Sex, lie scales, and electrode caps: an interpersonal context for defensiveness and anterior electroencephalographic asymmetry

Defensiveness has been related to relative left frontal activation (LFA) in women, whereas it has been related to right frontal activation (RFA) in men. These findings have been interpreted from the standpoint of anterior asymmetry and defensiveness being stable traits. While this position has some support in the literature, it is also true that anterior asymmetry responds to affective state manipulations, and defensiveness moderates responses to social and emotional stimuli. We hypothesized that when self-presentation motives are enhanced, defensiveness may be associated with behavioral approach dispositions, whereas lower defensiveness may be associated with behavioral withdrawal dispositions. Consistent with this hypothesis, the present study found that defensiveness was associated with greater relative LFA in the presence of opposite-sex, but not same-sex experimenters.