Do Messages about Health Risks Threaten the Self? Increasing the Acceptance of Threatening Health Messages Via Self-Affirmation

TLDR

Self‑image maintenance processes influence how people accept personally relevant health messages. The study used self‑affirmation manipulations in two experiments—one with women reading a caffeine‑breast cancer article and another with sexually active adults watching an AIDS education video—to test how affirmation affects message acceptance. Self‑affirmation reduced defensive reactions and increased acceptance of health information, leading participants to intend to change behavior in the caffeine study and to purchase condoms in the AIDS study.

Abstract

Two studies demonstrate that self-image maintenance processes affect the acceptance of personally relevant health messages. Participants who completed a self-affirmation were less defensive and more accepting of health information. In Study 1, female participants (high vs. low relevance) read an article linking caffeine consumption to breast cancer. High-relevance women rejected the information more than did low-relevance women; however, affirmed high-relevance women accepted the information and intended to change their behavior accordingly. In Study 2, sexually active participants viewed an AIDS educational video; affirmed participants saw themselves at greater risk for HIV and purchased condoms more often than did nonaffirmed participants. Results suggest that health messages can threaten an individual’s self-image and that self-affirming techniques can increase the effectiveness of health information and lead to positive health behaviors.