24 )8 6.2645 L )58 24 12 7.53 )56 24 14 4.22 )54 18 20 6.89 )56 26 12 7.49R 52 20 2 4.2944 ⁄ 45 L )48 10 16 3.62 )50 14 2 5.69 )56 20 22 5.86MPFC 10 )14 62 16 7.59 )6 62 4 3.88 )10 64 18 7.32 2 56 20 4.549 ⁄ 10 )8 52 28 7.34 )8 50 28 3.89 )8 50 32 6.29 )6 50 30 4.10DMPFC 8 ⁄ 9 )8 46 40 7.68 )10 46 42 5.32 )8 42 42 4.106 ⁄ 8 )6 24 50 6.88 )8 26 56 7.93 )4 22 52 8.37 )8 24 52 6.91ACC 32 6 30 36 8.46 8 30 28 4.06 )8 16 42 7.46 )8 34 20 5.70MPPC 7 ⁄ 31 )8 )52 40 5.46 )10 )50 28 4.02 )4 )60 38 5.89 )4 )58 36 6.16TPJ 39 ⁄ 40 ⁄ 22 L )60 )62 24 5.47 )54 )54 26 5.51 )54 )46 26 4.87 )50 )60 20 4.2139 ⁄ 40 ⁄ 22 RInferior parietal40 L )48 )24 50 6.55 )50 )36 48 3.74 )44 )28 48 6.28lobuleInsula L )32 18 )6 4.00 )30 6 )8 4.40Putamen L )20 12 8 5.71 )20 0 10 4.96 )20 12 2 5.84RThalamus L )4 )2 10 6.20 )10 )12 14 5.91 )16 )16 4 4.52Caudate L )10 8 16 8.58RPremotor cortex 6 L )44 4 46 6.78 )40 4 54 4.39 )46 4 42 10.16 )48 4 46 5.61Primary motor cortex 4 L )38 )22 60 4.09 )36 )24 62 5.05Cerebellum 30 )64 )26 9.79 22 )46 )26 6.34 20 )50 )22 6.98 24 )72 )20 7.16Note. BA = Brodmann’s area; L <strong>and</strong> R = left <strong>and</strong> right hemispheres; x, y, <strong>and</strong> z = left–right, anterior–posterior, <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>ferior–superiordimensions, respectively; t = t score at those coord<strong>in</strong>ates (local maxima or submaxima); MPFC = medial prefrontal cortex;DMPFC = dorsal MPFC; ACC = anterior c<strong>in</strong>gulate cortex; MPPC = medial posterior parietal cortex; TPJ = temporal–parietal junction.research summarized <strong>in</strong> the Introduction—that is,we hoped to identify which regions were relativelymore engaged <strong>in</strong> adolescents when the doma<strong>in</strong> <strong>and</strong>source ‘‘matched’’ (i.e., Mom-Academic <strong>and</strong> Best-Social) versus when they did not (i.e., Mom-Social<strong>and</strong> Best-Academic). In this whole-bra<strong>in</strong>, unmaskedanalysis, the contrast <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>terest—i.e., (Mom-Academic+ Best-Social) > (Mom-Social + Best-Academic)—demonstrated that activity was significantlymodulated by reflected self-appraisals exhibit<strong>in</strong>g a‘‘match’’ across source <strong>and</strong> doma<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> only tworegions: MPPC (BA 31 [14 )46 32] t = 3.24) <strong>and</strong>MPFC (BA 10 [18 48 24] t = 3.21). The first clusterhas subpeaks extend<strong>in</strong>g medially <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g at [4)46 34], <strong>and</strong> the second cluster has subpeaksextend<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> medial, anterior, <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>ferior directions<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g at [12 52 16]. As shown <strong>in</strong> Figure 7,which extracts parameter estimates (mean levels<strong>of</strong> BOLD signal) from these clusters, there wasmore activity <strong>in</strong> both these regions when thereflected self-appraisals were made <strong>in</strong> doma<strong>in</strong>sthat were relevant to an evaluative source’s sphere<strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>fluence, <strong>and</strong> essentially no significant activity<strong>in</strong> those regions on average when there was nota match between doma<strong>in</strong> <strong>and</strong> source. The reversecontrast—i.e., (Mom-Social + Best-Academic) >(Mom-Academic + Best-Social)—did not result <strong>in</strong>any significant clusters <strong>of</strong> activation.
1030 Pfeifer et al.Figure 6. Comparison <strong>of</strong> all appraisal conditions <strong>and</strong> rest <strong>in</strong> adolescents. Images depict activation <strong>in</strong> adolescents dur<strong>in</strong>g direct selfappraisals(You) <strong>and</strong> reflected self-appraisals from three perspectives—mother (Mom), best friend (Best), <strong>and</strong> classmates (Class)—<strong>in</strong>comparison to a rest<strong>in</strong>g basel<strong>in</strong>e. Medial prefrontal cortex, medial posterior parietal cortex, <strong>and</strong> left temporal–parietal junction areencircled.DiscussionThe goals <strong>of</strong> this study were to (a) exam<strong>in</strong>e the neuralcorrelates <strong>of</strong> direct <strong>and</strong> reflected self-appraisals,compar<strong>in</strong>g