On stopping yourself: Self-relevance facilitates response inhibition

It is well documented that stimuli associated with the self are easier to process than identical material paired other people (i.e., self-prioritization effect). Surprisingly, however, relatively little known about how self-relevance impacts core aspects of executive functioning, notably response inhibition. Accordingly, here we used a stop-signal task establish effectively responses toward self-relevant (vs. other-relevant) can intentionally be inhibited. In context personal possession, participants were required classify pens and pencils) based on ownership owned-by-self vs. owned-by-friend/stranger), unless an occasional auditory tone indicated should withheld. The results revealed benefits Compared items owned by friend or stranger, self-owned objects inhibited more efficiently. These findings confirm facilitates control.