Self‐Affirmation: Understanding the Effects
Abstract
Self‐affirmation theory proposes that individuals possess a flexible self‐system, such that they can respond to threats in one domain of life by affirming self‐worth in other domains. In social psychology research, this has been examined in studies where people affirm important values in the context of self‐threatening events or information. This paper reviews the literature demonstrating the effects of values affirmations and proposes a theoretical account to understand how self‐affirmations reduce defensiveness in response to threats to individuals' health, attenuate physiological stress responses to laboratory and naturalistic stressors, and improve academic performance among individuals experiencing identity threat. The proposed model has three components: Self‐affirmations boost self‐resources, broaden the perspective with which people view information and events in their lives, and lead to an uncoupling of the self and the threat, reducing the threat's impact in affecting the self. This model helps explain what occurs when individuals affirm values in the context of threats, and how self‐affirmations may instantiate lasting effects through changing the nature of ongoing experience.
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A key aspect of the affirmation intervention is that its content is self-generated and tailored to tap into each person's particular valued identity.
“Thus, a key aspect of the affirmation intervention is that its content is self-generated and tailored to tap into each person's particular valued identity (Sherman 2013).”
From The Psychology of Change: Self-Affirmation and Social Psychological Intervention (2014) · cites this paper as Sherman 2013
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The Psychology of Change: Self-Affirmation and Social Psychological Intervention
Cohen, G. L., & Sherman, D. K. (2014) · Annual Review of Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-010213-115137 · Cited by 1,197 · see citing works
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Self-affirmation improves performance on tasks related to executive functioning
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“This explanation requires explicit testing but is consistent with recent theorizing about self-affirmation (e.g., Cohen & Sherman, 2014; Sherman, 2013; Sherman & Hartson, 2011) and models of self-control.”
ResultDefensive Responding to IAT Feedback
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“…elucidated, evidence suggests that when people focus on valued aspects of their identity, they view information as less threatening to the self (Sherman, 2013), and cognitive resources can be redirected from worrying about a threat or protecting their image to the task at hand or to help…”
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“Indeed, self-affirmation interventions have had long-term positive effects on minority youth across a number of domains (Sherman, 2013), including in the context of weight loss (Cook et al., 2014).”
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Zhang, H., Zhou, X., Nielsen, M. S., & Klyver, K. (2022) · Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice · doi:10.1177/10422587221096905 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
“Different coping interventions, such as selfaffirmation (Sherman, 2013), mindfulness training (Weger et al., 2012), and general education about stereotypes (Johns et al., 2005), have been suggested as effective.”
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“This burden impairs concentration, and therefore, ironically, causes underperformance (Steele and Aronson, 1995; Aronson et al., 2002; Sherman, 2013).”
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“Selfaffirmations broaden people’s conception of self, rendering specific threats less dire (Critcher & Dunning, 2015; Sherman, 2013; Steele, 1988).”
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“The core prediction in this theory is that self-affirmation broadens people ’ s overall view of themselves and can reduce the impact of negative emotions on an individual due to external factors (Cohen & Sherman, 2014; Ł akuta, 2020; Sherman, 2013).”
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“Downward comparisons (Vohs and Heatherton, 2004) and selfaffirmation (Derks et al., 2011; Sherman, 2013) have been reported in the psychological literature more generally as ways to cope with identity-threat.”
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Does a Self-Affirmation Intervention Reduce Stereotype Threat in Black and Hispanic High Schools?
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“…conditions were provided a new neutral scenario for each exercise.4 These writing exercises were adapted from the self-affirming intervention developed by Cohen et al. (2006), which has been fielded successfully in several other studies (Borman 2012; Dee 2015; Hanselman et al. 2014; Sherman 2013).”
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“This conclusion, emphasizing the need for the profiling of audiences, needs to be seen in the context of recent work advocating positive communication to counter CC – drawing this time on the concept of self-affirmation (see Sherman, 2013).”
