Self-Affirmation Does Not Change Smokers’ Explicit or Implicit Attitudes Toward Smoking Following Exposure to Graphic Cigarette Warning Labels

ABSTRACT

Self-affirmation has shown promise in promoting prohealth attitudes following exposure to threatening health messages by reducing defensive processing of such messages. We examine the impact of self-affirmation prior to viewing graphic cigarette warning labels on implicit and explicit attitudes toward smoking in a sample of African American smokers (N = 151). Participants held negative explicit and implicit attitudes toward smoking. We found no direct effect of self-affirmation on either implicit or explicit attitudes. Self-affirmation and risk level did not interact to predict either attitude type. We discuss findings in terms of self-affirmation theory, attitude measurement, and the meta-cognitive model of attitude change.

Keywords:

• Self-Affirmation
• Explicit Attitudes
• Implicit Attitudes
• Smoking
• Graphic Cigarette Warnings Labels

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The research reported in this publication was supported by the National Cancer Institute ofthe National Institutes of Health under Award Number [1R21CA187631-01] (PI: Nan). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the US National Institutes ofHealth.

Notes on contributors

Irina A. Iles

Irina A. Iles (PhD, University of Maryland, College Park) is a Cancer Prevention Fellow at the National Cancer Institute. Her research concerns the communicative aspect of health promotion and centers on how persuasive communication can be used to prevent and manage illness and promote population health.

Xiaoli Nan

Xiaoli Nan (PhD, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities) is a Distinguished Scholar-Teacher and Professor of Communication Science at the University of Maryland, College Park, where she is the Director of the Center for Health and Risk Communication. At UMD, Nan conducts research and teaches courses in health and risk communication, persuasion and attitude change, media effects, and quantitative research methods. 

Zexin Ma

Zexin Ma (PhD, University of Maryland, College Park) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication and Journalism at Oakland University. She conducts research at the intersection of narrative persuasion, emerging media, and risk and health communication. She is particularly interested in investigating the social and psychological effects of immersive storytelling.

James Butler

James Butler (DrPH, The University of Pittsburgh) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Behavioral and Community Health, School of Public Health at the University of Maryland, College Park. Dr. Butler’s research is anchored in an ecological framework that incorporates individual, social structure, and environmental influences in understanding and eliminating tobacco-related health disparities. 

Robert Feldman

Robert Feldman (PhD, Syracuse University) is the Director of the Post-Doctoral Program of the TCORS and a Professor in the Department of Behavioral and Community Health, School of Public Health at the University of Maryland, College Park. His research focuses on tobacco control, worksite health, and cultural and global health.

Min Qi Wang

Min Qi Wang (PhD, Arizona State University) is a Professor in the Department of Behavioral and Community Health, School of Public Health at the University of Maryland, College Park. He has authored and co-authored over 240 publications in refereed journals.  Dr. Wang has obtained over 90 grants over his career. He has extensive experience in applying information technology to public health, which has been his focus for the past 15 years.