Self-Affirmation Alters the Brain’s Response to Health Messages and Subsequent Behavior Change

• In Event: Persuasion II: Message Features

Abstract

Health communications can be an effective way to increase positive health behaviors and decrease negative health behaviors; however, those at highest risk are often most defensive and least open to such messages. For example, increasing physical activity among sedentary individuals affects a wide range of important mental and physical health outcomes, but has proven a challenging task. Affirming core values (i.e., self-affirmation) prior to message exposure is a psychological technique that can increase the effectiveness of interventions; however, the precise mechanisms of affirmation’s effects remain unclear. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine neural processes associated with affirmation effects during exposure to potentially threatening health messages. We focused on an a priori defined region of interest (ROI) in ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC), a brain region associated with self-related processing and positive valuation. Consistent with our hypotheses, those in the self-affirmation condition produced more activity in VMPFC during message receipt and went on to increase their activity levels more. These findings suggest that affirmation of core values may exert its effects by allowing at-risk individuals to see the self-relevance and value in otherwise threatening messages.

Authors

• Emily Falk, University of Pennsylvania

• Christopher Cascio, U of Pennsylvania

• Matthew Brook O'Donnell, U of Pennsylvania

• Kristin Shumaker, University of Pennsylvania

• Frank Tinney, U of Michigan

• Yoona Kang, U of Pennsylvania

• Matthew D Lieberman, U of California, Los Angeles

• Shelley Taylor, U of California, Los Angeles

• Lawrence An, U of Michigan

• Kenneth Resnicow, U of Michigan

• Victor Strecher, U of Michigan