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Using self-affirmation to increase intellectual humility in debate
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Self-citationThe Effect of Persuasive Messages in Promoting Home-Based Physical Activity During COVID-19 Pandemic
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“…threatened state, the ability to process a message recommending increased physical activity may be compromised because people, in order to maintain self-integrity, may question or reject the validity of the recommendation, or direct attention away from it (Sherman, 2013; Strachan et al., 2020).”
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“Recent reviews of the affirmation literature conclude that processes underlying self-affirmation effects are highly context-dependent, and there is no one-for-all mediator of selfaffirmation effects (G. L. Cohen & Sherman, 2014; Sherman, 2013).”
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“One way for people to protect themselves against such a threat to self-integrity and self-worth is to derogate or reject the message (Cohen & Sherman, 2014; Sherman, 2013) or to respond with reactance to restore the threatened freedom.”
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“Our study represented an attempt to determine whether self-affirmation—an approach demonstrated in other work to reduce defensive responses to threat (Harris & Epton, 2009, 2010; Sherman, 2013)—might be leveraged to reduce the detrimental effects of generalized perceptions of ambiguity (related to extant cancer preven…”
BackgroundResultInfluentialLew, Z., & Flanagin, A. (2023) · New Media & Society · doi:10.1177/14614448231213944 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
“…by the desire to manage others’ impressions of themselves (see Leary and Kowalski, 1990 for review), obtain self-affirmation via social feedback (see Sherman, 2013 for review), explore different facets of their identities (see Walther and Lew, 2022 for review), persuade themselves that things will…”
Guo, L., Mao, J.-Y., Huang, Q., & Zhang, G.-L. (2022) · Journal of Vocational Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2022.103746 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Łakuta, P. (2020) · Anxiety Stress & Coping · doi:10.1080/10615806.2020.1746283 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
“To reflect on personal values and self-resources beyond a particular threat can be an important act that sets one’s sights on new perspectives and favors equanimity (Sherman, 2013).”
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“Given that people are motivated to maintain a positive view of the self, such threatening messages can trigger reactions that are often defensive such as rationalization and denial (Sherman, 2013).”
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“…(vs. nonaffirmed) exhibit less message derogation and are more accepting of risk information (Epton, Harris, Kane, van Koningsbruggen, & Sheeran, 2015; Harris & Epton, 2009), the mechanisms of self-affirmation are unclear and a “topic of continued research attention” (Sherman, 2013, p. 834).”
BackgroundGhosh, S. (2018) · NHRD Network Journal · doi:10.1177/2631454118806139 · Cited by 16
“improve the mood, and repeatedly reciting affirmations helps change and create neural pathways for positive thinking (Sherman, 2013).”
BackgroundKim, S., & Mcgill, A. (2018) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167217741311 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
“However, self-affirmation among the low-identifiers might have enhanced helping intention by increasing general other-directed emotions (Crocker et al., 2008; Sherman, 2013).”
BackgroundCan self-affirmation exacerbate adverse reactions to stress under certain conditions?
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“Because cognitive dissonance may generate a threat to the self, self-affi rmation can alleviate this threat and render the change of attitude unnecessary ( Sherman, 2013 ).”
BackgroundSerowik, K. L., Khan, A. J., LoCurto, J., & Orsillo, S. M. (2018) · Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment · doi:10.1007/s10862-018-9679-1 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Badea, C., Bender, M., & Korda, H. (2019) · International Journal of Intercultural Relations · doi:10.1016/j.ijintrel.2019.11.004 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Borman, G. D., & Pyne, J. (2016) · RSF The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences · doi:10.7758/rsf.2016.2.5.08 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Self-affirmation and physical activity messages
Strachan, S., Myre, M., Berry, T., Ceccarelli, L. A., Semenchuk, B., & Miller, C. (2020) · Psychology of sport and exercise · doi:10.1016/j.psychsport.2019.101613 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Be Strong Enough to Say No: Self-Affirmation Increases Rejection to Unfair Offers
Gu, R., Jing, Y., Shi, Y., Luo, Y., Luo, Y. L. L., & Cai, H. (2016) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01824 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Lin, X., Meng, L., & Chen, L. (2025) · Journal of Business Research · doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115541 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Self-devised assistive techniques by university students with learning disabilities
Manase, N. (2023) · African Journal of Disability · doi:10.4102/ajod.v12i0.1106 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
“(Brenda, Honour’s female student) Self-affirmation is a survival tactic people adopt to deal with threats (Sherman 2013:834).”