between an adult sample <strong>and</strong> an adolescentsample <strong>and</strong> (b) explore the <strong>in</strong>fluence <strong>of</strong> evaluativesources across doma<strong>in</strong>s on the reflectedappraisal process at a neural level, <strong>in</strong> our adolescentsample only. Converg<strong>in</strong>g results across anumber <strong>of</strong> analyses suggest the possibility that, ashypothesized, direct self-reflection <strong>in</strong> teenagers<strong>in</strong>corporates aspects <strong>of</strong> reflected appraisal processes.Even when adolescents were not <strong>in</strong>structedto th<strong>in</strong>k about other people’s perspectives on theself, they engaged components <strong>of</strong> the social perceptionnetwork commonly associated with do<strong>in</strong>g so(<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g TPJ, DMPFC, <strong>and</strong> pSTS), <strong>in</strong> addition torecruit<strong>in</strong>g the medial fronto-parietal network forself-reflection <strong>and</strong> self-knowledge retrieval (<strong>in</strong>MPFC <strong>and</strong> MPPC). Furthermore, activity <strong>in</strong> bothself- <strong>and</strong> social-perception networks was more<strong>in</strong>tense dur<strong>in</strong>g direct self-appraisals <strong>in</strong> adolescentsthan <strong>in</strong> adults, replicat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> extend<strong>in</strong>g our previouswork (Pfeifer et al., 2007). We additionallyobserved that when an evaluative source <strong>of</strong> selfknowledgematched the doma<strong>in</strong> <strong>of</strong> self-concept(i.e., tak<strong>in</strong>g a mother’s perspective on the academicself or a best friend’s perspective on the social self),there was relatively greater activity <strong>in</strong> MPFC <strong>and</strong>MPPC. These results raise two <strong>in</strong>trigu<strong>in</strong>g hypothesesfor discussion <strong>and</strong> future study: (a) consistentwith symbolic <strong>in</strong>teractionism <strong>and</strong> lay theories aboutadolescent self-development, ask<strong>in</strong>g teenagers <strong>in</strong>particular to reflect on the self directly or retrieveself-knowledge may commonly <strong>in</strong>duce spontaneousassessments <strong>of</strong> what others (<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g familymembers or peers) th<strong>in</strong>k <strong>of</strong> them, <strong>and</strong> (b) reflectedself-appraisals made <strong>in</strong> a doma<strong>in</strong> where a givenevaluative source possesses relatively greater <strong>in</strong>fluencemay be tagged by the bra<strong>in</strong> as more selfrelevant.Perta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g to the first hypothesis, there are compet<strong>in</strong>gdevelopmental explanations for why directself-appraisals seem to display characteristics <strong>of</strong>reflected self-appraisals <strong>in</strong> early adolescence. Onepossibility is that for a variety <strong>of</strong> social <strong>and</strong> cognitivereasons, self-appraisals become much morecont<strong>in</strong>gent on what <strong>in</strong>dividuals believe others th<strong>in</strong>kabout the self specifically dur<strong>in</strong>g adolescence <strong>in</strong>comparison to either adulthood (as shown <strong>in</strong> thisstudy) or childhood (as suggested by our previouswork; Pfeifer et al., 2007). In our prior study us<strong>in</strong>g9- to 10-year-old children <strong>and</strong> nearly identical stimuli,we observed activity <strong>in</strong> MPFC dur<strong>in</strong>g directself-appraisals versus rest, but not <strong>in</strong> MPPC or TPJ.However, the children were not <strong>in</strong>structed toengage <strong>in</strong> reflected self-appraisals; <strong>in</strong> some taskblocks they reported whether the phrases were selfdescriptive,<strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong> others whether they describedHarry Potter. Therefore, a second possibility is thatperhaps simply due to the experimental design,once given the idea to make reflected self-appraisals,younger samples (children <strong>and</strong> adolescents alike)cannot <strong>in</strong>hibit the simultaneous process <strong>of</strong> consider<strong>in</strong>gothers’ op<strong>in</strong>ions <strong>of</strong> themselves. More generally,adolescents (<strong>and</strong> thus children) may be lessgood at follow<strong>in</strong>g task directions than adults <strong>and</strong>accidentally <strong>in</strong>corporate the perspective <strong>of</strong> othersdur<strong>in</strong>g direct self-appraisals. Future researchshould attempt to test these possibilities directly.
