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Cited by 661Media Influence and HealthBehavioral Health and InterventionsDeath Anxiety and Social Exclusion

Do messages about health risks threaten the self? Increasing the acceptance of threatening health messages via self‐ affirmation

Sherman, David A. K., Nelson, Leif D., Steele, Claude M.·2000·Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
DOI 10.1177/01461672002611003
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Abstract

Two studies demonstrate that self-image maintenance processes affect the acceptance of personally relevant health messages. Participants who completed a self-affirmation were less defensive and more accepting of health information. In Study 1, female participants (high vs. low relevance) read an article linking caffeine consumption to breast cancer. High-relevance women rejected the information more than did low-relevance women; however, affirmed high-relevance women accepted the information and intended to change their behavior accordingly. In Study 2, sexually active participants viewed an AIDS educational video; affirmed participants saw themselves at greater risk for HIV and purchased condoms more often than did nonaffirmed participants. Results suggest that health messages can threaten an individual’s self-image and that self-affirming techniques can increase the effectiveness of health information and lead to positive health behaviors.

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  • Self-affirmation may promote more positive health behaviors by making people more open to information that they are engaging in risky health behaviors.

    “Indirectly, it may promote more positive health behaviors by making people more open to information that they are engaging in risky health behaviors (Harris & Napper, 2005;Reed & Aspinwall, 1998;Sherman et al., 2000).”

    From The psychology of self-defense: Self-affirmation theory (2006) · cites this paper as Sherman et al., 2000

  • In Harris and Napper (2005), among heavy-drinking young women, self-affirmation increased perceived risk of breast cancer compared with no affirmation, and this effect persisted over one month.

    “Among the participants most at risk for health problems-that is, the women who drank heavily-those who completed the self-aYrmation saw themselves as being at greater risk for breast cancer than those who were not aYrmed (as in Sherman et al., 2000), an eVect that did not diminish over time.”

    From The psychology of self-defense: Self-affirmation theory (2006) · cites this paper as Sherman et al., 2000

  • When self-integrity is affirmed, people are less biased in their judgments of information related to their political identity, their health, and their impressions of others.

    “When self-integrity is aYrmed, people are less biased in their judgments of information related to their political identity (Cohen et al., 2000), their health (Reed & Aspinwall, 1998;Sherman et al., 2000), and their impressions of others (Fein & Spencer, 1997;Spencer et al., 2001).”

    From The psychology of self-defense: Self-affirmation theory (2006) · cites this paper as Sherman et al., 2000

  • Self-affirmation studies generally find that affirmation of important values has no effect on self-reported mood.

    “self-aYrmation studies generally find that aYrmation of important values has no eVect on self-reported mood (Fein & Spencer, 1997;Schmeichel & Martens, 2005;Sherman et al., 2000;Spencer et al., 2001)”

    From The psychology of self-defense: Self-affirmation theory (2006) · cites this paper as Sherman et al., 2000

  • Only heavy caffeine consumers respond defensively to a report linking caffeine use and fibrocystic disease and exhibit greater openness to the report when self-affirmed.

    “it is only heavy caVeine consumers who respond defensively to such a report (e.g., Kunda, 1987;Liberman and Chaiken, 1992) and who exhibit greater openness to the report when self-aYrmed (Sherman et al., 2000).”

    From The psychology of self-defense: Self-affirmation theory (2006) · cites this paper as Sherman et al., 2000

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Authors
Sherman, D. A. K., Nelson, L. D., & Steele, C. M.
Affiliations
  • University of California, Los Angeles (US)
  • Stanford University (US)
Corresponding author
Sherman, David A. K.
ORCID
Nelson, Leif D.
Venue
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2000-11
Volume
26
Issue
9
Pages
1046-1058
ISSN
  • 0146-1672 (ISSN-L)
  • 1552-7433
DOI
10.1177/01461672002611003
OpenAlex
W1967215969
Semantic Scholar
b747c5fc770353298aaf5feb099e175dd8034ff9
Cited by
660
References
60
Citations by year
2026: 10 · 2025: 19 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 23 · 2022: 23 · 2021: 33 · 2020: 35 · 2019: 25 · 2018: 43 · 2017: 33 · 2016: 44 · 2015: 27 · 2014: 38 · 2013: 32 · 2012: 40
FWCI
219.75
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Literature and Literary Theory › Media Influence and Health
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Behavioral Health and Interventions
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion
Keywords
self-affirmation, health risk messages, message acceptance, defensive processing, message rejection, message relevance, HIV risk perception, health behavior change, HIV/AIDS education

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