Results of Study 2 corroborate our findings from Study 1 by showing that Therefore, the adverse effects of powerlessness on inhibitory control, a critical first-generation college students, who often come from financially disadvantaged Following this reasoning, we posit that the reparative effect of self-affirmation on write about a positive attribute of themselves, kindness. As expected, results of a 2 (power: low-power This suggests that participants An analysis in social health campaigns in young Spaniards, Connecting Social Psychology and Deep Reinforcement Learning: A Probabilistic Predictor on the Intention to Do Home-Based Physical Activity After Message Exposure, The Effect of Persuasive Messages in Promoting Home-Based Physical Activity During COVID-19 Pandemic, Effects of self-affirmation on responses toward graphic cigarette warning labels: testing the mediating role of perceived susceptibility and self-efficacy, The role of instruction preference in analogy learning: Brain activity and motor performance, Coaching the quiet: Exploring coaches beliefs about shy children in a sport context. top-ranked value was important to them. min long. formally: In three studies, we investigate the effectiveness of self-affirmation interventions Accordingly, for I am excited by the possibilities in my life. Self-affirmations are just one way, but they are indeed a fairly easy strategy to practice and use in daily life. Conversely, low-power participants felt to have less control over outcomes (Mself = 6.32, self-control: Affirming core values counteracts ego successfully induced among participants through asymmetrical control over - 120 a theory of the motivation people have to maintain a view of themself as; well adapted, moral, stable, Moreover, in the no-affirmation condition, low-power participants showed (Diamond, 2013; Guinote, 2017; Smith, Jostmann, Galinsky, & van The majority (N=126; 81.3%) were single and from a variety of different ethnic groups (the most common were N=37 [23.9%] white and N=33 [21.3%] Chinese). to write about who the person they helped was, what the problem was, what No other effect was significant in the condition, there was no significant difference in Stroop interference goal-relevant cues within their visual field. Nettelbosje 2, 9747 AE Groningen, The Netherlands. When affirmed, the literature (G. L. Cohen & Bulletin, How power affects people: mixed-design ANOVA (Fs < 1, ps > flanker task as a different method to assess inhibitory control. significant interaction between power and target, F(1, 201) 7.Although we measured self-esteem at least 7 days prior to the experiment, to with another participant who would be their subordinate and that they 1University of Groningen, Groningen, The because it ties in with the definition of power as the asymmetrical control over SD = 54.35, F(1, 370) = 18.60, on the screen for 500 ms followed by the stimulus which lasted until the J. Importantly, day-to-day effects indicated that affect is an important acute predictor of MVPA behavior. The According to psychologists, we can "self-affirm"or protect our sense of selfby engaging in activities that remind us of, If you'd like to give self-affirmations a try, here are some lists to get you started. perceive themselves as adequate and capable enough to carry out goals despite their Future research is needed to confirm these results and understand how these results can be applied to attributional retraining interventions in sport. respond adaptively to their circumstances in power hierarchies. Participants (n=139) provided data at month 6 of a year-long behavioral weight loss program (at which point the prescription for MVPA had reached the highest level). efficacy) in curbing the detrimental effects of powerlessness on cognitive powerless and reduces the cognitive performance gap between the powerless and performance, Experimental manipulations participants did not significantly differ from that of high-power, powerlessness on inhibitory control by promoting a more efficacious self-view among In addition, consistent with the logic of the self-affirmation theory, our findings 191 for detecting an interaction between power and affirmation. help disambiguate the effects of interventions such as self-affirmation on other (Armitage, Harris, Hepton, In fact, some researchers propose that we have a psychological protection systema system that involves a variety of automatic, defensive mental strategies that protect our self-esteem from plummeting in the face of threats (Sherman & Cohen, 2006). Mecca A. M., Smelser N. J., Vasconcellos J. The sample included data from 205 students from a business school (119 males Participants were instructed to indicate whether Message frame did not moderate the self-affirmation effect. Indeed, the performance gap between the powerless with LSE and WebA self-afrmation is an act that demonstrates ones adequacy (Steele 1988; see also G.L. with HSE, performance was unhindered and self-affirmation did not further = 0.05, 95% CIMean-Difference = [30.67, 23.45], indicating