Neurodevelopmental Change <strong>in</strong> <strong>Self</strong>-<strong>Appraisals</strong> 1031Figure 7. Interaction between reflected self-appraisal source(Mom or Best Friend) <strong>and</strong> self-concept doma<strong>in</strong> academic orsocial). Mean activity <strong>in</strong> medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) <strong>and</strong>medial posterior parietal cortex (MPPC) dur<strong>in</strong>g reflected selfappraisalsfrom the perspective <strong>of</strong> adolescents’ mothers <strong>and</strong> bestfriends, depicted separately by academic <strong>and</strong> social doma<strong>in</strong>,illustrates that activity <strong>in</strong> these regions is relatively enhancedwhen the doma<strong>in</strong> matches the evaluative source’s sphere <strong>of</strong><strong>in</strong>fluence but does not significantly differ from basel<strong>in</strong>e whentak<strong>in</strong>g the source’s perspective on the self <strong>in</strong> a nonmatcheddoma<strong>in</strong>.Regard<strong>in</strong>g the second hypothesis, two neuroimag<strong>in</strong>gstudies have already demonstrated thatthe contextual doma<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> which appraisals aremade <strong>in</strong>fluences self-process<strong>in</strong>g (Lieberman et al.,2004; Rameson & Lieberman, 2007). However, thisis the first study to exam<strong>in</strong>e whether tak<strong>in</strong>g theperspective <strong>of</strong> a person who is specifically relevantto evaluat<strong>in</strong>g one’s attributes <strong>and</strong> abilities <strong>in</strong> agiven doma<strong>in</strong> affects the neural process<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> selfrelevant<strong>in</strong>formation as well. That is, we queriedwhether there are any differences <strong>in</strong> early adolescenceat the neural level between tak<strong>in</strong>g your bestfriend’s or your mother’s perspective on your socialskills <strong>and</strong> status, given that whether your bestfriend th<strong>in</strong>ks you’re popular is typically more relevantto your social self-def<strong>in</strong>ition than whetheryour mother th<strong>in</strong>ks you’re popular—<strong>and</strong> vice versa<strong>in</strong> academics. Our results suggest that a matchbetween evaluative source <strong>and</strong> doma<strong>in</strong> is associatedwith enhanced activity <strong>in</strong> MPFC <strong>and</strong> MPPC,the two regions most strongly affiliated with selfprocess<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong> previous neuroimag<strong>in</strong>g studies. Theseresults may also imply that this medial frontoparietalnetwork may be particularly well suited toprocess <strong>in</strong>formation about the self <strong>in</strong> relation toothers, rather than context-<strong>in</strong>dependent self-views,because these regions appear to be most activedur<strong>in</strong>g reflected self-appraisals made from aperspective considered to be a valued source <strong>of</strong><strong>in</strong>formation about the self <strong>in</strong> a given doma<strong>in</strong>.It is important to note that when greater activityis observed <strong>in</strong> a region dur<strong>in</strong>g one condition (or <strong>in</strong>one group) relative to another, there can be twoalternative modes <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>terpretation. Take our generalf<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g that dur<strong>in</strong>g direct self-appraisals, adolescentsshow relatively more activity than adults<strong>in</strong> regions commonly associated with self-reflection(MPFC <strong>and</strong> MPPC) as well as <strong>in</strong> circuitry affiliatedwith social perception <strong>and</strong> perspective tak<strong>in</strong>g (TPJ,DMPFC, <strong>and</strong> pSTS). The first mode <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>terpretationswould convey qualitative implications aboutadolescent development <strong>and</strong> neural