Science behind affirmations – why and when do they work?
The inevitability of setbacks and obstacles in our life can precipitate the experience of psychological threat – the perception of one’s inadequacy as a result of external challenges. Psychological threats can arise in response to not only major life events such as receiving a bad grade in school or facing job application rejections, but also seemingly trivial events such as having an argument with a friend, posing harm to one’s self-esteem.
Increasingly, research in social psychology has consistently demonstrated the efficacy of self-affirmation practices in attenuating the negative outcomes of psychological threats. For instance, Sherman and his colleagues in 2013 found that self-affirming exercises integrated into the school curriculum where students wrote about their core personal values raised student achievement, and this benefit persisted for years. How is this possible, and why do affirmation exercises yield lasting positive benefits? In this entry, we seek to understand the science behind affirmations, why they work, and situations when they may not work.
Growth Mindset: We are adaptable
Affirmations cultivate a growth mindset, which refers to the belief that abilities and skills can be cultivated through effort and dedication. In her research, Carol Dweck contrasted a growth mindset with a fixed mindset, which refers to the belief that intelligence is fixed and the tendency to appraise temporary setbacks as permanent failures. To explore the benefits of a growth mindset, Yeager and colleagues found that teaching about the brain’s ability to adapt to different circumstances and the principles of growth mindset enhanced students’ academic performance and motivation to learn.
In face of adversity, growth mindset oriented affirmations (e.g., “This failure is just a temporary setback, I just need to put in more effort and I will improve.”) allows us to not only view obstacles as an avenue for growth but also cultivate the belief that setbacks are cardinal to personal development, in turn allowing us to yield the benefits of a growth mindset.
Buffer against Psychological Threat: We are more aware
When encountering stressors that threaten our self-esteem, our attentional spotlight is often narrowed to the immediate threat – a response that promotes one’s self-integrity. However, affirmations allow us to view ordinary obstacles in the big picture, preventing cognitive distortions that would otherwise overgeneralise our capabilities due to a single setback. This exerts less harm on one’s psychological well-being, as when threats are seen from a more expansive view of the self, we are more likely to foster an approach-oriented strategy to resolve them.
The Cycle of Adaptive Potential: We are reinforced by positive experiences
Now that we better understand the mechanisms through which affirmations work, how do their benefits persist for extended periods of time? The cycle of adaptive potential described by Cohen and Sherman provides relevant insights into the role of affirmations across time.
Affirmations operate through a recursive process, where the positive outcomes yielded can be cycled back as its initial input, perpetuating itself over time. For instance, positive academic outcomes yielded from affirmations as discussed earlier can further affirm oneself and promote one’s self-esteem, thus leading to better performance again, and so on as improvements sustain over time. Additionally, the cycle of adaptive potential is interactive – that is, the positive benefits yielded from affirmations can channel individuals into newer experiences and further broaden their advantages. For instance, greater motivation to learn yielded from affirmations can reinforce the confidence of individuals to explore newer opportunities.
Altogether, this recursive and interactive process creates a positive feedback loop where affirmed individuals can build and broaden their positive experiences.
The Dark Side of Affirmations: When they do not work
Despite the positive benefits of affirmations demonstrated in past research, several researchers have cautioned that there may be situations when affirmations do not work or exert a “boomerang” effect – that is, engaging in affirmations may result in subjectively worse outcomes. More specifically, Wood and colleagues found that in persons with low self-esteem, using global affirmations (e.g., “I am intelligent.”) aroused more discomforting emotions compared to using specific local affirmations (e.g., “I can improve in my ability to write academic papers.”). They also hypothesised that amongst persons with low self-esteem, positive affirmations can contradict their negative self-concept, producing cognitive dissonance and greater resistance to change. This is supported by the theory of self-verification, which holds that people are motivated to preserve their self-identity, even negative perceptions.
In light of such studies, researchers recommend engaging in affirmations when and only when one’s attitude towards the psychological threat encountered is neutral and not a firmly held belief. It was also recommended for affirmations to be used in combination with other behaviourally oriented affirmative strategies, such as goal setting and gratitude exercises, to produce more pronounced benefits.
Concluding Statements
Affirmation is an adaptive practice that provides a myriad of benefits that resemble psychological resilience, including objectively orientating oneself to setbacks and regulating negative emotions whilst observing obstacles from the big picture. Social psychology research helps us understand the mechanisms through which affirmations work from a scientific perspective. With time, such adaptive strategies can beget professional assets and positive psychological well-being, but only if their potential drawbacks are well understood.
While affirmations may occasionally reduce negative thinking and promote positive outcomes, these techniques should be considered as a guide, and persons with significant or persistent unhappiness should seek assistance from a qualified mental health practitioner. A good way to gauge whether affirmations work for you is to judge your comfort levels whilst affirming yourself – should you feel disturbed, it might be better to do away with affirmations altogether.
References
Ackerman, C. E. (2022). Growth Mindset vs. Fixed + Key Takeaways From Dweck’s Book. Retrieved 27 Mar, 2022, from https://positivepsychology.com/growth-mindset-vs-fixed-mindset/
Chowdhury, M. R. (2022). The Science & Psychology Of Goal-Setting 101. Retrieved 29 Mar, 2022, from https://positivepsychology.com/goal-setting-psychology/
Cohen, G. L., & Sherman, D. K. (2014). The psychology of change: Self-affirmation and social psychological intervention. Annual Review of Psychology, 65, 333-371. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010213-115137
Oppland, M. (2022). 13 Most Popular Gratitude Exercises & Activities. Retrieved 29 Mar, 2022, from https://positivepsychology.com/gratitude-exercises/
Sherman, D. K., Hartson, K. A., Binning, K. R., Purdie-Vaughns, V., Garcia, J., Taborsky-Barba, S., ... & Cohen, G. L. (2013). Deflecting the trajectory and changing the narrative: how self-affirmation affects academic performance and motivation under identity threat. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 104(4), 591. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0031495
Wood, J. V., Elaine Perunovic, W. Q., & Lee, J. W. (2009). Positive self-statements: Power for some, peril for others. Psychological Science, 20(7), 860-866. https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1467-9280.2009.02370.x
Yeager, D. S., Hanselman, P., Walton, G. M., Murray, J. S., Crosnoe, R., Muller, C., ... & Dweck, C. S. (2019). A national experiment reveals where a growth mindset improves achievement. Nature, 573(7774), 364-369. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1466-y