Rewriting the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy of Social Rejection: Self-Affirmation Improves Relational Security and Social Behavior up to 2 Months Later
Abstract
Chronically insecure individuals often behave in ways that result in the very social rejection that they most fear. We predicted that this typical self-fulfilling prophecy is not immutable. Self-affirmation may improve insecure individuals’ relational security, and this improvement may allow them to express more welcoming social behavior. In a longitudinal experiment, a 15-min self-affirmation improved both the relational security and experimenter-rated social behavior of insecure participants up to 4 weeks after the initial intervention. Moreover, the extent to which self-affirmation improved insecure participants’ relational security at 4 weeks predicted additional improvements in social behavior another 4 weeks after that. Our finding that insecure participants continued to reap the social benefits of self-affirmation up to 8 weeks after the initial intervention demonstrates that it is indeed possible to rewrite the self-fulfilling prophecy of social rejection.
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Relational insecurity can lead people to adopt a distant but self-protective social demeanor, which can evoke rejection from others, deepening insecurity, in a self-fulfilling prophecy of social rejection.
“Relational insecurity can also lead people to adopt a distant but self-protective social demeanor, which can evoke rejection from others, deepening insecurity, in a “self-fulfilling prophecy of social rejection””
From The Psychology of Change: Self-Affirmation and Social Psychological Intervention (2014) · cites this paper as Stinson et al. 2011
When affirmed, relationally insecure participants not only felt more confident in the regard of their family and romantic partners, but also behaved with greater ease and positivity in an interaction with a stranger several weeks later.
“When affirmed, relationally insecure participants not only felt more confident in the regard of their family and romantic partners, but also behaved with greater ease and positivity in an interaction with a stranger several weeks later”
From The Psychology of Change: Self-Affirmation and Social Psychological Intervention (2014) · cites this paper as Stinson et al. 2011
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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
Wise interventions: Psychological remedies for social and personal problems.
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Beliefs in conspiracy theories following ostracism
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- Authors
- Stinson, D. A., Logel, C., Shepherd, S., & Zanna, M. P.
- Affiliations
- University of Victoria (CA)
- University of Waterloo (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Stinson, Danu Anthony
- Venue
- Psychological Science
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2011-08-03
- Volume
- 22
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 1145-1149
- ISSN
- 0956-7976 (ISSN-L)
- 1467-9280
- OpenAlex
- W2122610948
- Cited by
- 59
- References
- 4
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 5 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 4.37
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychological Science (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
- 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 › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
- Keywords
- self-affirmation, social rejection, self-fulfilling prophecy, insecure attachment, relational security, social behavior, self-esteem
- MeSH terms
- Female, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Self Concept, Social Adjustment, Social Behavior, Psychological Distance, Time Factors, Young Adult, Diagnostic Self Evaluation
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