BackgroundPereira, C. F., de Vargas, D., & Beeber, L. S. (2023) · Frontiers in Public Health · doi:10.3389/fpubh.2023.1124295 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Effects of self‐affirmation on emotion and cardiovascular responses
Chen, W., Nelson, A. M., Johnson, H. B., & Fleming, R. (2020) · Stress and Health · doi:10.1002/smi.2986 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Storr, S. M., & Sparks, P. (2016) · Psychology and Health · doi:10.1080/08870446.2016.1149585 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
“This suggestion has attracted widespread interest in the recent self-affirmation literature (e.g. Harris, 2011; Sherman, 2013).”
BackgroundDu, L., Lyu, X., Xie, L., & Feng, B. (2025) · arXiv (Cornell University) · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2509.21665 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“Self-affirmation theory suggests that people are motivated to preserve self-worth and integrity [77, 87].”
Hung, J. W., Hartanto, A., Goh, A. Y. H., Eun, Z. K. Y., Kasturiratna, K. T. A. S., Lee, Z. X., & Majeed, N. M. (2025) · Computers in Human Behavior Artificial Humans · doi:10.1016/j.chbah.2025.100151 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Dowell, N., McKay, T. A., & Perrett, G. (2021) · AERA Open · doi:10.1177/23328584211011611 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
“Thus, a key aspect of the affirmation intervention is that its content is self-generated text and tailored to tap into each student’s particular valued identity (Sherman, 2013).”
BackgroundThe new me or the me I’m proud of?
Yazdanparast, A., & Spears, N. E. (2018) · European Journal of Marketing · doi:10.1108/ejm-09-2016-0532 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Obesity Treatment: Environment and Behavior Modification.
Murphy, M. (2016) · The Veterinary clinics of North America. Small animal practice · doi:10.1016/j.cvsm.2016.04.009 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Relational Processing of Conflicting Arguments Effects on Biased Assimilation
Kobayashi, K. (2016) · Comprehensive Psychology · doi:10.1177/2165222816657801 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
“Rat Race” or “Lying Flat”? The effect of competition stress on psychological compensation
Wang, W.-S., Yi, Y.-X., Luo, Z.-W., & Li, J. (2024) · Advances in Psychological Science · doi:10.3724/sp.j.1042.2024.01057 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Why go gluten‐free? How the feeling of low power increases preferences for free‐from products
Zhang, L. (., & Chan, E. (2024) · Psychology & Marketing · doi:10.1002/mar.22125 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Spoelma, T. M., & Marchiondo, L. A. (2024) · Journal of Organizational Behavior · doi:10.1002/job.2823 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Łakuta, P., Krankowska, D. C., Marcinkiewicz, P., Bociąga‐Jasik, M., & Komorska‐Błażewicz, A. (2022) · Applied Psychology Health and Well-Being · doi:10.1111/aphw.12357 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Lakuta, P. (2021) · Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/s0033291721004499 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
“Building from growing literature on beneficial effects of self-affirmation interventions (Cohen & Sherman, 2014; Dutcher et al., 2020; Howell, 2017; Sherman, 2013), this study tested whether encouraging to cultivate a sense of self as worthy, adequate, and efficacious can provide improvements on…”
BackgroundA Replicable Identity-Based Intervention Reduces the Black-White Suspension Gap at Scale
Borman, G. D., Pyne, J., Rozek, C. S., & Schmidt, A. (2021) · American Educational Research Journal · doi:10.3102/00028312211042251 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
“Self-affirmed students instead report higher levels of construal and report less adversity in school related to their social identity than do threatened students who are not affirmed (Sherman, 2013).”
