title: What drives self-affirmation effects? On the importance of differentiating value affirmation and attribute affirmation.
abstract: In a series of studies, it is demonstrated that different types of self-affirmation procedures produce different effects. Affirming personally important values (value affirmation) increases self-clarity but not self-esteem. Affirming positive qualities of the self (attribute affirmation) increases self-esteem but not self-clarity (Study 1). As a consequence, attribute affirmation (which increases self-esteem) is more effective than value affirmation as a buffer against self-depreciating social comparison information. Attribute-affirmed participants more readily accept the self-evaluative consequences of threatening upward social comparisons than do value-affirmed participants (Study 2). However, value affirmation (which increases self-clarity) is a more effective buffer against dissonance threats. Value-affirmed participants showed less attitude change after writing a counterattitudinal essay than attribute-affirmed participants (Study 3).
authors.affiliation: Tilburg Institutefor Behavioral Economics Research (TIBER), Social Psychology Department,Tilburg University, Tilburg, the Netherlands. d.a.stapel@uvt.nl
authors.forename: Diederik A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Stapel
authors.forename: Lonneke A J G
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: van der Linde
mesh_terms: D001364:Awareness; D002605:Character; D003073:Cognitive Dissonance; D003674:Defense Mechanisms; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D007389:Internal-External Control; D011582:Psychological Theory; D012649:Self Concept; D012945:Social Values