Self-affirmation and the self-regulation of health behavior change

Abstract

This paper considers the potential impact of self-affirmation—the process of reflecting upon important personal values or strengths—on the self-regulation of health behavior change. Self-affirmation appears to promote several key processes relevant to health behavior change, including more open-minded appraisal of otherwise threatening information, higher levels of mental construal, and reductions in the likelihood of self-control failure. It also appears to increase other-directed feelings, such as love. These effects of self-affirmation may provide people with the capacity to view the “big picture” and consider how their current activities relate to their longer term interests. An assessment is provided of the potential implications of self-affirmation at key phases of the self-regulation of health-behavior, from interpreting evidence to habit formation.

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