SELF-AFFIRMATION: A REGULATORY FIT ANALYSIS

131 Pages·2014·0.98 MB·English

SELF-AFFIRMATION: A REGULATORY FIT ANALYSIS

by
Kira Marie Alexander
Bachelor of Arts, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, 2002
Master of Science, University of Pittsburgh, 2007

Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of
The Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy

University of Pittsburgh
2014
UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH
THE KENNETH P. DIETRICH SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

This dissertation was presented

by

Kira Marie Alexander

It was defended on
March 21, 2014
and approved by
J. David Creswell, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology (Carnegie Mellon
University)
Richard Moreland, Professor, Department of Psychology
Timothy J. Nokes-Malach, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology
Committee Chair: John M. Levine, Professor, Department of Psychology

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Copyright © by Kira Marie Alexander
2014
iii
SELF-AFFIRMATION: A REGULATORY FIT ANALYSIS
Kira Marie Alexander, PhD
University of Pittsburgh, 2014

Self-affirmation, in which individuals reflect on important personal values or attributes
and thereby reinforce their perceptions of self-worth and self-integrity, has been shown to reduce
defensive behavior associated with a wide variety of threats to the self. However, the
mechanisms underlying these effects are not well understood. The present studies derived
hypotheses from Regulatory Fit Theory to investigate a potentially important but unstudied
mechanism for explaining self-affirmation effects. Study One, which employed a two-condition
between-participants design with self-affirmation (self-affirmed or non-affirmed) as the
independent variable, was designed to test the hypothesis that a standard self-affirmation
induction produces promotion focus. Results partially confirmed this hypothesis. Study Two,
which employed a 3 (Self-Affirmation: promotion-affirmation vs. prevention-affirmation vs.
standard affirmation) X 2 (Behavioral Strategy: eager vs. vigilant) between-participants analysis
of covariance design, was designed to test the hypothesis that the effectiveness of self-
affirmation for motivating health-related behavior can be influenced by the “fit” between the
regulatory focus induced by the self-affirmation manipulation and the strategic means used to
engage in the behavior. Results provided partial support for this hypothesis and confirmed that a
standard self-affirmation induction produces promotion focus. Theoretical and applied
implications of the findings are discussed.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREFACE .................................................................................................................................. XII
1.0 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................. 1
1.1 SELF-AFFIRMATION THEORY ..................................................................... 2
1.1.1 Effects of Self-Affirmation ........................................................................... 3
1.1.2 Manipulating Self-Affirmation .................................................................... 4
1.1.3 Mechanisms Underlying the Efficacy of Self-Affirmation ........................ 6
1.2 REGULATORY FOCUS THEORY .................................................................. 7
1.2.1 Effects of Regulatory Focus ......................................................................... 8
1.2.2 Manipulating Regulatory Focus ................................................................ 10
1.3 REGULATORY FIT THEORY ....................................................................... 11
1.3.1 Effects of Regulatory Fit ............................................................................ 12
1.3.2 Manipulating Regulatory Fit ..................................................................... 13
1.3.3 Mechanisms Underlying the Impact of Regulatory Fit ........................... 16
1.4 REGULATORY FIT AND SELF-AFFIRMATION ...................................... 17
1.4.1 Self-Affirmation and Health-Related Behavior ....................................... 21
1.5 OVERVIEW OF STUDIES AND HYPOTHESES ........................................ 25
2.0 STUDY ONE ................................................................................................................... 27
2.1 METHOD ........................................................................................................... 27
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2.1.1 Study Design ................................................................................................ 27
2.1.2 Participants .................................................................................................. 27
2.1.3 Procedure ..................................................................................................... 27
2.1.4 Self-Affirmation Manipulation. ................................................................. 28
2.1.5 Dependent Measures ................................................................................... 29
2.1.5.1 Recognition Memory........................................................................... 29
2.1.5.2 Goal Accessibility. ............................................................................... 30
2.1.5.3 Emotions. ............................................................................................. 30
2.2 RESULTS ........................................................................................................... 31
2.2.1 Perceived Importance of Value .................................................................. 31
2.2.2 Main Analyses ............................................................................................. 31
2.2.2.1 Recognition Memory........................................................................... 31
2.2.2.2 Goal Accessibility. ............................................................................... 32
2.2.2.3 Emotions. ............................................................................................. 32
2.3 DISCUSSION ..................................................................................................... 34
3.0 STUDY TWO .................................................................................................................. 35
3.1 OVERVIEW ....................................................................................................... 35
3.2 SELF-AFFIRMATION PILOT STUDY ......................................................... 36