BackgroundLiu, S. R., & Kia-Keating, M. (2018) · Journal of College Student Psychotherapy · doi:10.1080/87568225.2017.1388754 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
“This theory has been supported by studies of students facing both acute and chronic stressors, for example, when completing the Tier Social Stress Task or reflecting on their most stressful midterm exam (Creswell et al., 2005; Sherman, 2013).”
BackgroundWhen stereotype threat does not impair performance, self-affirmation can be harmful
Voisin, D., Brick, C., Vallée, B., & Pascual, A. (2018) · Self and Identity · doi:10.1080/15298868.2018.1454339 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
“When more self-related cognitions are accessible, individuals realize their self-concept is not limited to the threatened domain (Sherman, 2013).”
BackgroundVoisin, D., Girandola, F., David, M., & Aim, M. (2016) · Self and Identity · doi:10.1080/15298868.2015.1121916 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
“Another self-defense mechanism consists in affirming an important and positive feature of one’s selfconcept (McQueen & Klein, 2006; Sherman, 2013).”
BackgroundElizarov, E., Benish‐Weisman, M., & Ziv, Y. (2023) · Journal of Experimental Child Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2023.105689 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Lakuta, P. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2022.795055 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Relational Turbulence and Openness to Social Network Support for Marital Conflicts
Brisini, K., Solomon, D., & Xi, T. (2021) · Western journal of communication · doi:10.1080/10570314.2021.1994638 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
“…reinforces positive values before receiving a threatening message, he or she “enhances the psychological resources available … to confront the threat” (Sherman, 2013) In the language of construal level theory, affirmations help individuals to create greater psychological distance between…”
BackgroundInfluentialLifshin, U., & Mikulincer, M. (2021) · The Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1080/00224545.2021.1918618 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
“…may also test if reducing people’s anxiety by increasing their self-esteem (e.g., Greenberg et al., 1992), allowing them to self-affirm (e.g., Sherman, 2013), or priming a sense of attachment security (e.g., Mikulincer & Shaver, 2007) may subsequently reduce helplessness and motivate people…”
BackgroundSelf-affirmation enhances the processing of uncertainty: An event-related potential study
Gu, R., Jing, Y., Yang, Z., Huang, Z., Wu, M., & Cai, H. (2018) · Cognitive Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.3758/s13415-018-00673-0 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Churchill, S., Jessop, D. C., Goodwin, S., Ritchie, L., & Harris, P. R. (2017) · Psychology of Music · doi:10.1177/0305735617705007 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
“A self-affirmation intervention should serve to highlight other important sources of self-worth to the student, reminding him/her of the bigger picture and allowing him/her to gain perspective, with attendant positive implications for self-regulation and coping (Cohen & Sherman, 2014; Sherman, 2013).”
High Impostors Are More Hesitant to Ask for Help
Chen, S., & Son, L. K. (2024) · Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.3390/bs14090810 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
“For example, scholars [30], clinical managers [31], librarians [32], marketing managers [33], and physicians [34] have all reported that they experienced fears of being an impostor quite often.”
BackgroundAbuzar, M., & Purwandari, E. (2024) · Indonesian Journal of Social Research (IJSR) · doi:10.30997/ijsr.v6i2.473 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
“By affirming important values, individuals can enhance their self-esteem and counteract the negative effects of threats or challenges they may face (Sherman, 2013).”
