Distinct effects of empathy on self-other processing revealed by different behavioral and EEG indices.

Overview

1. Institute of Communication Studies, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
2. Institute of Molecular Medicine and Bioengineering, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
3. Institute of Electrical Control Engineering, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
4. Brain Science and Technology Center, College of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
5. Department of Psychology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
6. Australian AI Institute, School of Computer Science, FEIT, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia

Abstract

The self-prioritization effect refers to the tendency for individuals to perceive self-related stimuli more accurately than other-related stimuli. We leveraged this phenomenon to investigate the mechanisms underlying empathy. According to the self–other merging hypothesis, empathy broadens self-representation to encompass others, predicting a reduced self-prioritization effect. In contrast, the self–other distinction hypothesis posits that empathy heightens the differentiation between self and other, predicting an increased self-prioritization effect. To test these competing hypotheses, we employed a perceptual task combined with electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings, and analyzed the data by using signal detection theory. Fifty-two participants aged 19 to 33 years were randomly assigned to either a high-empathy or low-empathy group. Participants listened to an interview and were instructed to either empathize with or remain neutral toward the interviewee. Subsequently, they completed a shape–label matching task using geometrical shapes associated with the self, the interviewer, and the interviewee. The self-prioritization effect was measured by performance differences between self-related and other-related stimuli. Different performance indices provided support for each hypothesis. Specifically, the patterns observed in the sensitivity index (d’) and the lateral positive component (LPC) of the event-related potential supported the self–other distinction hypothesis at the perceptual and attentional levels. In contrast, the patterns in the response bias index (c) and reaction time supported the self–other merging hypothesis at the response level. These findings suggest that empathy influences self-representation in distinct ways across different levels of processing.

Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.3758/s13415-026-01416-2.

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.

Code

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Code availability

The program code used for data analysis is available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.

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Open practices statements

The data and materials for the experiments reported in this manuscript are not publicly available due to restrictions imposed by the ethics committee of the corresponding author’s institution but may be available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request and with permission of the ethics committee. None of the experiments was preregistered.

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Version 1, 30 September 2026: the first record

Recorded: type, language, journal, volume, issue, pages, dates, 5 authors, 5 keywords, 11 MeSH terms, 2 funders, 66 references.

Cite

This paper

Lo, S.-Y., Wang, J.-C., Huang, K.-C., Huang, C.-M., & Lin, C.-T. (2026). Distinct effects of empathy on self-other processing revealed by different behavioral and EEG indices. Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience, 26(4), 1817-1834. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13415-026-01416-2

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