The DOI matches its Crossref record; 53 of the 53 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
When Beliefs Yield to Evidence: Reducing Biased Evaluation by Affirming the Self
Abstract
People often cling to beliefs even in the face of disconfirming evidence and interpret ambiguous information in a manner that bolsters strongly held attitudes. The authors tested a motivational account suggesting that these defensive reactions would be ameliorated by an affirmation of an alternative source of self-worth. Consistent with this interpretation, participants were more persuaded by evidence impugning their views toward capital punishment when they were self-affirmed than when they were not (Studies 1 and 2). Affirmed participants also proved more critical of an advocate whose arguments confirmed their views on abortion and less confident in their own attitudes regarding that issue than did unaffirmed participants (Study 3). Results suggest that assimilation bias and resistance to persuasion are mediated, in part, by identity-maintenance motivations.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“In terms of research interventions, reducing ego-defensiveness by encouraging people to affirm positive things about themselves sometimes helps to reduce information-processing biases129,130.”
From Cognitive–motivational mechanisms of political polarization in social-communicative contexts (2022) · cites this paper as [129]
In the citing paper
“Accordingly, as a means of identity self-defense, individuals conform their appraisals of information in a manner that buttresses beliefs associated with belonging to particular groups (Cohen, Aronson & Steele, 2000;Cohen, 2003;Cohen, Sherman, Bastardi, Hsu, McGoey & Ross, in press).”
From Culture and Identity‐Protective Cognition: Explaining the White‐Male Effect in Risk Perception (2007) · cites this paper as Cohen, Aronson & Steele, 2000
In the citing paper
“Researchers have shown that individuals who are either personally affirmed or exposed to group-affirming stimuli thereafter display less bias when processing information that is contrary to beliefs dominantly held by their peers (Cohen, 2000;Sherman & Cohen, 2002;Cohen et al., in press).”
From Culture and Identity‐Protective Cognition: Explaining the White‐Male Effect in Risk Perception (2007) · cites this paper as Cohen, 2000
In the citing paper
“Participants even changed their global attitudes toward capital punishment in the direction of the report they read.That is, proponents of capital punishment supported the death penalty less, and opponents of capital punishment supported it more (Cohen et al., 2000, Study 2).”
From The psychology of self-defense: Self-affirmation theory (2006) · cites this paper as Cohen et al., 2000
In the citing paper
“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 Cohen et al., 2000
Citations
Cites
A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance
Festinger, L. (1957) · doi:10.1515/9781503620766 · Cited by 24,241
The case for motivated reasoning.
Kunda, Z. (1990) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.108.3.480 · Cited by 9,022
(2004) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.41-3182 · Cited by 4,740
Lord, C. G., Ross, L., & Lepper, M. R. (1979) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.37.11.2098 · Cited by 4,583
The Psychology of Self-Affirmation: Sustaining the Integrity of the Self
Steele, C. M. (1988) · Advances in Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/s0065-2601(08)60229-4 · Cited by 3,697
Self-citationThe Functional Approach to the Study of Attitudes
Katz, D. (1960) · Public Opinion Quarterly · doi:10.1086/266945 · Cited by 3,130
Theories of cognitive consistency : a sourcebook
Abelson, R. P. (1969) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 2,002
Festinger, L., Riecken, H. W., & Schachter, S. (1956) · doi:10.1037/10030-000 · Cited by 1,579
Self-complexity as a cognitive buffer against stress-related illness and depression
Linville, P. W. (1987) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.52.4.663 · Cited by 1,399
Self-complexity as a cognitive buffer against stress-related illness and depression.
Linville, P. W. (1987) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037//0022-3514.52.4.663 · Cited by 1,399
Research works printed but not linked: 7
- Bastardi, N., 2000, Maintaining self-integrity: Effects of threat to personal identity on evidence evaluation and concession making
- Bless, H., 1990, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 99, 229
- Gilovich, T., 1991, How we know what isn’t so: The fallibility of human reasoning in everyday life
- Harber, K., 1995, Sources of Validation Scale
- 10.1037/0022-3514.62.1.26 · DOI
- Ross, L., 1980, New directions for methodology of behavioral science: Fallible judgment in behavioral research
- Ross, L., 1995, Values and knowledge
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 501–580 of 580
Diminishing the Perceived Importance of the Self: An Alternative Route to Self-Protection
Mizoguchi, N. (2012) · OhioLink ETD Center (Ohio Library and Information Network)
The action crisis in the disengagement process from personal goals
Ghassemi, M. (2017) · Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) · doi:10.5167/uzh-145088
Does it Bug You? Exploring the Role of Self-Affirmation in the Distress Caused by Killing
Blatter, J. (2017) · ERA: Education and Research Archive (University of Alberta) · doi:10.7939/r30v89v9s
Passionately motivated reasoning: Biased processing of passion‐threatening messages
Schellenberg, B. J. I., & Bailis, D. S. (2018) · Journal of Personality · doi:10.1111/jopy.12412
Oh, S.-S., Lee, B., 노환호, & Na, W. (2018) · Locality and Globality Korean Journal of Social Sciences · doi:10.33071/ssricb.42.2.201808.251
Masculinity as a Psychologically Permeable Barrier to Gender Equality
Kray, L. J. (2018) · Purdue e-Pubs (Purdue University System) · doi:10.5703/1288284317218
Effects of Self-Affirmation on Trait Anxiety and Social Performance Perception
김미래, & 양재원 (2018) · Korean Journal of Health Psychology · doi:10.17315/kjhp.2018.23.4.004
DiMenichi, B. C. (2018) · doi:10.7282/t35q50hh
Demming, C. L. (2020) · doi:10.53846/goediss-7941
Abosi, B. A., Qiong, G., Peng, X., Teye, A., Teye, E. T., & Tassang, A. E. (2020) · Journal of Resources Development and Management · doi:10.7176/jrdm/68-06
When Should we be Open to Persuasion?
