Self-affirmation · I-am cards · later values
They said I'm a lovable person. The ones who already felt low felt worse.
You flip an I-am card and you say the words out loud. You want that line to lift you.
An affirmation is a line you say about you. The study line was I’m a lovable person.
You said the line because you wanted a lift
You keep I-am cards because you want a lift. That want is honest.
People already do this. I CAN DO THIS is a line people already use.
Keep the cards. This week the change is the words you pick.
They said I’m a lovable person for four minutes
Wood, with Perunovic and Lee, printed this test in 2009 in Psychological Science. The paper title is “Positive self-statements: power for some, peril for others.”
People said I’m a lovable person every 15 seconds when a doorbell rang. They did that for four minutes.
The doorbell was the cue to say the line. Four minutes is a short stretch.
Read the paper at doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02370.x.
The ones who already felt low felt worse
Self-esteem is how you already feel about you before you pick up a card. Some people already felt good. Some people already felt low.
The ones who already felt low felt worse after they said that line.
You can want a lift and still pick a line that fights how you already feel. They felt worse when they said a line they did not believe.
A values line still has a place
Cascio's group printed later work in 2016 in the journal SCAN. People thought about what will matter later, like a family table next month.
That later work still supports self-affirmation. A values line names what will matter later, in words you can stand behind.
They thought about that same value in the past, and the groups looked the same.
Read the paper at doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsv136.
Keep the I-am cards
Keep the I-am cards. This week, pick a line that names what will matter later, in words you already believe.
A family table next month is that kind of line. I’m a lovable person is the line that made people who already felt low feel worse.
If you want an hour of singing bowls, open the sound bath page. Open the Library for more pages.
Questions after you felt worse
Do I throw out the I-am cards?
Keep them. The cards can stay. The line you pick this week is the change.
What line do I pick this week?
Name something that will matter later, in words you already believe. A family table next month is that kind of line.
Pick a line that names later
You wanted the next I-am line to lift you. People who already felt low felt worse after they said I’m a lovable person. A values line still has a place.
Keep the I-am cards. This week, write one line that names what will matter later, in words you can stand behind.
If you need care, call a doctor you trust.
Sources
Wood J.V., Perunovic W.Q.E., Lee J.W. “Positive self-statements: power for some, peril for others.” Psychological Science 2009;20(7):860-866. DOI 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02370.x. PMID 19493324. Survey n=249. Exp 1 n=68. “I’m a lovable person” every 15 s to a doorbell, four minutes. Low self-esteem felt worse. doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02370.x · pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19493324
Cascio C.N., O’Donnell M.B., Tinney F.J., Lieberman M.D., Taylor S.E., Strecher V.J., Falk E.B. “Self-affirmation activates brain systems associated with self-related processing and reward and is reinforced by future orientation.” SCAN 2016;11(4):621-629. DOI 10.1093/scan/nsv136. PMID 26541373. n=67. Future-value 12 s blocks on 3T GE Signa. Future value>everyday: VS+VMPFC t(57)=3.26 p=0.002. Past tense: no group difference. Later different work that still supports self-affirmation. doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsv136 · pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26541373