Who you are is where you are: Antecedents and consequences of locating the self in the brain or the heart

• We explore the antecedents and consequences of whether people locate their sense of self in the brain or the heart.
• People generally tend to locate the self in the brain rather than the heart.
• Independent self-construals increase this tendency, whereas interdependent self-construals decrease it.
• The location of the self influences judgments of the legal definition of death and attitudes toward abortion legislation.
• The location of the self also influences decisions to contribute effort and money to a charity.

Eight studies explored the antecedents and consequences of whether people locate their sense of self in the brain or the heart. In Studies 1a–f, participants’ self-construals consistently influenced the location of the self: The general preference for locating the self in the brain rather than the heart was enhanced among men, Americans, and participants primed with an independent self-construal, but diminished among women, Indians, and participants primed with an interdependent self-construal. In Study 2, participants’ perceived location of the self influenced their judgments of controversial medical issues. In Study 3, we primed participants to locate the self in the brain or the heart, which influenced how much effort they put into writing a support letter for and how much money they donated to a charity for a brain disease (Alzheimer’s disease) or a heart disease (coronary artery disease). Implications for research on the self-concept, judgment, and decision-making are discussed.