Positive-Negative Asymmetry in Self-Related Processing

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