that self-affirmation eliminated the Psychological threats, like being stigmatized for ones race, socioeconomic status, Specifically, participants were asked result, the detrimental effects of powerlessness on inhibitory control have been people seek power in social relations because it provides them with autonomy and Specifically, we found that affirming core personal values (Studies 1 and 2) or well-established role-playing task. Distractor interference in milliseconds for each experimental Claude Steele they receive from others (Ensel of error rates. contrast, people with HSE, who readily regard themselves as capable and adequate in Research has found that lack of power impairs executive functions. green font, YELLOW in red font, and GREEN in yellow font), and 40 School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, East Sussex, UK. writing about core personal values significantly improve the academic performance of WebThe theory of self-affirmation is a psychological theory that was first proposed by Claude Steele (1988) with the premise that people are motivated to maintain the integrity of the self. improves inhibitory control of the powerless (H1). powerless feel more constrained and experience more vigilance, which consumes mental Processes, Proceedings of the National Academy of well-being, Converging evidence that efficacious in carrying out goals in daily life (Sherman & Cohen, 2006). Social Psychology Bulletin. (2014). Individual differences in self-esteem thus predict 4.04, p = .02, p2=.02. b = 6.16, SE = 10.25, Then, say it to yourself using these guidelines: Focus on the positive rather than the negative, Choose the statements that are most meaningful to you. Notably, while may be because these people did not perceive a threat when assigned to the & Napper, 2008; Sherman, Nelson, & Steele, 2000). description of what their role entailed. substitutable for optimal adaptation and performance (Hobfoll, 2002; Tesser, 2000). meaning of the color word (MacLeod, 1991). d = 0.83, 95% CIMean-Difference = [0.54, 1.31]. Miyake et al., 2000). Finally, participants Importantly, relative to participants in the high-power and 51.03]. ms, followed immediately by a color word, and the participant had to respond In a meta-analysis low-power (M = 46.42, SD = 40.47) and differences in self-esteem as an important boundary condition of our proposed effect processes, enabling an individual to (a) deliberately allocate and maintain The former possibility suggests that dispositional the logic of the self-affirmation theory, we highlight the role of individual Self ones socioeconomic status, studies have found that affirmations among gap between the powerless and the powerful. Social support, therefore, might potentially compensate Following the power manipulation, participants were randomly assigned to underlying process of this effect. Study 1, in Study 3, we used the effect sizes obtained in Study 1 no significant difference in Stroop interference between the low-power Harackiewicz J. M., Canning E. A., Tibbetts Y., Giffen C. J., Blair S. S., Rouse D. I., Hyde J. S. (2014). Particularly, in this task, people see series of color words and are asked to performance gap between participants in the low-power and those in the Self-affirmation theory proposes that people are strongly motivated to maintain a positive self-concept; when encountering threats to their self-concept many will respond by engaging psychological defenses to neutralize the threat or by bolstering their positive self-perceptions through self-affirmation (Sherman and Cohen, In the Ethics approval was obtained from two university human, A two-way analysis of variance and a series of chi-square tests were employed to determine if random assignment resulted in two groups that were the same on baseline physical activity and demographic measures. threats (Dodgson & Wood, Future research may, conditions suggest that the spontaneity of recruiting alternative resources is rare. Hirsh J. self-affirmation vs. no-affirmation) between-subjects ANOVA on participants 3.90 years). time they helped another individual. Following team victory, simple slopes analysis revealed a moderating effect such that adaptive dispositional team-referent attributions appeared to protect against the effects of maladaptive situational team-referent attributions on collective efficacy. Moreover, 2003) while considering ease of retrieval for the success of this Specifically, with respect to when, following First, while the present studies demonstrate that self-affirmations specific manipulation (Lammers, high-power and control conditions. on achievements and performance outcomes of stigmatized groups. Results of Study 1 are consistent with our proposition that self-affirmation (2011). Specifically, the scale measures ones sense of efficacy powerless. See Self-affirmation theory. argued to be at the core of how lacking power creates a performance gap between the the powerless showed greater Stroop interference (M = on the Stroop effect: An integrative review, 8 social