People have a basic need to maintain the integrity of the self, a global sense of personal
adequacy. Events that threaten self-integrity arouse stress and self-protective defenses that …

Self‐affirmation theory proposes that individuals possess a flexible self‐system, such that
they can respond to threats in one domain of life by affirming self‐worth in other domains. In …

We used a structured approach to assess whether active smokers presented with pictorial
warnings on cigarette packages (PWCP) had a higher probability of quitting, reducing, and …

Introduction Health agencies are grappling with communicating risks of electronic cigarettes
(e-cigarettes) compared with combusted cigarettes. This study examined smokers' …

There remains an urgent need for effective communication about the importance of
widespread adherence to behavioral recommendations to control the COVID-19 pandemic …

Message appeals are a key component of communication campaigns and an important
source of campaign influence. However, research on them is heavily fragmented and it is …

Health-risk information can elicit negative emotions like anticipated regret that may positively
affect health persuasion. The beneficial impact of such emotions is undermined when target …

This study tested a new method of using self-affirmation theory to increase adaptive
responses to health risk messages. Participants' self-concepts were affirmed via text …

Self-affirmation interventions can reduce defensive responses to threats to the self, but have
had limited reach to the general population. We sought to create an effective and feasible …

Objectives Whether people benefit from self‐affirmation in overcoming resistance to health
messages may depend on their level of self‐esteem. However, extant theories offer rival …