Wilfrid Laurier University
Wilfrid Laurier University
Scholars Commons @ Laurier
Scholars Commons @ Laurier
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)
2021
Reducing Anticipatory Anxiety: Does Values-Affirmation Increase
Reducing Anticipatory Anxiety: Does Values-Affirmation Increase
Self-Compassion?
Self-Compassion?
elena harwood
harw3950@mylaurier.ca
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd
Part of the Social Psychology Commons
Recommended Citation
Recommended Citation
harwood, elena, “Reducing Anticipatory Anxiety: Does Values-Affirmation Increase Self-Compassion?”
(2021). Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive). 2360.
https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd/2360
This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for
inclusion in Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive) by an authorized administrator of Scholars Commons @
Laurier. For more information, please contact scholarscommons@wlu.ca.
i
REDUCING ANTICIPATORY ANXIETY: DOES VALUES-AFFIRMATION
INCREASE SELF-COMPASSION?
by
Elena Harwood
Hons. B. A., Wilfrid Laurier University, 2017
THESIS
Submitted to the Department of Psychology/Faculty of Science in partial fulfillment of
the requirements for Master of Arts in Social Psychology
Wilfrid Laurier University
© Elena M. Harwood, 2021
ii
Abstract
Mindfulness- and acceptance-based interventions for social anxiety incorporate
techniques such as self-compassion and values articulations. Self-compassion has been
shown to reduce anticipatory anxiety in students with high social anxiety but the impact
of values-affirmation has not yet been explored. Additionally, past research suggests that
values-affirmation may foster self-compassion. Three studies were conducted to explore
whether values-affirmation, too, reduces anticipatory anxiety (related to an upcoming
speech task) and to evaluate whether self-compassion is a mechanism of change. In study
one, participants (N = 93) were randomly assigned to a self-compassion manipulation, a
values-affirmation condition, or a control condition. After controlling for baseline
differences, there were no significant differences across conditions on anticipatory
anxiety. Study two (N =121) compared a standard values-affirmation (in the context of a
memorable experience) to the modified values-affirmation (in the context of a mistake)
used in study one and determined the values-affirmation used was not representative of a
typical values-affirmation manipulation. The purpose of study three (N = 209) was to
compare a standard values-affirmation manipulation and control group on their levels of
anticipatory anxiety related to an upcoming speech task. Participants were preselected for
high versus low social anxiety to compare these groups. The results showed that self-
affirmation reduced anticipatory anxiety for those with low social anxiety only, and this
effect was mediated by state self-compassion. This research further supports the self-
compassion account of self-affirmation (Lindsay & Creswell, 2014) and adds to the
literature showing that individual vulnerability differences can serve as a significant
moderator of self-affirmation effects.
iii
Keywords: Self-Compassion • Social Anxiety • Mindfulness-Based Therapy
• Self-Affirmation Theory • Anticipatory Anxiety
iv
Acknowledgements
First and foremost, thank you to my supervisor, Nancy Kocovski, for your ongoing
guidance and patience through this (long and interrupted) project. I’d also like to thank
Julia, Alexis, Rebecca, Tyler, Mila, Kamila, Cortney, and Michaela for your research
assistance, comments and support along the way. Thank you to Justin Cavallo, Judy
Eaton, and Kate Harper for taking the time to be a part of my committee and providing
valuable feedback that helped to elevate the story told by this research.