Davis, R. W., & Finlayson, R. (2021) · Ethical Theory and Moral Practice · doi:10.1007/s10677-020-10153-5 · Cited by 1
Brief Strategies for Reducing School Stress
Macklem, G. L. (2020) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-65695-9_11
Reducing prejudice through self-affirmation
Price‐Blackshear, M. A. (2020) · doi:10.32469/10355/78091
Modern Antisemitism: A Psychological Understanding of the BDS Movement
Cohen, F. (2021) · De Gruyter eBooks · doi:10.1515/9783110671971-010
Persily, N., & Tucker, J. A. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108890960.001
Gest, J. (2022) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780197641798.003.0002
Gest, J. (2022) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780197641798.003.0005
Gest, J. (2022) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780197641798.003.0010
Gest, J. (2022) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780197641798.003.0012
Gest, J. (2022) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780197641798.003.0006
Gest, J. (2022) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780197641798.003.0009
Gest, J. (2022) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780197641798.003.0004
Gest, J. (2022) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780197641798.003.0007
Gest, J. (2022) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780197641798.003.0011
Pathways of Majority-Minority Societies
Gest, J. (2022) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780197641798.003.0003
Gest, J. (2022) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780197641798.003.0008
Dunn, L., & Dahl, D. W. (2012) · Journal of Marketing Research · doi:10.1509/jmr.11.0168
Persily, N., & Tucker, J. A. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108890960.015
An Exploratory Manipulation of Openness to Experience
Allen, Z. V. (2016) · Carleton University's Institutional Repository (MacOdrum Library, Carleton University) · doi:10.22215/etd/2016-11449
Open-Mindedness Interventions: An Integrative ReviewPreprint
Lieberman, M. D., Dieffenbach, M. C., & Dolbier, S. Y. (2023) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/rg46s
Belief Change in Response to Evidence: Predictors and Persistence Over TimePreprint
Anglin, S. M., Rath, E., Yuodsnukis, J., & Miller, N. E. (2023) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.4461081
Sexual-Orientation Discrimination and Biological Attributions: Experimental Evidence from RussiaPreprint
Baghumyan, G. (2023) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.4547312
Analitičko rasuđivanje i uvjerenja koja proizvode polarizaciju
Maglić, M. (2023) · doi:10.17234/diss.2023.102859 · Cited by 2
Gregg, A. P., & Sedikides, C. (2023) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-17299-1_2634
Nineteen-Country European Study
Gest, J. (2022) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780197641798.005.0001
Gest, J. (2022) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780197641798.002.0004
Gest, J. (2022) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780197641798.002.0003
Gest, J. (2022) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780197641798.002.0007
Emergent Influence Networks in Good-Faith Online Discussions
Dambanemuya, H. K., Romero, D., & Horvát, E.-Á. (2024) · Proceedings of the International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media · doi:10.1609/icwsm.v18i1.31317
The Self-centric Universe: It’s All about “Me”
Lee, J., Chu, W., & Baumann, C. (2024) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-981-97-3426-9_6
Racionalnost i (svjetonazorska) polarizacija uvjerenja
Maglić, M., & Vranić, A. (2024) · Psihologijske teme · doi:10.31820/pt.33.2.8
Motivated Social Cognition About Social Justice
Hennes, E. P., Dang, L., & Jost, J. T. (2024) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197763414.013.37
Burd, K. A., Burrow, A. L., & Guyll, M. (2024) · Frontiers in Cognition · doi:10.3389/fcogn.2024.1397643
Aguirre‐Camacho, A., Moya-García, P., & Rash, J. A. (2024) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-024-07092-0
Black and Latinx hermeneutical resources, hip hop music and white supremacy
García, E. B. (2025) · Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism · doi:10.1093/jaac/kpae046
Carnes, N., & Henderson, G. L. (2025) · British Journal of Political Science · doi:10.1017/s000712342510063x
Kurze Strategien zur Reduzierung von Schulstress
Macklem, G. L. (2025) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-032-07436-2_11
Yang, K. C. C., Kang, Y., Ge, L., Gilardi, F., & Whyke, T. W. (2025) · Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Studies · doi:10.29333/ejecs/2444
