Effects of Self-affirmation on Coping and Motivational Systems

Presentation Type

Poster/Portfolio

Presenter Major(s)

Psychology

Mentor Information

Amanda Dillard

Department

Psychology

Location

Henry Hall Atrium 11

Start Date

10-4-2013 10:00 AM

End Date

10-4-2013 11:00 AM

Keywords

Health, Social Science

Abstract

Self-affirmation theory proposes that people's beliefs and behaviors are motivated by a desire to view the self as moral, adaptive, and capable. Researchers have found that allowing one to affirm the self reduces defensiveness towards threatening health information and increases intentions to change a health behavior, but few studies have examined why self-affirmation has these effects. In this study, college students were randomly assigned to a self-affirmed condition in which they wrote an essay about their personal values or a non-affirmed condition in which they wrote about a non-personal value. Participants then responded to hypothetical stressful scenarios and completed personality and individual difference measures. We examined the effects of self-affirmation on participants' coping intentions and their motivational states. We further examined whether the effects of self-affirmation were moderated by self-esteem, personality, or optimism.

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS
 
Apr 10th, 10:00 AM Apr 10th, 11:00 AM

Effects of Self-affirmation on Coping and Motivational Systems

Henry Hall Atrium 11

Self-affirmation theory proposes that people's beliefs and behaviors are motivated by a desire to view the self as moral, adaptive, and capable. Researchers have found that allowing one to affirm the self reduces defensiveness towards threatening health information and increases intentions to change a health behavior, but few studies have examined why self-affirmation has these effects. In this study, college students were randomly assigned to a self-affirmed condition in which they wrote an essay about their personal values or a non-affirmed condition in which they wrote about a non-personal value. Participants then responded to hypothetical stressful scenarios and completed personality and individual difference measures. We examined the effects of self-affirmation on participants' coping intentions and their motivational states. We further examined whether the effects of self-affirmation were moderated by self-esteem, personality, or optimism.