v
Table of Contents
Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………ii
Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………….iv
Table of Contents…………………………………………………………………………..v
List of Tables……………………………………………………………………………..vi
List of Figures…………………………………………………………………………….vii
Introduction………………………………………………………………………………..1
Method Study 1…………………………………………………………………………..21
Results Study 1…………………………………………………………………………..30
Discussion Study 1……………………………………………………………………….37
Method Study 2…………………………………………………………………………..41
Results Study 2…………………………………………………………………………..44
Discussion Study 2 ………………………………………………………………………51
Method Study 3………………………………………………………………………..…57
Results Study 3…………………………………………………………………………..61
Discussion Study 3 ………………………………………………………………………72
General Discussion………………………………………………………………………76
Appendix A – Study One …….…………………………………………………………..89
Appendix B – Study Two …….…………………………………………….……………91
Appendix C – Study Three ………………………………………………………..……..94
References…………….. …….…………………………………………………………..96
vi
List of Tables
Table 1. Study 1 Baseline Measures………………………………………………..…31
Table 2. Study 1 Manipulation Check Items………..………………………………..33
Table 3. Study 1 Anticipatory Anxiety by Condition…………………………………35
Table 4. Study 2 Baseline Measures………………………………………………..…45
Table 5. Study 2 Manipulation Check Items………..………………………………..46
Table 6. Study 2 Outcome Measures by Condition …………………………………48
Table 7. Study 2 Affect Measure.………………………………….………………..…50
Table 8. Study 3 Baseline Measures………..………..………………………………..62
Table 9. Study 3 Outcome Measures by Condition and Social Anxiety Group…..64
Table 10. Study 3 Post Hoc Analyses………………………………………………..….70
vii
List of Figures
Figure 1. Study 1 Hypothesized Self-Compassion Mediation Model…………………22
Figure 2. Study 1 Procedure …………..………………………………………………..…27
Figure 3. Study 1 Hypothesized Moderation Model ……………………………………56
Figure 4. Study 3 Social Anxiety Level Moderates the Mediation Effect of State Self-
Compassion (SUDS)………………………………………………..……………66
Figure 5. Study 3 Social Anxiety Level Moderates the Mediation Effect of State Self-
Compassion (STAI-S)………………………………………………..…………..67
Figure 6. Study 3 Social Anxiety Level Moderates the Mediation Effect of State Self-
Compassion (ASBQ)………………………………………………..……………68
1
VALUES-AFFIRMATION AND SELF-COMPASSION
Reducing Anticipatory Anxiety: Does Values-affirmation Increase Self-Compassion
Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a common and persistent anxiety disorder
(Beedso-Baum et al., 2012; Baxter et al., 2013; Kessler et al., 2012) associated with many
problematic outcomes (Beesdo et al., 2007; Mullaney & Trippet, 1979, Liebowitz et al.,
1985). Mindfulness and acceptance-based interventions (MABI) show growing support for
treating people with SAD (Stefan et al., 2018; Norton et al., 2015; Dalrymple & Herbert,
2007; Kocovski et al., 2013), and have been suggested as an alternative treatment option
for anxiety disorders (see Keng et al., 2011 for review; Eifert & Forsyth, 2005; Eifert et al.,
2009). Rather than trying to alter negative cognitions and emotions directly as in traditional
cognitive behavioural interventions, MABIs place an emphasis on encouraging behavioral
shifts in the face of cognitive or emotional distress (Herbert et al., 2014).
The current research focuses on two techniques from within the mindfulness- and
acceptance-based camp that may be helpful for the treatment of SAD: 1) self-compassion
(SC), which is derived from Buddhism and mindfulness, and 2) values articulation, which
will be represented through a values-affirmation task borrowed from the self-affirmation
literature. Inducing self-compassion has been found to effectively reduce anticipatory
anxiety for those with high social anxiety (Harwood & Kocovski, 2017). The main purpose
of the current research was to determine whether, like self-compassion, values-affirmation
is effective in reducing anticipatory anxiety, and whether self-compassion plays a
mediating role, such that values-affirmation increases self-compassion, which in turn
decreases anticipatory anxiety.
Social Anxiety
2
VALUES-AFFIRMATION AND SELF-COMPASSION
Social anxiety disorder (SAD), formerly known as social phobia, is recognized by
the DSM-5 (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013) as fear and avoidance of
social situations due to possible negative evaluation from others. It is characterized by
persistent and irrational fears of being judged by others, specifically in three circumstances:
public speaking or performances (typically the most distressing), social interactions (e.g.
speaking with a stranger), and being observed in public (e.g. eating).
