Cited by 1,614Death Anxiety and Social ExclusionSocial and Intergroup PsychologyCultural Differences and Values

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 223 of the 223 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; 1 of the 222 sources its claims cite were checked for support.

The psychology of self-defense: Self-affirmation theory

Open access
Sherman, David K., Cohen, Geoffrey L.·2006·Advances in Experimental Social Psychology

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

This review chapter updates self-affirmation theory (Steele, 1988), which holds that people are motivated to protect self-integrity and that affirming an important value unrelated to a threat can reduce defensive responses. Across domains—biased assimilation, health persuasion, stress physiology, dissonance, stereotyping, collective identity, and stereotype threat—self-affirmation reduced defensiveness, though the authors document conditions under which affirmations backfire.

Key findings

  • Self-affirmed participants became more balanced in evaluating counter-attitudinal evidence: in Cohen et al. (2000), affirmed partisans shifted attitudes toward the report they read, and in a negotiation study affirmation increased concessions and led pro-choice participants to view their pro-life adversary as more objective and trustworthy.
  • Affirmation changed health behavior: after an AIDS-educational video, 50% of affirmed participants purchased condoms versus 25% of non-affirmed; 78% of affirmed versus 54% of non-affirmed took an AIDS brochure (Sherman et al., 2000). Affirmed heavy-drinking women perceived greater breast-cancer risk, an effect persisting one month (Harris & Napper, 2005).
  • Affirmation buffered physiological stress: in Creswell et al. (2005), control participants showed elevated salivary cortisol at 20–45 minutes post-Trier Social Stress Task while affirmed participants did not.
  • Affirmation reduced self- and group-serving bias in intramural athletes; the self–group attribution correlation was r = .60 without affirmation and r = −.10 with it (Sherman & Kim, 2005). For patriots/anti-patriots evaluating an anti-US foreign policy report, the identity–openness correlation fell from r = .58 (34% of variance) to r = −.05.
  • Affirmation eliminated stereotype threat effects on women's math performance (Martens et al., 2006) and eliminated prejudice against a stereotyped job candidate (Fein & Spencer, 1997).
  • Backfire conditions: same-domain affirmations, moral-credential affirmations, and objectivity affirmations increased resistance, discrimination, or "moral impunity" (e.g., Brown, 2000; Uhlmann & Cohen, 2005b).

Methods

  • Design: narrative review/theoretical chapter synthesizing experimental research conducted within the self-affirmation framework; no new primary data are reported.
  • Scope: laboratory and field experiments across individual threats (biased assimilation, health information, stress, cognitive dissonance, social perception) and collective threats (group-serving judgments, national identity, stereotype threat, perceptions of racism), plus moderator variables (culture, self-esteem, identity centrality/salience, backfire conditions).
  • Analysis: qualitative integration of findings, including reported effect sizes, correlations, and percentages from cited studies; the authors also propose mechanisms (implicit positive affect, state self-esteem, self-certainty) and discuss awareness as a moderator.

Limitations

  • Stated: few studies have examined longer-term effects of self-affirmation; durable effects on risk perception were found at one month but long-term effects on behavior "have not been established" (Harris & Napper, 2005).
  • Stated: "few if any consistent mediators have emerged across multiple studies," and the ultimate (superordinate) function of self-integrity is difficult to answer.
  • Evident from the text: this is a narrative review rather than a systematic one, and several supporting studies are cited as unpublished manuscripts, dissertations, or manuscripts under review, so some evidence had not yet undergone peer review at the time of writing.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/s0065-2601(06)38004-5

Cites

223 of 223 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

182 Not checked yet · 64 Own interpretation · 16 No basis given · 4 Own result · 1 Supported so far

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Show all 190 claims

  • It may state two separate claims as one. 63
  • The quote only partly states this claim. 1
  • Probably not a substantial claim. 14
77 of 77
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    For self-affirmation effects to have practical significance, they must persist beyond the experimental setting.

    “For the eVects to have practical significance, they must persist beyond the experimental setting.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Stress from stereotype threat can undermine performance.

    “This stress can in turn undermine performance.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The report used in Cohen et al. (2005) was credible and counter-attitudinal for American patriots.

    “The arguments were credible (drawn from the writings of several prominent analysts) and buttressed with factual evidence and historical analysis.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    People experience many potential threats to their self-integrity.

    “Because people experience many potential threats to their self-integrity”
4 of 4

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Self-check

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1 of 1

Citations

Cites

Research works printed but not linked: 6

  1. De Dreu, 2003, Motivational bases of information processing and strategy in negotiation and social conflict, Vol. 35, 235
  2. Heine, 2005, Constructing good selves in Japan and North America, Vol. 10, 95
  3. Keough, 1998, When the self is at stake: Integrating the self into stress and physical health research (Doctoral dissertation, Stanford University, 1998), Dissertation Abstracts International, 58, 3959
  4. Martin, 1996, Some ruminative thoughts, Vol. 9, 1
  5. Petty, 1986, The elaboration likelihood method of persuasion, Vol. 19, 123
  6. Taylor, S. E., & Sherman, D. K. (in press). Self‐enhancement and self‐affirmation: The effects of positive self‐thoughts on motivation and behavior. Chapter to appear in J. Shah & W. Gardner (Eds.) Handbook of motivation science. New York: Guilford Publications.

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Metadata

Authors
Sherman, D. K., & Cohen, G. L.
Venue
Advances in Experimental Social Psychology
Publisher
Elsevier
Published
2006
Pages
183-242
ISSN
0065-2601 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2170739705
Cited by
1,614
References
223
Citations by year
2026: 63 · 2025: 129 · 2024: 90 · 2023: 100 · 2022: 131 · 2021: 124 · 2020: 108 · 2019: 105 · 2018: 85 · 2017: 91 · 2016: 90 · 2015: 79 · 2014: 87 · 2013: 73 · 2012: 62
FWCI
63.77
Type
book chapter
Language
en
Open access
Locations
Advances in experimental social psychology (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Cultural Differences and Values
Keywords
self-affirmation theory, self-defense, self-integrity, self-worth, self-threat, group threat, discrimination, defensiveness, coping, interpersonal relationships

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