Wired for Worth: Neuroscience and the Concept of Self-Respect
Batman, DC Comics superhero who is the epitome of high self-respect
Introduction
We start this article off with a spotlight on superheroes. Specifically, let’s look at Batman (again). How can somebody, who is simply just a human being, be confident enough in himself to go out every night, and live almost in isolation? How is he able to separate himself from the people that he loves without second-guessing himself? Put more simply: how is he so confident in himself and his abilities? One reason is that he is a prime example of high self-respect. According to the American Psychological Association, self-worth is defined as “an individual’s evaluation of themself as a valuable, capable human being deserving of respect and consideration.” Self-worth, or self-respect, is an extremely important quality, playing a massive role in self-esteem, confidence, relationships, and even the development of diseases. In this article, we’ll look at some of the neural correlates associated with this feeling of self-respect, and why some people might be more “down in the gutter” than others.
Self-Respect: Who Cares?
Some of us (even me before I sat down to write this) might be just “ok” with the level of self-respect that you might have. Something that is hammered into all of our heads is that it doesn’t matter how you feel about yourself, it is how you treat others that matters. More often than not, this is actually detrimental not only to yourself but to those with whom you are trying to have a positive impact on and relationship with. How could you possibly treat somebody with respect and goodwill if you can’t do that to yourself?
Before we continue, I think it’s important to highlight some of the key traits and qualities that go along with self-respect. The main characteristic that goes along with self-respect is the notion that you deserve to be treated with respect, both by yourself and by others. Appreciating yourself, as I mentioned above, goes on to impact your thoughts about others, potential relationships, and so much more. The benefits of high self-respect go a looooooooong way, such as increased happiness, being able to establish boundaries, and being able to uphold personal values (Gupta 2022).
Into the Brain
Self-respect is an inherently hard thing to measure, as it relies heavily on self-report measures, which are subjective. To look at this concept more objectively, we decided to focus primarily on self-regulation studies, specifically the idea of delayed gratification. Delayed gratification is an ability that is intimately tied to the value of self-respect. This is an important demonstration of self-regulation, putting long-term goals first rather than maladaptive, short-term ones.
Luckily for us, delayed gratification is much easier to study than self-respect. In a 2022 study, researchers used optogenetics to deliberately activate or silence neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) that release the neurotransmitter dopamine. Put simply, optogenetics is the process whereby a virus is injected into specific neurons, and shining a specific wavelength of light onto the neuron (via an optical fiber) has the ability to activate or silence the neuron. The VTA is a brain structure located in the midbrain and is CRITICALLY implicated in the brain’s reward system, where the neurotransmitter dopamine shines.
Researchers supported the idea that delayed gratification includes real-time deliberation (duh). More interestingly, however, is that the researchers found that the activity of neurons that produce and release dopamine increases during the waiting period, and that optical activation of these neurons extends the waiting period while silencing reduces waiting times. All in all, this study highlights the vital role that dopamine, the reward system, and the VTA play in delayed gratification (Gao et al., 2021).
Delayed Gratification in Humans
Extensive research has also been done on delayed gratification in humans, with differences in neuroanatomy becoming clear. In a longitudinal study, participants were classified into low or high “delayers,” with high delayers showing a better ability to delay gratification. The inferior frontal gyrus showed lesser recruitment in low delayers, while the ventral striatum was activated significantly more in this same group (Casey et al., 2011). The inferior frontal gyrus is located in your frontal lobe and plays an important role in higher-order cognitive processes, such as response inhibition. On the other hand, the ventral striatum is a key structure in your brain’s reward pathway, very similar to the VTA that we talked about before.
The nucleus accumbens (NAc), another key structure of the reward pathway, is also implicated in delayed gratification. Researchers found that shifting focus away from temptation was associated with stronger connections between the NAc and several other brain regions (such as those in the prefrontal cortex) that are involved in self-control (Luerssen et al., 2015). Both of these studies and many more, highlight how resisting temptation requires communication between many different brain areas.
Differences in Self-Respect: Why?
As we all know, there are definitely differences in self-respect between individuals. Your average Joe might not care about himself at all, while some other random person walking down the street might put themselves first before anything. On a neurological level, what underlies these differences? One study in 2014 attempted to tackle this complex question. Researchers found evidence that self-respect is related to frontostriatal connectivity, linking areas involved in self-referential processing to those underlying positive evaluation and reward. Specifically, researchers were interested in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC; in the frontal cortex), and the ventral striatum (another brain area associated with reward processing). Results showed individual variability in white matter integrity (white matter surrounds axons of neurons; white matter is associated with faster and better information processing) between these two regions that related to trait measures of self-esteem. Additionally, researchers also found that functional connectivity (when one brain area is activated, then the other is activated as well) during positive self-evaluation was also related to current feelings of self-esteem. All in all, this shows how differences in self-esteem can be attributed to biological metrics, helping to explain individual differences. (Chavez and Heatherton, 2015).
There are ways to increase self-respect however; if you or somebody you know is suffering from low self-respect, you are not doomed. It’s easy to read that there are biological reasons implicated in this feeling and say “welp, I can’t change it now,” but that’s not the case. The cool thing about your brain is that it is adaptable and able to be shaped by new experiences. Take exercise for example. Short-term exercise, like lifting weights, has been shown to release endorphins, which are your body’s “feel-good” chemicals. These are your natural painkillers (and what opioids like morphine mimic), giving you a sense of well-being and pleasure. These are inherently good for feelings of self-respect, and engaging in exercise may even help to increase self-respect by pushing yourself to constantly achieve new goals and milestones. Other interesting avenues to explore are meditation, positive feedback, and even something as simple as practicing setting boundaries.
Conclusion
Back to Batman. Batman was DEFINITELY not born with his level of self-respect and determination; this is something that required hard work and tons of training. Although we see neural correlates of self-respect and regions such as the ventral striatum, VTA, and mPFC associated with this feeling, the concept of self-respect is malleable and able to be changed over time. Self-respect is an inherently important concept of your day-to-day life, and something that should be paramount to other feelings.
When all else fails, just think, “What would Batman do?”
References
Casey, B. J., Somerville, L. H., Gotlib, I. H., Ayduk, O., Franklin, N. T., Askren, M. K., Jonides, J., Berman, M. G., Wilson, N. L., Teslovich, T., Glover, G., Zayas, V., Mischel, W., & Shoda, Y. (2011). Behavioral and neural correlates of delay of gratification 40 years later. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(36), 14998-15003. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1108561108
Chavez, R. S., & Heatherton, T. F. (2015). Multimodal frontostriatal connectivity underlies individual differences in self-esteem. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 10(3), 364-370. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsu063
Gao, Z., Wang, H., Lu, C., Lu, T., Froudist-Walsh, S., Chen, M., Wang, J., Hu, J., & Sun, W. (2021). The neural basis of delayed gratification. Science Advances. https://doi.org/abg6611
Gupta, S. (2022). Self-respect: Importance, influences, and strategies for improvement. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/self-respect-importance-influences-and-strategies-for-improvement-6823525
Luerssen, A., Gyurak, A., Ayduk, O., Wendelken, C., & Bunge, S. A. (2015). Delay of gratification in childhood linked to cortical interactions with the nucleus accumbens. Social cognitive and affective neuroscience, 10(12), 1769–1776. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsv068
