Religious Belief and Neurocognitive Processes of the Self

Abstract

Cross-cultural psychological research suggests that self-construals can be dissimilar between individuals fostered in different cultures. Recent brainbrain imaging studies concerned the underlying neural basis of cultural influences on cognitive processing of the self. In this chapter I first review cultural difference in self-concept and research concerning cultural influence on self-construals and related neural mechanisms. I then discuss the difference in self-construals between individuals with distinct religious beliefbelief and practice. Finally, I present brain imaging evidences that help to clarify distinct neurocognitive processes of the self induced by ChristianChristian belief, which is characterized with weakened neural coding of stimulus self-relatedness, but enhanced neural activity underlying evaluative process applied to self-referential stimuli.