function. Forexample, our results may suggest that adolescentself-construals <strong>in</strong>corporate reflected appraisalswhile those <strong>of</strong> adults typically do not—or putanother way, that adolescents take more various‘‘other’’ perspectives dur<strong>in</strong>g direct self-appraisalswhile adults simply take one perspective on the self(their own). They may also imply that MPFC <strong>and</strong>MPPC are relatively more attuned to process<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>formation about the self as perceived by others <strong>in</strong>relevant contexts, rather than a decontextualizedself. The second possible <strong>in</strong>terpretation tends to bemore quantitative <strong>in</strong> nature. From this vantagepo<strong>in</strong>t, our results may suggest adults are simplyvery efficient at process<strong>in</strong>g perceived op<strong>in</strong>ions <strong>of</strong>others when mak<strong>in</strong>g self-construals; thus, less neuralsupport is required for them to do so. In otherwords, do adults demonstrate relatively m<strong>in</strong>imallevels <strong>of</strong> activity <strong>in</strong> these regions because theyengage very little <strong>in</strong> reflected appraisals dur<strong>in</strong>gdirect self-reflection (as their self-concepts are relativelystable <strong>and</strong> decontextualized), or are theymerely extremely efficient at carry<strong>in</strong>g out this additionalmental operation? Although this studycannot itself differentiate between these <strong>in</strong>terpretations,prior studies <strong>of</strong> self-referential process<strong>in</strong>g
1032 Pfeifer et al.<strong>and</strong> other social perceptual tasks also imply thatgreater activity particularly <strong>in</strong> the medial frontoparietalnetwork reflects attunement to taskdem<strong>and</strong>s rather than cognitive <strong>in</strong>efficiency (Iacoboniet al., 2004; Kelley et al., 2002), suggest<strong>in</strong>g thequalitative <strong>in</strong>terpretation may be more parsimonious<strong>in</strong> our ROIs. We propose, therefore, that whilereflected self-appraisal processes may be relativelysimilar <strong>in</strong> adolescents <strong>and</strong> adults, direct selfappraisalsdiffer between the two age groups, <strong>in</strong>that adolescents may <strong>in</strong>corporate perspective-tak<strong>in</strong>g<strong>and</strong> other aspects <strong>of</strong> the reflected self-appraisal process<strong>in</strong>to direct self-appraisals.If it is <strong>in</strong>deed the case that <strong>in</strong> early adolescenceself-perceptions are more reliant on the perceivedop<strong>in</strong>ions <strong>of</strong> others, what takes place to change thisdynamic by adulthood? After all, there has been anongo<strong>in</strong>g debate about whether this developmentalstage is truly characterized by <strong>in</strong>creased sensitivityto other’s op<strong>in</strong>ions about the self, or whether olderadolescents <strong>and</strong> young adults simply realize thatthis is considered relatively immature (Lapsley,1993; Vartanian & Powlishta, 2001). One possibilitysuggested by Harter (1999) is that the propensity toengage <strong>in</strong> social comparison <strong>in</strong> late adolescence<strong>and</strong> early adulthood decl<strong>in</strong>es as <strong>in</strong>dividuals fuelself-development by comparison with ideal, <strong>in</strong>ternalguides (future <strong>and</strong> ⁄ or past selves) rather thanpeers (see also Sedikides & Skowronski, 1995). Wealso propose that decontextualization <strong>of</strong> self-viewsmay occur to a greater degree <strong>in</strong> cultures that areless relationally or collectively oriented.F<strong>in</strong>ally, it is worth mention<strong>in</strong>g that the ACC wasthe only region not commonly associated with selforsocial perception that was found to be moreactive dur<strong>in</strong>g direct self-appraisals <strong>in</strong> adolescentsthan adults. The dorsal ACC has been implicated <strong>in</strong>conflict monitor<strong>in</strong>g, the distress<strong>in</strong>g aspects <strong>of</strong> physicalpa<strong>in</strong>, as well as social pa<strong>in</strong> <strong>and</strong> distress result<strong>in</strong>gfrom rejection (Eisenberger, Lieberman, &Williams, 2003). Adolescents