Phelan, J. H. (2025) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-7775352/v1
Jiménez, M. L. V., Blukacz, M., & Paruzel‐Czachura, M. (2025) · Journal of Family Violence · doi:10.1007/s10896-025-01016-7
Psychological Tribes and Processes
Trevors, G. (2019) · Emerald Group Publishing Limited eBooks · doi:10.1108/978-1-64113-853-620251006
Designing Interventions to Combat Misinformation Based on Factors That Increase Susceptibility
Loehr, A. M., & Butler, A. C. (2019) · Emerald Group Publishing Limited eBooks · doi:10.1108/978-1-64113-853-620251010
Stuijt, C. (2008) · Utrecht University Repository (Utrecht University)
"Cultural Cognition:" What Mental Health Researchers Might Learn From the Climate Change Debate
Schrader, S., & Shattell, M. M. (2013) · Issues in Mental Health Nursing
Influence of consumer anxiety on preference for self-improvement products
Wang, J., Li, M.-R., & Yin, C. (2025) · Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics · doi:10.1108/apjml-11-2024-1636
Lee, Y. H., Kim, H., & Cho, H. (2026) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-025-08598-x · Cited by 1
Dump or Recycle? The Effect of Social Crowding on Consumer Recycling Behavior
Chen, J. (2026) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su18063002
La dissonance éthique au travail, de l'objectivation à la création d'une échelle de mesure
Melou, F. (2020) · theses.fr (ABES) · doi:10.70675/1ffffd6ez0b93z4758zacbfz4227967c2546
The Paradox in Citizen's Views Toward Bureaucracy: Exploring Bureauphobia in More Depth
Molavi, Z., Danaeefard, H., & Hamidizadeh, A. (2026) · Governance · doi:10.1111/gove.70123
A Study on the Buffering Effect of Self-Affirmation on States of Different Anxiety Levels
孙, 雪. (2026) · Advances in Social Sciences · doi:10.12677/ass.2026.154337
Dynamics of identity: between self-enhancement and self-assessment
Sedikides, C., Gregg, A. P., & Gebauer, J. E. (2011) · ePrints Soton (University of Southampton)
Threatened by science: Can affirmations alleviate motivated science rejection?
Heusler, L., & Altenmüller, M. (2026) · Public Understanding of Science · doi:10.1177/09636625261445597
Laurent, V., Rusinek, S., & Kosinski, T. (2026) · Psychological Reports · doi:10.1177/00332941261464066
Principles of Sociopolitical Competency in Psychological Practice, Research, and Teaching
Redding, R. E., & Silander, N. C. (2026) · Perspectives on Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/17456916261451147 · Cited by 1
Attitudinal impacts of polarized protests: experimental evidence from abortion protests in Poland
Nilsen, A. (2026) · Journal of Peace Research · doi:10.1093/jopres/xjag066
Attitudes toward climate change to demand-driven energy mitigation: A machine-learning approach.
Campagnola, G., Sergi, B., & Sironi, E. (2026) · Energy · doi:10.1016/j.energy.2026.142189
Purpose-Affirmation: A Novel Intervention for Cultivating Adolescents’ Purpose in Life
Yan, W., Jiang, L., Wang, Y., Chen, Y., Wu, Y., & Kizilcec, R. F. (2026) · Journal of Happiness Studies · doi:10.1007/s10902-026-01081-9
Temporal Social Influence Design for Polarized Evolving OpinionsPreprint
Kooshkaki, A. R., Mohebbi, A., & Bolouki, S. (2026) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.7428621
Park, J. K., Gąsiorowska, A., & Kim, H. (2026) · International Journal of Advertising · doi:10.1080/02650487.2026.2749450
Thomas, R. J. (2010) · OpenGrey (Institut de l'Information Scientifique et Technique)
Three Essays Examining the Various Identity Expressive Functions of Brands
Dommer, S. L. (2012) · D-Scholarship@Pitt (University of Pittsburgh)
(2011) · Cited by 81
Metadata
- Authors
- Cohen, G. L., Aronson, J., & Steele, C. M.
- Affiliations
- Yale University (US)
- The University of Texas at Austin (US)
- Stanford University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Cohen, Geoffrey L.
- ORCID
- Cohen, Geoffrey L.
- Venue
- Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2000-11
- Volume
- 26
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 1151-1164
- ISSN
- 0146-1672 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-7433
- OpenAlex
- W2041949427
- Cited by
- 584
- References
- 51
- Citations by year
- 2026: 14 · 2025: 21 · 2024: 19 · 2023: 36 · 2022: 37 · 2021: 31 · 2020: 55 · 2019: 31 · 2018: 25 · 2017: 24 · 2016: 36 · 2015: 20 · 2014: 31 · 2013: 28 · 2012: 34
- FWCI
- 16.71
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychology of Social Influence
- Keywords
- self-affirmation, resistance to persuasion, identity preservation, motivated reasoning, belief updating, disconfirming evidence, abortion attitudes
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
