Why Does Writing About Important Values Reduce Defensiveness
Self-Affirmation and the Role of Positive Other-Directed Feelings
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19601616 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jennifer Crocker (0000-0002-6590-4647, University of Michigan, corresponding author), Yu Niiya (0000-0002-2733-3724, University of Michigan), Dominik Mischkowski (0000-0002-9170-1157, Universitaet Konstanz) |
| Year | 2008 |
| Volume | 19 |
| Issue | 7 |
| Pages | 740-747 |
| Publication date | 2008-07-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Psychological Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0956-7976 • E-ISSN: 1467-9280 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02150.x |
| PMID | 18727791 |
| OpenAlex | W2070041287 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 119 |
| References cited | 18 |
Previous research has repeatedly shown that writing about an important value, compared with writing about an unimportant value, reduces defensiveness in response to self-threatening information, but has not identified why. Study 1 showed that participants who wrote about an important value reported more positive other-directed feelings, such as love and connection, than participants who wrote about an unimportant value. Study 2 replicated this effect, and showed that loving and connected feelings, but not positive or negative self-directed feelings, completely accounted for the effect of a values-affirmation manipulation on smokers' acceptance of information indicating that smoking harms health. These studies, in concert with previous research, suggest that values affirmation reduces defensiveness via self-transcendence, rather than self-integrity (i.e., self-worth or self-images)
Developmental psychology · Feeling · Self-affirmation · Self-disclosure · Cultural Differences and Values · Psychology · Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Psychology
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| Unique citing works | 119 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 7 |
| Citation span | 2009 - 2026 (18) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | Yes |
| Citation types | Neutral: 115 |