engag<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> directself-appraisals demonstrated significantly moreactivity <strong>in</strong> dorsal ACC, suggest<strong>in</strong>g the possibilitythat this process—which may <strong>in</strong>clude ascerta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>ga variety <strong>of</strong> valued perspectives on the self (e.g.,does my best friend, arch nemesis, or romanticcrush th<strong>in</strong>k I’m popular?) <strong>and</strong> provid<strong>in</strong>g an <strong>in</strong>tegrativeresponse (none <strong>of</strong> them do; I must not bepopular)—could be distress<strong>in</strong>g, conflict ridden, orsocially pa<strong>in</strong>ful. It would not be surpris<strong>in</strong>g to discoverthat for a teenager, admitt<strong>in</strong>g you are unpopularmay cause a significant amount <strong>of</strong> distress.Alternatively, <strong>in</strong>tegrat<strong>in</strong>g several different perspectives(e.g., she th<strong>in</strong>ks I’m popular, but he doesn’t)may also lead to conflict <strong>and</strong> ⁄ or distress, which isconsistent with prior behavioral work <strong>in</strong> developmentalpsychology as well (see Harter, 1999).LimitationsOur study did not <strong>in</strong>volve any low-level controlconditions (such as report<strong>in</strong>g to which doma<strong>in</strong> astimulus refers) with which we could compare thevarious self-appraisal process conditions. Thisaspect <strong>of</strong> our design was a by-product <strong>of</strong> the factthat <strong>in</strong>clusion <strong>of</strong> the various appraisal conditionsresulted <strong>in</strong> a functional run that was already verylong. In order not to overly tax the younger participants<strong>in</strong> particular, no additional conditions couldbe added with<strong>in</strong> a run. This led to a set <strong>of</strong> relatedlimitations. One is that MPFC <strong>and</strong> MPPC have beenimplicated <strong>in</strong> the ‘‘default network,’’ a system <strong>of</strong>bra<strong>in</strong> regions that are typically more active dur<strong>in</strong>grest than externally focused tasks (Greicus, Krasnow,Reiss, & Menon, 2003; Raichle et al., 2001).Therefore, our f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>of</strong> less activity for adultsthan adolescents <strong>in</strong> these regions dur<strong>in</strong>g direct selfappraisalsversus rest might be due either tochanges <strong>in</strong> direct self-appraisal processes or <strong>in</strong> thetonic activation <strong>of</strong> these regions dur<strong>in</strong>g rest. Furthermore,MPPC <strong>and</strong> left TPJ have also been associatedwith episodic memory retrieval, track<strong>in</strong>g theperception that an item is old <strong>and</strong> the recollection<strong>of</strong> contextual details (for a review, see Wagner,Shannon, Kahn, & Buckner, 2005). One could thusderive a slightly different but complementary <strong>in</strong>terpretation<strong>of</strong> our results <strong>in</strong> these regions: Adults donot rely on episodic memories dur<strong>in</strong>g direct selfappraisals<strong>in</strong> doma<strong>in</strong>s as primary as those assessedhere. This is consistent with the idea that overmany years, adults ultimately develop self-schemathat should allow them to retrieve self-knowledgewithout the appeal to episodic memory (Liebermanet al., 2004; Rameson & Lieberman, 2007). This isnot to say that self-development does not cont<strong>in</strong>ueover the life span. Rather, we expect that with<strong>in</strong>any new doma<strong>in</strong> the slow accumulation <strong>of</strong> experience<strong>and</strong> the fruits <strong>of</strong> social comparisons will causerelevant self-perceptions to coalesce <strong>and</strong> detachfrom the contribut<strong>in</strong>g episodic evidence.It would be ideal for future studies to employcontrol conditions designed specifically to testwhether our results are <strong>in</strong>deed due to the socialcognitive aspects <strong>of</strong> the appraisal processes, <strong>and</strong>not an artifact <strong>of</strong> changes <strong>in</strong> the tonic activation <strong>of</strong>these regions while the bra<strong>in</strong> is <strong>in</strong> a rest<strong>in</strong>g state.The possibility that there are changes <strong>in</strong> activitydur<strong>in</strong>g rest does not expla<strong>in</strong> the <strong>in</strong>teractions
