title: You Should Know Better: Can Self-Affirmation Facilitate Information-Seeking Behavior and Interpersonal Discussion?
abstract: This study explores whether self-affirmation has the capacity not merely to reduce the perceived threat associated with health-related information but also to facilitate interpersonal discussion and affect health information-seeking behavior. The context for the study is the ongoing California drought, which serves as suitable context to examine the intersection of self-affirmation and information-seeking behavior because it involves a threatening message (the destructive consequences of the drought) and highlights discrepancies between actual (water waste) and prosocial (water conservation) behavior. Results of a month-long longitudinal panel study demonstrate significant effects of self-affirmation on interpersonal discussion, information seeking, knowledge, and water-conserving behavior across time. Implications for theorizing longer term effects of self-affirmation and practical implications for promoting behavioral change through the enhancement of knowledge and self-esteem are considered.
authors.affiliation: a Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism , University of Southern California , Los Angeles , California , USA.
authors.forename: Stefanie Z
authors.initials: SZ
authors.lastname: Demetriades
authors.affiliation: a Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism , University of Southern California , Los Angeles , California , USA.
authors.forename: Nathan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Walter
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002140:California; D003142:Communication; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D054626:Consumer Health Information / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055864:Droughts; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D057226:Information Seeking Behavior; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D019359:Knowledge; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012649:Self Concept; D014881:Water Supply