Effect? Might self-affirmation simply result in our trivializing tough feedback or explaining it away? This couldn’t be further from the truth. The rigorous scientific research on the practice clearly shows that, rather than causing us to trivialize what we hear, it actually helps us hear tough truths. According to researcher David Sherman, self-affirmation makes us “more open to ideas that would otherwise be too painful to accept.” After all, when we remember the greater picture of who we are, we can put seemingly threatening information in its proper perspective.