Yıldırım, M., Akbal, S., & Turkoglu, M. (2023) · Applied Nursing Research · doi:10.1016/j.apnr.2023.151687 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
McGregor, I., Tran, A., Auger, É., Britton, E., Hayes, J., Elnakouri, A., Eftekhari, E., Sharpinskyi, K., Arbiv, O. A., & Nash, K. A. (2022) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2022.104350 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Lyubykh, Z., Barclay, L. J., Fortin, M., Bashshur, M. R., & Khakhar, M. (2022) · Research in Organizational Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.riob.2022.100177 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Li, S., Xu, Q., & Zhou, A. (2021) · Psychology Health & Medicine · doi:10.1080/13548506.2021.1917770 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
“When self-affirmed, people can view a threat from a broadened perspective, allowing them to uncouple the self and the threat, and providing a buffer against the threat and its consequences (Cohen & Sherman, 2014; Sherman, 2013).”
BackgroundHuppin, M., & Malamuth, N. M. (2020) · Journal of Interpersonal Violence · doi:10.1177/0886260520951312 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
“When individuals can find support for self-integrity in self-affirmation, however, they can then more carefully consider threatening information and perspectives (Cohen & Sherman, 2014; Sherman, 2013).”
BackgroundZiegler, A., Gläser-Zikuda, M., Kopp, B., Bedenlier, S., & Händel, M. (2020) · Education sciences · doi:10.31234/osf.io/md93x · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Hannover, B., Kreutzmann, M., Haase, J., & Zander, L. (2020) · International Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1002/ijop.12653 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
“…circumstances, the contents of the nine sessions of our intervention were tailored to teach children to reaffirm important personal values (cf., Sherman, 2013), to acquaint them with strategies to overcome belonging uncertainty (cf., Walton & Wilson, 2018), to strengthen self-efficacy by the…”
BackgroundA study on stereotypes about vocational education and its groups in China
Yan, C., & Liu, C. (2025) · Education + Training · doi:10.1108/et-12-2024-0568 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Evaluations of science are robustly biased by identity concerns
Salvatore, J., & Morton, T. A. (2021) · Group Processes & Intergroup Relations · doi:10.1177/1368430221996818 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
“Given that aspects of personal identity also reflect the operation of group processes, and given that people are similarly motivated by a desire to validate (Swann, 2011), affirm (Sherman, 2013), and enhance”
BackgroundVoisin, D., Gosling, P., Amoura, C., Miraucourt, D., Weber, T., & Dappe, Q. (2020) · International Review of Social Psychology · doi:10.5334/irsp.113 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Self-Affirmation Interventions to Change Health Behaviors
Schüz, B., Cooke, R., Schüz, N., & van Koningsbruggen, G. V. (2017) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-802690-8.00006-2 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
ASLAN, M., & Aslan, H. (2025) · BMC Psychology · doi:10.1186/s40359-025-02931-6 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
“This sense of integrity may differ according to the individual’s cultural norms, autonomy, rationality, and being a good group member [34].”
The influence of ending temporal landmark on consumers’ tourism activity preference
Luo, H., Lv, X.-Y., Qu, Y., Zhang, S., & Ji, S. (2025) · Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research · doi:10.1080/10941665.2025.2470637 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
“In contrast, individuals with low self-affirmation are more likely to align their preferences with their perceived depletion and opt for restorative or relaxing activities (Sherman, 2013).”
- Authors
- Sherman, D. K.
- Affiliations
- University of California, Santa Barbara (US)
- Corresponding author
- Sherman, David K.
- ORCID
- Sherman, David K.
- Venue
- Social and Personality Psychology Compass
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2013-11
- Volume
- 7
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- 834-845
- ISSN
- 1751-9004 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2152288919
- Cited by
- 232
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 30 · 2024: 36 · 2023: 20 · 2022: 20 · 2021: 25 · 2020: 19 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 20 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 4
- FWCI
- 16.01
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Social and Personality Psychology Compass (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 › Applied Psychology › Behavioral Health and Interventions
- Keywords
- self-affirmation, self-affirmation theory, values affirmation, self-threat, identity threat, defensiveness, stress response, physiological stress, academic performance
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