3.2.1 Method ......................................................................................................... 36
3.2.1.1 Study Design. ....................................................................................... 36
3.2.1.2 Participants. ......................................................................................... 36
3.2.1.3 Procedure. ............................................................................................ 36
3.2.1.4 Self-Affirmation Manipulation. ......................................................... 37
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3.2.1.5 Dependent Measure. ........................................................................... 37
3.2.2 Results .......................................................................................................... 38
3.2.2.1 Perceived Importance of Value. ......................................................... 38
3.2.2.2 Emotions. ............................................................................................. 38
3.3 HEALTH MESSAGE PILOT STUDY ............................................................ 39
3.3.1 Method ......................................................................................................... 40
3.3.1.1 Study Design. ....................................................................................... 40
3.3.1.2 Participants. ......................................................................................... 40
3.3.1.3 Procedure. ............................................................................................ 40
3.3.1.4 Self-Affirmation Manipulation. ......................................................... 40
3.3.1.5 Health Message. ................................................................................... 41
3.3.1.6 Dependent Measures. .......................................................................... 41
3.3.2 Results .......................................................................................................... 42
3.4 MAIN EXPERIMENT ...................................................................................... 43
3.4.1 Method ......................................................................................................... 43
3.4.1.1 Study Design. ....................................................................................... 43
3.4.1.2 Participants. ......................................................................................... 43
3.4.1.3 Procedure. ............................................................................................ 43
3.4.1.4 Pre-Experimental Screening Questionnaire. .................................... 45
3.4.1.5 Self-Affirmation Manipulation. ......................................................... 46
3.4.1.6 Health Message. ................................................................................... 46
3.4.1.7 Strategies for Improving Fruit and Vegetable Consumption. ........ 46
3.4.1.8 Dependent Measures ........................................................................... 48
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3.4.2 Results .......................................................................................................... 49
3.4.2.1 Manipulation Checks. ......................................................................... 49
3.4.2.2 Main Analyses. .................................................................................... 52
3.4.3 Discussion..................................................................................................... 57
4.0 GENERAL DISCUSSION ............................................................................................. 62
4.1 CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE PRESENT STUDIES ...................................... 65
4.2 UNRESOLVED ISSUES AND LIMITATIONS............................................. 67
4.3 FUTURE DIRECTIONS................................................................................... 68
5.0 APPENDIX A .................................................................................................................. 72
5.1 SELF-AFFIRMATION CONDITION ............................................................ 73
5.2 NON-AFFIRMED CONDITION ..................................................................... 75
6.0 APPENDIX B .................................................................................................................. 77
7.0 APPENDIX C .................................................................................................................. 79
8.0 APPENDIX D .................................................................................................................. 82
9.0 APPENDIX E .................................................................................................................. 83
9.1 PROMOTION AFFIRMATION CONDITION ............................................. 83
9.2 PREVENTION AFFIRMATION CONDITION ............................................ 86
10.0 APPENDIX F .................................................................................................................. 89
11.0 APPENDIX G .................................................................................................................. 91
12.0 APPENDIX H .................................................................................................................. 93
13.0 APPENDIX I ................................................................................................................... 96
13.1 EAGER VERSION ............................................................................................ 96
13.2 VIGILANT VERSION ...................................................................................... 97
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14.0 APPENDIX J ................................................................................................................... 98
15.0 APPENDIX K ................................................................................................................ 100
16.0 BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................... 102
17.0 ENDNOTES................................................................................................................... 118
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LIST OF TABLES
Table 1. Highest-ranked values by affirmation condition ............................................................ 49
Table 2. Descriptive statistics for non-behavioral measures ........................................................ 57
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