Abstract:
Self-affirmation (SA) is thought to reduce defensiveness and improve
receptivity. In this study, we examined whether SA would enhance emotional
receptivity and reaction to counter-attitudinal information, and how the
effect would be manifested neurally. 87 participants watched political
videos while being scanned by Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS)
and reported emotional reactions and receptivity. Overall, there were no
effects of SA on emotional reactions. There were no main effects of SA on
emotional receptivity, but exploratory analyses found a significant
interaction between SA and pre-SA emotional receptivity on post-SA
emotional receptivity. SA increased post-SA emotional receptivity for
people who were less receptive prior to the intervention (<-1SD from the
mean). Furthermore, individuals who were already receptive prior to SA did
not show changes in their receptivity.
