Self-esteem differences in the effects of hypocrisy induction on behavioral intentions in the health domain.

Full Abstract

Two studies investigated whether individuals with varying levels of self-esteem respond differently in the hypocrisy paradigm. In the first study, all participants were regular smokers. Those in the hypocrisy condition delivered a speech in front of a camera on the dangers of smoking. The principal dependent measure was the intention to stop smoking. In the second study, participants in the hypocrisy condition wrote a public (personally identifiable) passage about the importance of a healthy lifestyle. The principal dependent measure was the intention to improve one's health behaviors. In both studies, self-esteem scores were positively related to intentions to change behavior in the hypocrisy condition but not in a control condition. The implications of these findings for conceptions of self-esteem and for dissonance theory are discussed.

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Author information

Author/s: Peterson, Alexandra A (AA); Haynes, Graeme A (GA); Olson, James M (JM);

Affiliation: The University of Western Ontario, London Ontario.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Randomized Controlled Trial; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Journal of personality (J Pers), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2008-Apr; vol 76 (issue 2) : pp 305-22

Dates: Created 2008/03/28; Completed 2008/07/10;

PMID: 18331278, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

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