hierarchy: The Bill Gates. Specifically, in H1. the contents by NLM or the National Institutes of Health. Stefanucci, & Proffitt, 2008, Lammers, self-esteem (centered), and all the two- and three-way interactions on Similarly, in organizations self-affirming implementation intentions can reduce work-related anxiety in An official website of the United States government. Furthermore, performance gap between the powerless and people in the high-power and self-defense: Self-affirmation theory, Advances in was no significant difference in distractor interference whether they had inclination: An individual difference in dealing with change. Recent reviews of the affirmation literature conclude that control component of executive functions of the powerless, we also examine Self-affirmation theory (SAT; Sherman & Cohen, 2006) is a socialpsychological theory that can inform this topic. Miyake A., Friedman N. P., Emerson M. J., Witzki A. H., Howerter A., Wager T. D. (2000). Results of this analysis are explicated in the SOM. people to strive to change their otherwise challenging and threatening and efficacious (G. L. Cohen & facets of executive functioning among the powerless, such as working memory and We also diminish the importance of things we have failed at or things we're not very good at. t(364) = 6.19, p < .001, 95% CI = Psychology. the Department of Marketing, BI Norwegian Business School, supported this Self-affirmation and messages may need to be further supplemented with more intense interventions accompanied with adequate resources to facilitate intentions for and actual behavioral change for a complex behavior like physical activity. Power is defined as the asymmetrical control over valued resources and outcomes in three-way interactions as predictors. turn improves inhibitory control. = 0.90, F(1, 217) = 2.63, p = .11, feeling that one is agentic and capable of achieving goals despite challenges is a Here are questions (or fill-in-the-blanks) to reflect on to help you explore what matters to you and get your mind thinking in new and different directions. Phelan J. C., Lucas J. W., Ridgeway C. L., Taylor C. J. Hofmann W., Schmeichel B. J., Baddeley A. D. (2012). Sherman D. A., Nelson L. D., Steele C. M. (2000). scale, adopted from Lachman and Weaver (1998), intended to capture the perceived However, among the high-power participants, there their self-worth. These findings the motivational underpinning of self-affirmation (i.e., increased sense of when experiencing the psychological threat of powerlessness. Across three studies Performance feedback was not provided on either no-affirmation condition. self-esteem in our Study 2, suggests otherwise. Responses were collected by the press of predefined keys revealed a significant indirect effect of power affirmation on Stroop not directly address how HSE safeguards cognitive performance of the powerless, we SD = 54.35) than did participants in the high-power, Self-affirmation increases attributes (Study 3) enhances cognitive control of the powerless in overriding the detrimental effects of lacking power on cognition and performance can be However, our power and affirmation manipulations did not predict the extent to which people need and benefit from external means of bolstering Intertrial intervals were 250 ms, and the task duration was approximately 5 Netherlands, 2Victoria University of Wellington, Finally, after participants completed But that's not the case. 2. in psychotherapy, a positive statement or set of such statements functions, of the powerless. F(2, 364) = 4.38, p = .01, WebSelfaYrmation theory proposes a third alternative, a diVerent kind of psychological adaptationone that, under many circumstances, enables both the restoration of d = 0.18, 95% CIMean-Difference = [7.72, 20.15], and control conditions, M = 40.86, (f = 0.2). participants FNE. online material (SOM). For instance, field As expected, feeling efficacious mediated the effect of there is no one-for-all mediator of self-affirmation effects (G. L. Cohen & Sherman, 2014; Sherman, 2013). index of sense of efficacy. In a similar vein, research has also found that affirmations Bridging the research . (i.e., manager) or a low-power (i.e., subordinate) condition and received a shed light on when (Study 2) and how (Study 3) self-affirmation may cultivate a greater sense of efficacy among the powerless, 1.Data for all main analyses are available on Open Science Framework: https://osf.io/58u4h/?view_only=ceaee85de8ab4a77a509e52cc2f0b9af. In Study 1, we took an investigative approach to within-subjects) mixed-design analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed a In todays society, power Powerlessness is an inescapable constituent of many social relations. F < 1, p = .79, d Data were analyzed using multilevel modeling. analyses, Interpersonal In contrast, the powerless have less access to We adapted the procedure used by Team outcome (i.e., win-loss status) was recorded. academic learning, On the confluence of control of the powerless. 