Neurodevelopmental Change <strong>in</strong> <strong>Self</strong>-<strong>Appraisals</strong> 1033between age group <strong>and</strong> source (appraisal condition)or between source <strong>and</strong> doma<strong>in</strong>. Nevertheless,a recent article exam<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g developmental changes<strong>in</strong> the default network found that the functionalconnectivity between ventral MPFC <strong>and</strong> otherregions such as MPPC <strong>and</strong> lateral parietal areas(<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g TPJ) is significantly stronger <strong>in</strong> adultsthan children (Fair et al., 2008). Such results raisethe possibility that each <strong>of</strong> these regions demonstratedsignificantly stronger activity <strong>in</strong> our adolescentsample because <strong>of</strong> sparse connectivity, whichresulted <strong>in</strong> less efficient function<strong>in</strong>g as a networkfor self-perception <strong>and</strong> social perspective tak<strong>in</strong>g.Furthermore, many studies <strong>and</strong> reviews (Aichhornet al., 2006; Frith & Frith, 2003, 2006; Ruby &Decety, 2003; Saxe, Carey, & Kanwisher, 2004; Saxe& Kanwisher, 2003; Saxe & Wexler, 2005) proposethat third-person perspective tak<strong>in</strong>g, <strong>and</strong> perhapsreason<strong>in</strong>g about another <strong>in</strong>dividual’s beliefs ormental states <strong>in</strong> particular, engages TPJ. However,there is still debate about whether the activity hereis selective for theory <strong>of</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d (Mitchell, 2008).Right hemisphere activity is usually emphasized <strong>in</strong>TPJ research, but lesion studies strongly suggestthat the left hemisphere is also necessary for represent<strong>in</strong>gsomeone else’s belief. For example, patientswith damage to their left angular, supramarg<strong>in</strong>al,<strong>and</strong> superior temporal gyri cannot perform abovechance on false-belief tasks, although they are ableto complete similar tasks that do not require mentaliz<strong>in</strong>gbut are matched for l<strong>in</strong>guistic difficulty <strong>and</strong>other computational dem<strong>and</strong>s (Apperly et al., 2004;Samson et al., 2004). In balance, we feel that theactivity we observed <strong>in</strong> TPJ dur<strong>in</strong>g reflected selfappraisalssuggests that our participants were<strong>in</strong>deed attempt<strong>in</strong>g to put themselves <strong>in</strong> theirmom’s, best friends’, or classmates’ shoes to reasonabout what these sources th<strong>in</strong>k <strong>of</strong> themselves, <strong>and</strong>our results also imply that adolescents did this dur<strong>in</strong>gdirect self-appraisals as well (even when notspecifically <strong>in</strong>structed to do so). Nevertheless, werema<strong>in</strong> m<strong>in</strong>dful <strong>of</strong> the possibility that these neuralsystems were engaged for other reasons not discernibleby our task design.To address all these outst<strong>and</strong><strong>in</strong>g issues, thehypotheses we have proposed about the neural systems<strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> self-appraisal processes dur<strong>in</strong>gadolescence eventually need to be tested <strong>in</strong> a mannerwhich would satisfy the ‘‘reverse <strong>in</strong>ferenceproblem.’’ The validity <strong>of</strong> mak<strong>in</strong>g deductions aboutthe mental processes <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> a task solely onthe basis <strong>of</strong> observ<strong>in</strong>g activation <strong>in</strong> a particularbra<strong>in</strong> region may be limited by the selectivity <strong>of</strong>activity <strong>in</strong> that region, across a variety <strong>of</strong> task characteristics(Christ<strong>of</strong>f & Owen, 2006; Poldrack, 2006).For example, one may need to devote an <strong>in</strong>itialfMRI run to def<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g subject-specific ROIs for first<strong>and</strong>third-person perspective tak<strong>in</strong>g via tasks thatare not explicitly self-relevant, <strong>and</strong> then <strong>in</strong> subsequentfMRI runs ask participants <strong>of</strong> different agesto engage <strong>in</strong> direct <strong>and</strong> reflected self-appraisals(Saxe et al., 2004). We mention this to rem<strong>in</strong>d readersboth that the ultimate contribution <strong>of</strong> developmentalsocial cognitive neuroscience research willtake much time <strong>and</strong> commitment to conduct<strong>in</strong>gprogrammatic research, but also that early efforts togenerate future testable hypotheses are still animportant step <strong>in</strong> the process, despite the likelihoodthat these will rely more heavily on reverse <strong>in</strong>ference(just as social neuroscience <strong>and</strong> cognitive neuroscienceresearch did <strong>in</strong> their early years).Future <strong>Direct</strong>ions <strong>and</strong> ConclusionsOne <strong>of</strong> the results from this study that may havethe greatest impact on future research derives fromthe fact that adults engaged MPFC <strong>and</strong> MPPC moredur<strong>in</strong>g reflected than direct self-appraisals, <strong>and</strong>adolescents engaged MPFC <strong>and</strong> MPPC more dur<strong>in</strong>greflected appraisals when they were made <strong>in</strong> adoma<strong>in</strong> where a given evaluative source typicallyprovides relevant feedback. Taken together, thesef<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gs suggest that this medial fronto-parietalnetwork may be most attuned to relational selfprocess<strong>in</strong>g.In other words, while general selfknowledgeretrieval typically engages this medialfronto-parietal network more than process<strong>in</strong>g thatis not self-referential (e.g., Kelley et al., 2002), process<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>formation about the self <strong>in</strong> relation to othersmay engage it the most. However, much moreprogrammatic work is needed to confirm whetherthis modified <strong>in</strong>terpretation about the functionality<strong>of</strong> MPFC <strong>and</strong> MPPC is correct. Additional studiesmay benefit from conduct<strong>in</strong>g cross-cultural comparisons<strong>of</strong> the neural correlates <strong>of</strong> self-appraisalprocesses. For example, by contrast<strong>in</strong>g participantsfrom relatively <strong>in</strong>dividualistic <strong>and</strong> collectivistic cultures,we may be able to observe whether relativelyreduced activity <strong>in</strong> the medial fronto-parietalnetwork dur<strong>in</strong>g direct self-appraisals <strong>in</strong> adultsrepresents rout<strong>in</strong>ization <strong>of</strong> self-referential process<strong>in</strong>g,or a switch from relational to decontextualizedself-knowledge.Future research should also aim to collect functional<strong>and</strong> structural MRI data at multiple timepo<strong>in</strong>ts dur<strong>in</strong>g childhood <strong>and</strong> adolescence, both <strong>in</strong>longitud<strong>in</strong>al <strong>and</strong> cross-sectional designs, to exam<strong>in</strong>edirect <strong>and</strong> reflected self-appraisal processes <strong>and</strong>
1034 Pfeifer et al.their relation to bra<strong>in</strong> development because many<strong>of</strong> the regions implicated <strong>in</strong> this study are late tomature (Shaw et al., 2008; Sowell, Thompson, &Toga, 2004). This study was unfortunately limitedto exam<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g two groups with a substantial agegap (on average, 13 years) between them, as well asmore age variability <strong>in</strong> the adult sample. Ideally,subsequent studies could evenly sample from middlechildhood through adulthood to obta<strong>in</strong> a bettergrasp <strong>of</strong> when changes <strong>in</strong> neurocognitive processesbelie the emergence <strong>of</strong> ‘‘mature’’ direct self-appraisals(which are relatively decontextualized, at least<strong>in</strong> ma<strong>in</strong>stream American society). Such a f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gmay be able to provide some closure at last to thedebate over whether the self is <strong>in</strong>deed more sensitiveto perceived op<strong>in</strong>ions <strong>of</strong> others (particularlypeers) <strong>in</strong> early adolescence than dur<strong>in</strong>g any otherstage <strong>of</strong> development (Ste<strong>in</strong>berg & Silverberg, 1986;Vartanian, 2000; Vartanian & Powlishta, 