Affirmation on the go: A proof‐of‐concept for text message delivery of values affirmation in education

Abstract

The present study offers a proof‐of‐concept for the delivery of values affirmation via text message. In two studies, we tested whether we could distill the typical 15‐minute pen‐and‐paper values affirmation exercise into a brief (∼4 minute) text‐message based exercise. In Study 1 (N = 42), we asked students to identify an upcoming academic stressor. In Study 2, we targeted students (N = 121) who reported that they would be starting a summer internship they expected to be stressful. In both studies, students completed a brief exercise (affirmation or control) via text message the night before their stressor. Across the studies, we found consistent benefits of this mobile affirmation on students’ belonging, inconsistent effects on their perceptions of stress, and no effects on their evaluations of their stressor when measured shortly after (Study 1) or during (Study 2) the stressor. Together, these studies offer initial evidence for a novel, promising, and scalable method of delivering values affirmation at the “right time and place” using mobile technology. We also discuss lessons we learned and offer recommendations to researchers interested in administering affirmation via text message.

Securing self‐integrity over time: Self‐affirmation disrupts a negative cycle between psychological threat and academic performance

“…By blanketing the intervention as we did, we may have increased the chances that those affirmations were timed to coincide with more threats for more students than in prior research. Recent proof-of-concept evidence has shown that affirmations may be delivered in a timely fashion via mobile technology, which could serve as an effective means to deliver affirmations when and to whom they are needed (Manke et al, 2021).…”

Boosting college prospects among low-income students: Using self-affirmation to trigger motivation and a behavioral ladder to channel it.

“…Fifth, our research demonstrates the potential of mobile technology as a means to deliver psychological interventions that are targeted to people in need, tailored in content to their needs, and timely to when those needs arise (see also, Manke et al, 2021)—key conditions for the efficacy of social psychological interventions (G. L. Cohen et al, 2017).…”

“…Fifth, our research demonstrates the potential of mobile technology as a means to deliver psychological interventions that are targeted to people in need, tailored in content to their needs, and timely to when those needs arise (see also, Manke et al, 2021)key conditions for the efficacy of social psychological interventions (G. L. Cohen et al, 2017). This contribution is particularly useful given the trend for increasing distance education (Mupinga, 2005) that has been accelerated by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic (Goldstein, 2020).…”

Groups or values? Testing the effectiveness of online social cure, group‐affirmation, and self‐affirmation manipulations on wellbeing outcomes

“…Reflecting on important group memberships seems to be a particularly promising way to help those who are suffering in the immediate aftermath of an acute stressor. We hope this work will contribute to a growing evidence-base (e.g., Manke, Brady, Baker, & Cohen, 2020) suggesting that theoretically-informed online manipulations can be effective ways to help people cope with the stress of life.…”