Testing exposure to nostalgic messages as an alternative self-affirmation induction to reduce defensive processing and promote message acceptance

Summary

The study developed a communication-based induction of self-affirmation, and examined how it interacted with argument strength to reduce defensiveness and enhance the persuasiveness of a health message. Unlike traditional self-affirmation inductions that are behavior-based and involve instructing people to engage in a cumbersome task, this alternative induction affirms self-concepts through exposure to a personal nostalgic message. In study 1, this alternative induction was as effective as... Show moreThe study developed a communication-based induction of self-affirmation, and examined how it interacted with argument strength to reduce defensiveness and enhance the persuasiveness of a health message. Unlike traditional self-affirmation inductions that are behavior-based and involve instructing people to engage in a cumbersome task, this alternative induction affirms self-concepts through exposure to a personal nostalgic message. In study 1, this alternative induction was as effective as the traditional method of ranking values and writing an essay to affirm positive attributes. Study 2 tested whether the alternative induction can offer a broader perspective of the self and generate stronger positive other-directed emotions in the same way as traditional self-affirmation methods used by previous research, and whether these psychological outcomes can interact with argument strength to enhance message acceptance via mitigating defensive processing. A 2 (self-affirmation: personal nostalgic message vs. control) × 2 (argument strength: strong vs. weak) between-group online experiment showed that exposure to a personal nostalgic message (vs. control message) produced broader perspectives of the self and greater other-directed emotions. However, the data were inconsistent with the predicted interaction effects. Rather, there were only main effects of argument strength on reducing defensiveness and promoting attitudes and intentions to adopt the message recommendation. Although the alternative induction did not replicate the persuasive outcome of traditional self-affirmation methods observed in previous research, this study served as a beginning to investigate how communication can play a central role in affirming self-concepts to promote acceptance of a persuasive message. The practical implications of developing a message-based self-affirmation for campaign professionals are discussed. -- Abstract. Show less