HARRIS_Applied_Psychology_Health_and_Well-Being_FEB_2022.pdf (334.29 kB)
Taking advantage of multiple identities to reduce defensiveness to personally threatening health messages
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-10, 02:50 authored by Jérôme Blondé, Matthew EasterbrookMatthew Easterbrook, Pete HarrisPete Harris, Fabien Girandola, Achot KhalafianA host of studies have shown that self-relevant health messages may result in increased defensiveness and rejection of protective recommendations. Drawing on research showing that multiple identities offer psychological resources to deal with identity threats, we sought to examine whether the salience of an alternative identity before people are exposed to a personally relevant health message may buffer the threat and reduce defensive responses. Two studies were conducted on samples of daily smokers asked to read an antismoking message before completing a range of measures of defensiveness. Half of the participants had an alternative identity made salient beforehand (vs. no salience condition). Consistent with our hypotheses, Study 1 (N?=?90) showed that this manipulation significantly reduced defensiveness to the message. Study 2 (N?=?95) additionally showed that such effects only occurred when the alternative identity overlapped highly with the threatened identity. The theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.
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Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Accepted version
Journal
Applied Psychology: Health and Well-BeingISSN
1758-0846Publisher
WileyExternal DOI
Department affiliated with
- Psychology Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2022-03-08First Open Access (FOA) Date
2023-03-09First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2022-03-07Usage metrics
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