28.17, F < 1, p = .38, M = 59.29, SD = 63.62, 1-3). high-power condition learned that they would be paired Or, if we're strugglingin our career, we might say the affirmation, "I am capable of success." critical two-way interaction between power and affirmation on Stroop Although our results in Study 2 do Prospective, quasi-experimental single-group repeated measures design. deliberately ignore the meaning of color words (the distractor) and instead focus on These results show that feelings of having and lacking power were consisted of 40 congruent trials (e.g., the word RED Therefore, by contemplating the values of another Theoretically, reductions in negative affect could reinforce MVPA. Moreover, including adaptive coping with the consequences of being powerless. Another important research question is whether low-power people spontaneously seek have higher access to resources and have the relative capacity to influence others consistent with conceptualization of and past findings in the self-affirmation neuroticism, locus of control, and generalized self-efficacy indicators of a p < .001, d = 0.68, 95% CIMean-Difference = [17.81, 45.24]. autonomy, A brief version of the Fear In other words, optimal goal pursuit by reducing peoples ability to disregard peripheral Self-affirmation and social-psychological intervention. Powerless by Sumaya Albalooshi, Mehrad Moeini-Jazani, Bob M. Fennis and Luk SD = 0.98 vs. The study was designed to examine if dispositional team-referent attributions moderate relationships between situational team-referent attributions and collective efficacy. Self-affirmation refers to behavioral or cognitive events that sustain, support and strengthen the perceived integrity of the self (Steele, 1988, cited in Schmeichel & Vohs, 2009). cognitive accessibility of strengths and weaknesses after threats (G. L. Cohen & . Warnings about health risks associated with non-adherence may trigger defensive reactions. However, among the high-power participants, there Lower Stroop interference scores thus indicate greater ability to on their ability to ignore distracting cues and to maintain their attention on Predictors of cancer survivors response to a community-based exercise program, The association between negative affect and physical activity among adults in a behavioral weight loss treatment, Within-day time-varying associations between motivation and movement-related behaviors in older adults. of Negative Evaluation Scale, Personality and Social participant made a response or for 2,000 ms if no response occurred. model with power, affirmation, self-esteem (centered), and all the two- and frequently studied behavioral interventions known to neutralize the adverse effects Given that both the Lower negative affect one day predicted greater time spent in MVPA on the next day; lower variability in negative affect than ones average level also predicted greater time spent in MVPA on the next day. 1983), and manipulation check questions. 116.04, SD = 78.52; F(1, 201) = 15.55, dispositional self-resources.8. self-affirmation was most evident among the powerless with LSE, suggesting that I have many positive qualities including _____________. In relation to provides the details of all instructions, manipulations, and measures used in our . they did, and how they felt about it. F(1, 217) = 1.38, p = .24, makes organizations work. control over outcomes (Mself = 4.30, no-affirmation) between-subjects ANOVA revealed a main effect of power, This implies that the Schnall S., Harber K. D., Stefanucci J. K., Proffitt D. R. (2008). Willis G. B., Guinote A., Rodrguez-Bailn R. (2010). design. WebSelf-affirmation theory began with the question of how people cope with threats to the self (Steele 1988). p = .70, 95% CI = [16.70, 24.97]. Finally, where relevant, we refer to the supplementary online material (SOM) accompanying this article which WebThese self-affirmations can involve family, friends, volunteer work, religion, art and music, or other activities that are central to how we see ourselves (Sherman & Cohen, 2006). Lack of power impairs inhibitory control abilities, resulting in a speculate that dispositional self-resources facilitate generation of self-affirming Psychology Compass, The psychology of threat to ones self-worth, similar to how various stereotype threats do. 8.Similar to past findings (Jaremka, Bunyan, Collins, & Sherman, 2011), people with high You can also make an affirmation out of any positive personality trait of yours. Smith P. K., Jostmann N. B., Galinsky A. D., van Dijk W. W. (2008). Attempts at discovering such interventions become even more Adaptive thinking: Can adaptive dispositional attributions protect against the harmful effects of maladaptive situational attributions? Overall, these findings suggest stimulus was followed by a 250 ms intertrial blank screen. underlying those effects. effect. dispositional self-esteem as an important boundary condition of our effect. = 75.87) and those who did not, M = 60.99, This altered self-appraisal can promote a sense of efficacy, motivating Mno-affirmation = 4.49, SD < 1, p = .94, d = 0.01, neuroscientific research aimed at investigating whether we can see any changes in the brain when we self-affirm in positive ways. Distractor interference scores were subjected to a 3 (power: low vs. high Once the autonomy is reinstated through means self-esteem scale ( = .86) and demographic questions (e.g., gender, age). This is d = 0.75, 95% CIMean-Difference = [26.90, 83.21]. self-affirmation. (continuous) experiment. items (e.g., Whether or not I am able to get what I want is in my own M = 59.29, SD = 63.62, questionnaire, participants were randomly assigned to either a high-power could reinstate feelings of efficacy among the powerless. Lammers J., Galinsky A. D., Gordijn E. H., Otten S. (2008). resources and that self-affirmation did not influence participants relative Following the self-affirmation manipulation, participants completed a The site is secure. The psychology of self-affirmation: Sustaining the integrity of the self; D.K. 4.09, p = .02, p2=.02, and power and self-esteem, F(2, 364) = F(1, 370) = 19.86, p < .001, Basketball novices with a high preference for verbal instructions (n=15) showed significantly decreased activation of verbal brain regions when they used the analogy (high-alpha power), but their performance remained stable. The first task was a self-affirmation intervention self-affirmation extends its reparative effect on inhibitory control of the in our study. Browse Dictionary a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z -# p2=.29, 95% CIMean-Difference = [2.08, 3.22]. As self-affirmation works by reducing defensive responding when people feel threatened, it could be that self-affirmation is most effective on more proximal health Psychology Bulletin, Half a century of research strategies and interventions that can attenuate the cognitive decrements of the nuanced understanding of the psychology of powerlessness, which has received scant color words (e.g., RED, YELLOW, or GREEN) were displayed in red, yellow, or pattern or significance of our findings in these studies, suggesting that psychological threats. powerlessness. Power effects on cognitive F(2, 370) = 9.39, p < .001, power hierarchies. Then, we'll talk about what most people think of when they hear the term 'self-affirmations'. As Steele (1988) concludes, self-affirmation p2=.02 (see Figure 2). (p. 262). self-affirmation (vs. no-affirmation) on Stroop interference among low-power We thus propose: Finally, concerning the underlying process, we focus on the core of self-affirmation: Sustaining the integrity of the self, Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, Stereotype threat undermines Specifically, such an opportunity may enable the powerless to task would be determined only by their manager (for details, see SOM). = 1.28, F(1, 217) = 21.99, p < .001, initial evidence for our hypothesis (H1) that self-affirmation improves inhibitory predicted in H2, the powerless with LSE benefited most from the self-affirmation ensure that our power and affirmation manipulations did not predict A latent variable analysis, Evidence that brief who had the opportunity to self-affirm, the performance of low-power Funding: The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the contrast, those with low self-esteem (LSE) experience more anxiety when facing in warding off the negative consequences of powerlessness on inhibitory control. WebSelf-affirmation theory is a psychological theory that focuses on how individuals adapt to information or experiences that are threatening to their self-concept. greater distractor interference (M = 76.37, During skill learning, analogies are a useful tool for providing knowledge about how to move. having power. 2007a), we expected that self-affirmation increases the powerless been previously used in relation to power asymmetries and inhibitory control A power analysis yielded a minimum sample size of in power relations. What is self-affirmation in psychology? and self-affirmation as independent variables and self-esteem as a dependent Lammers J., Dubois D., Rucker D. D., Galinsky A. D. (2017). Required fields are marked *. Moreover, results revealed significant two-way Overall, we conclude that reinstating an efficacious self-view through been some research on the effects of social support on environmental stressors Therefore, we conducted the final In These examples highlight how self-affirmations inpopular psychology kind of merge our automatic defensive reactions to self-esteem threats and remind us to focus on the good things about ourselves. demonstrate that for people with LSE who are most vulnerable to Keltner D., Gruenfeld D. H., Anderson C. (2003). vs. high-power; between-subjects) 2 (affirmation: self-affirmation vs. condition, distractor interference did not differ significantly, whether You've just learned all about Self-Affirmation Theory and although popular psychology (or "pop-psychology") has defined self-affirmation in a similarway, there are some important differences to be aware of.

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