The Science Behind Self-Affirmations

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Does repeating a positive phrase called an affirmation out loud or to oneself change one's feelings or behavior? Some psychologists believe the answer to this question is yes. Others remain skeptical. To answer this question we need to look at the science behind self-affirmations.

What Are Affirmations?

Affirmations are short statements that are said aloud or to oneself regularly. They also may be written and placed in locations always visible to the individual. They are repeated multiple times on a daily basis (for greater detail and background on affirmations, please read "Affirmations May Improve Life Satisfaction and Well-Being"). Affirmations are any act that underscores one's adequacy and reaffirms one's sense of self-integrity.

Research on Self-Affirmations

Social psychologists began serious academic research on self-affirmations in the 1980s and have continued for more than 40 years. This research is based on self-affirmation theory. Self-affirmation theory assumes the following:

1. In times of threat, we maintain the self by defending it from outside conflicting information.
2. We respond to threats in one domain by affirming self-worth in other domains.
3. Our core values play an essential role in maintaining the self.

The majority of research on self-affirmation theory follows the same research design or variations of it:

1. Participants are asked to identify a set of core values that they believe in.
2. Participants are followed longitudinally in an existing threat situation (e.g., student academic underperformance). Participants repeat affirmations to themselves daily. Performance is measured and compared both pre and post. Or
3. Participants are randomly assigned to either the (a) self-affirmation or (b) non–self-affirmation control condition. Participants in the self-affirmation condition experience affirmations of self-worth while the control group does not. Participants are then asked to complete a difficult task that induces an experience of failure. Pre- and post-experiment measurements are taken and the two groups' scores are compared.

Do Self-Affirmations Work?

Years of research show promise for self-affirmations as an intervention. Researchers have found that self-affirmation can improve one's life in a variety of ways. Here's a sampling of those findings:

• Affirmations and the brain. Cascio et al.² used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology to measure two parts of the brain associated with (1) self-related processing and (2) rewards following self-affirmation activities. They found a measurable significant increase in brain activity in both of these regions, concluding that self-affirmations affect brain activity.
• Self-control. Schmeichel and Vohs¹⁰ found that self-affirmations helped participants achieve self-control by reflecting upon the values that guide their lives.
• Self-efficacy. Epton and Harris⁵ found that self-affirmation promotes health behavior changes. They designed an experiment to see if self-affirmation would increase a health-promoting behavior (eating more fruits and vegetables). A seven-day diary record of fruit and vegetable consumption showed that self-affirmed participants ate significantly more portions of fruit and vegetables.
• Prosociality. Crocker, Niiya, and Mischkowski⁴ found that writing essays about one's own important values increases feelings of love compared to writing about unimportant values.
• Improving academic achievement. Cohen et al.³ had African American students complete a series of brief structured writing assignments focusing on self-affirmation. A two-year follow-up showed that African Americans' grade point average (GPA) was raised by 0.24 grade points on average. Low-achieving African American students benefited the most. Sherman et al.¹³ conducted a similar longitudinal field experiment in middle school with Latino-American and European American students. Affirmed Latino-American students earned higher grades than non-affirmed Latino-American students and were less likely to have their daily feelings of academic fit and motivation undermined by identity threat. These effects persisted for a period of three years or more.
• Reducing stereotyping toward minority group members. Badea and Sherman¹ studied self-affirmation and prejudice reduction: "One exciting implication of the self-affirmation approach in the domain of prejudice reduction is that self-affirmation shows the potential malleability of prejudice in situations of intergroup conflict."
• Happiness and meaning in life. Nelson et al.⁹ conducted experiments with two different cultures: (a) psychology students in South Korea and (b) psychology students in a public U.S. university of which the majority were Asian American (66 percent). Participants were randomly assigned to either a self-affirmation or a control condition. Results suggest that affirming important values bolsters one's happiness and meaning in life.
• Promoting health behavior change. Epton et al.⁶ conducted a meta-analysis with 41 self-affirmation studies. The studies all had participants reflect upon important values, attributes, or social relations to reduce one's defensiveness to health behavior change. They found that when self-affirmations were paired with persuasive health information it was effective in changing health attitudes and behaviors. Falk et al.⁷ used MRI technology to measure brain activity in participants' prefrontal cortex, a portion of the brain associated with positive valuation. They found that participants in the self-affirmation condition produced more brain activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex during exposure to health messages and went on to increase their objectivity. Affirmation of core values allows at-risk individuals to be open to health messages and behavior change.
• Affirmations and smartphone overuse. Xu et al.¹⁴ found that just-in-time self-affirmations helped smartphone overusers reduce phone use by 57.2 percent.

This is only a brief review of self-affirmation research. For a more comprehensive review, I direct you to Self-Affirmation Interventions by Sherman et al.¹² and Self-Affirmation Theory and the Science of Well-Being by Andrew Howell.⁸ There is a growing body of evidence showing the use of self-affirmations to be a valuable tool for health and well-being.

Practice Aloha. Do all things with love, grace, and gratitude.

© 2023 David J. Bredehoft