1996).F<strong>in</strong>ally, exp<strong>and</strong><strong>in</strong>g social cognitive neuroscienceresearch on the self to special populations such as<strong>in</strong>dividuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD)is long overdue. One recent study suggests thatthere is a bidirectional <strong>in</strong>fluence between self<strong>and</strong>social perception <strong>in</strong> adults with ASD; relativeimpairment <strong>in</strong> the one is associated with lesssuccess <strong>in</strong> the other (Lombardo, Barnes, Wheelwright,& Baron-Cohen, 2007). Furthermore,adults with ASD appear to demonstrate hypoactivity<strong>in</strong> MPFC <strong>and</strong> MPPC dur<strong>in</strong>g rest <strong>and</strong> maynot engage these structures dur<strong>in</strong>g self-knowledgeretrieval (Cherkassky, Kana, Keller, & Just, 2006;Kennedy, Redcay, & Courchesne, 2006; Moran,Qureshi, S<strong>in</strong>gh, & Gabrieli, 2007). Ultimately, an<strong>in</strong>vestigation <strong>of</strong> the neural systems support<strong>in</strong>gself-concept development <strong>in</strong> children <strong>and</strong> adolescentswith autism could also provide importantnew <strong>in</strong>sights <strong>in</strong>to the neurobiological basis <strong>of</strong> thisdisorder, as well as help us underst<strong>and</strong> patterns<strong>of</strong> typical self-development.In conclusion, we believe our <strong>in</strong>itial <strong>in</strong>quiry <strong>in</strong>tothe neural correlates <strong>of</strong> reflected <strong>and</strong> direct selfappraisals<strong>in</strong> early adolescence can already makeimportant contributions to developmental psychology.We discovered it is not so much <strong>in</strong> the process<strong>of</strong> mak<strong>in</strong>g reflected self-appraisals that adolescents<strong>and</strong> adults differ but rather when th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g aboutoneself directly. <strong>Direct</strong> self-appraisals appear to<strong>in</strong>corporate perceived op<strong>in</strong>ions <strong>of</strong> others to agreater extent <strong>in</strong> adolescents than adults, by engag<strong>in</strong>gneural systems affiliated with perspectivetak<strong>in</strong>g<strong>and</strong> mentaliz<strong>in</strong>g (<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g TPJ <strong>and</strong> DMPFC)more <strong>in</strong> this earlier stage <strong>of</strong> development. Furthermore,<strong>in</strong> our op<strong>in</strong>ion the patterns <strong>of</strong> bra<strong>in</strong> activityobserved dur<strong>in</strong>g adolescent reflected self-appraisalssuggest a potential mechanism for the variabilityacross doma<strong>in</strong>s <strong>in</strong> the power <strong>of</strong> parents <strong>and</strong> peersto affect self-development. Compar<strong>in</strong>g between twodoma<strong>in</strong>s (academic <strong>and</strong> social) <strong>and</strong> two sources(mothers <strong>and</strong> best friends), the medial fronto-parietalnetwork commonly associated with self-reflectionwas most active when adolescents tooksomeone else’s perspective on the self <strong>in</strong> thedoma<strong>in</strong> that developmental psychologists haveidentified as most susceptible to that source’s <strong>in</strong>fluence:the academic doma<strong>in</strong> for mothers <strong>and</strong> thesocial doma<strong>in</strong> for best friends. Perhaps such anenhanced pattern <strong>of</strong> neural activity <strong>in</strong> these regionsis what leads a teenager over time to eventually<strong>in</strong>corporate a trait <strong>in</strong>to his or her self-def<strong>in</strong>ition: Iam popular (just like I believe my friends th<strong>in</strong>k), orI am smart (just like I believe my parents th<strong>in</strong>k).Taken together, this study provides fresh supportat a level uncontam<strong>in</strong>ated by self-report biases thatdur<strong>in</strong>g adolescence, self-perceptions may bestrongly <strong>in</strong>fluenced by what we th<strong>in</strong>k other <strong>in</strong>dividualsth<strong>in</strong>k about us, <strong>and</strong> that the perceived op<strong>in</strong>ions<strong>of</strong> peers <strong>and</strong> family members may carry moreweight <strong>in</strong> some doma<strong>in</strong>s than others. 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