Healthy Influence – Persuasion Blog

In a prior post I noted the persuasive value and effect of self affirmation.  Today we can extend our knowledge of this play.  Consider first as good a description of a concept as you’re going to read.

”Self-affirmation theory begins with the premise that people are motivated to maintain the perceived worth and integrity of the self and examines how people respond to information and events that threaten a valued self-image.”

Now, stand on the log of “motivated to maintain perceived worth and integrity of the self” and let persuasion gravity pull you to the ground.  A persuasion play almost always threatens the receivers “perceived worth” and “integrity of the self.”  A play makes at least a request and sometimes a demand for change and implies the receiver has been thinking, feeling, or acting “incorrectly” and needs to change to remedy the flaw.  Any concept that helps persuasion confront the inherent threat to worth and integrity contained in a play is a Good Thing.

We know that self affirming moves act as WATTage dimmer switches that accomplishes two goals:  First, receivers go High WATT and second, they are much more amenable to hearing that request for change.  Today’s research finding extends our knowledge past this very helpful news.

David K. Sherman, Geoffrey L. Cohen, Leif D. Nelson, A. David Nussbaum, Debra P. Bunyan, and Julio Garcia conducted several studies with self affirmation that tested two important extensions to the idea.  First, they used priming (that below conscious awareness message) to produce self affirmation effects.  Second, they manipulated receiver awareness of self affirmation and found that such awareness diminshes the effectiveness of the play.

Let’s consider each point.

First, priming is always a useful way to understand how something works.  If you can prime something (have people do a word scramble or sentence completion task that activates self affirmation; present subliminal self affirmations) and get the usual effect, then you know that the process involves the preconscious or unconscious mind.  You do not not have to know that you are actually doing the thing – in this case self affirming – to get the effect of it.  Prior research had manipulated self affirmation out in the open and all the participants knew what they were doing while they were doing it.  Now we know that “what you don’t see is what you get.”  Self affirmation can operate subliminally.

Second, the results of “awareness” are one of those constant findings with many persuasion concepts.  When people see the trick, understand the manipulation, watch that man behind the curtain, the effect is reduced.  Thus, if people realize that you are trying to make them feel better about themselves, the persuasive impact will moderate.  Now, in the prior studies, participants knew that they were thinking positive thoughts about the self, but they do not realize that this was aimed at changing them.  These awareness tests from Sherman et al. precisely did aim at making sure the participants knew everything that was going on.

Now, let’s color outside the lines and go way beyond the data.

The greater the change you want from the receiver, the greater the self affirmation you should first run.  You might actually get traction on intensely strong attitudes, beliefs, values, intentions, etc. if you first provide intensely strong self affirmation.  Consider cognitions about abortion, school prayer, or gay rights.  Typically with people who hold strong beliefs on these topics, all you have to do is say a word like “abortion” or “prayer” and there’s no hope of persuasion only a long shouting match.  The results from self affirmation suggest that if you first got your target to engage in words and actions that affirm the self (talk about heroic or deeply unselfish acts you’ve done in the past; talk about how you stood up at personal risk to defend someone under attack), you might actually be able to engage relatively Objective High WATT processing and proceed to strong Arguments on the Central Route.

The art of self affirmation lies in the source’s skill at eliciting the affirmation from the receiver.  These research studies provide great examples of manipulation, but occur in a lab where you can easily ask people to do these things or have them do things with the aid of computers loaded with the appropriate software.  “Here, complete this values scale.”  Or “Here, write an essay about an important value.”  You’ve got to know how to ask the right questions of your receivers to pull from them a natural and unsuspecting statement of affirmation.  You have to build a comfortable relationship as quickly as you can so that you can naturally ask your receiver to discuss key values they hold.

Consider the Rules for doing self affirmation as a WATTage dimmer switch.

All persuasion is local.  You need to understand the particular context with this receiver right now.  Use that local knowledge to setup and execute the play.

Persuasion is strategic or it is not.  The self affirmation play is an indirect move, a setup that proceeds the actually tool that will create the change.  Instead of just launching into the Arguments, you have to first maneuver the receiver into a state of mind that permits discussion about key values and beliefs.  Only after that setup can you move to the direct and obvious presentation of Arguments.

Let’s get to the Outro.

1.  Self affirmation can operate as a skillful WATTage dimmer switch that reduces defensive responding.

2.  It can operate through priming or subliminal means.

3.  If receivers see the “trick” then it will not work.

4.  This is a great series of studies by Sherman et al. and if you’re interested in doing excellent persuasion research I highly recommend the paper to you.