title: Self-affirmation activates brain systems associated with self-related processing and reward and is reinforced by future orientation.
abstract: Self-affirmation theory posits that people are motivated to maintain a positive self-view and that threats to perceived self-competence are met with resistance. When threatened, self-affirmations can restore self-competence by allowing individuals to reflect on sources of self-worth, such as core values. Many questions exist, however, about the underlying mechanisms associated with self-affirmation. We examined the neural mechanisms of self-affirmation with a task developed for use in a functional magnetic resonance imaging environment. Results of a region of interest analysis demonstrated that participants who were affirmed (compared with unaffirmed participants) showed increased activity in key regions of the brain's self-processing (medial prefrontal cortex + posterior cingulate cortex) and valuation (ventral striatum + ventral medial prefrontal cortex) systems when reflecting on future-oriented core values (compared with everyday activities). Furthermore, this neural activity went on to predict changes in sedentary behavior consistent with successful affirmation in response to a separate physical activity intervention. These results highlight neural processes associated with successful self-affirmation, and further suggest that key pathways may be amplified in conjunction with prospection.
authors.affiliation: University of Pennsylvania, Annenverg School for Communication, Philadelphia, PA ccascio@asc.upenn.edu.
authors.forename: Christopher N
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Cascio
authors.affiliation: University of Pennsylvania, Annenverg School for Communication, Philadelphia, PA.
authors.forename: Matthew Brook
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: O'Donnell
authors.affiliation: University of Michigan, Institute for Social Research, Ann Arbor, MI.
authors.forename: Francis J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Tinney
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Lieberman
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Shelley E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.affiliation: University of Michigan, Institute for Social Research, Ann Arbor, MI.
authors.forename: Victor J
authors.initials: VJ
authors.lastname: Strecher
authors.affiliation: University of Pennsylvania, Annenverg School for Communication, Philadelphia, PA.
authors.forename: Emily B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Falk
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000502:physiology; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D012054:Reinforcement, Psychology; D012201:Reward; D057185:Sedentary Behavior; D012649:Self Concept; D000068356:Self-Control / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: emotion regulation; fMRI; positive valuation; reward; self-affirmation