Cognitive models of SAD (Clark & Wells, 1995) connect social anxiety with three
key attributes: 1) a tendency to focus on negative social information (i.e. criticism), 2)
perfectionistic standards in social performance settings, and 3) a high degree of public self-
consciousness. Not only do individuals with SAD interpret neutral social events as negative
and indicative of their shortcomings, but they also have a memory bias in favor of this
interpretation bias (Hertel et al., 2008; Brozovich & Heimberg, 2008). Overall, people with
SAD have a biased tendency to recall emotionally negative events.
People with SAD are markedly self-conscious in public settings and preoccupied
with a need to appear perfect and have flawless interactions (Flett et al., 2012). When they
are treated negatively by others, this memory consumes their thoughts (Nepon et al., 2011).
Importantly, people with high levels of social anxiety are also known to be more self-
critical (Cox et al., 2002), which has been found to be a predictor of poorer response to
CBT (Rector et al., 2000). In fact, the fundamental main thematic fear in SAD is that “the
self is deficient” (Moscovitch, 2009). Individuals with high social anxiety attach less
importance to their positive characteristics (Moscovitch et al., 2009) and have a more
negative self-view, even when they have performed objectively well in a given social
situation (Alden & Wallace, 1995). Cox et al. (2004) found self-criticism to be significantly
3
VALUES-AFFIRMATION AND SELF-COMPASSION
associated with lifetime occurrence of social anxiety disorder, even after controlling for
current levels of emotional distress, mood, anxiety, substance use disorders, depression,
and trait levels of neuroticism. Their study was conducted with clinical samples,
characterized by demoralization, distress and perceived need for help; however, they
determined that the presence of social anxiety disorder alone was enough to account for the
heightened levels of self-criticism that were observed. In line with this, people with social
anxiety disorder have also been shown to display higher scores in fear of self-compassion
and of receiving compassion compared to a control group (Merrit & Purdon, 2020).
Data from Ontario’s Mental Health Supplement study found that SAD was
connected to clear dissatisfaction and low functioning in terms of quality of life (Stein &
Kean, 2000). It is also associated with dropping out of school (Stein & Kean, 2000), and
with an increased risk of depressive disorders, substance-use disorders, and cardiovascular
disease (Ruscio et al., 2008; Kessler, 2003). There are high comorbidity rates with other
mental disorders in general, ranging between 69% and 99% (Chartier et al., 2003;
Leichsenring et al., 2003; Schneier et al, 1992). People with SAD have lower positive
functioning (Weeks & Heimberg, 2012), experience fewer positive emotions, less meaning
in life, and lower self-esteem (Kashdan & McKnight, 2013). They perceive themselves to
face more difficulties and failures and report lower intrinsic motivation in working toward
their purpose (Kashdan & McKnight, 2013).
Importantly, SAD is associated with a lowered tendency to seek help (Ruscio et al.,
2008; Kessler, 2003; Keller, 2003, Beesdo et al., 2007). According to a study done by
Ranta et al. (2009), only 1 in 5 adolescents with SAD had sought out help from a mental
health professional. Other studies have reported numbers as low as 5% of people with SAD
4
VALUES-AFFIRMATION AND SELF-COMPASSION
seeking adequate help (Weiller et al., 1996). Naturally, social anxiety hinders help-seeking
behaviours from those with SAD as they likely experience heightened concerns about
social evaluation from both healthcare professionals, and peers. Clark (2001) has noted that
a key issue for those with SAD is an excessive internal self-focus which magnifies their
belief that others will reject them if they were to not behave properly. When people with
SAD do seek out therapy, a notable barrier is client motivation. McAleavey et al. (2014)
found that 60.5% of clinicians agreed that when client motivation was lower at the start of
therapy, they were less likely to thrive through cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT is
the typical treatment for SAD (Kaczkurzin, 2015); however, after incorporating high drop-
out rates (about 10-20%), about half of patients show minimal, if any, response to treatment
(Eskildsen et al., 2010) and most continue to experience lingering symptoms after CBT
(Rodebaugh et al, 2004; Dalrymple & Herbert, 2007). Occasionally, clients in CBT even
show worse symptoms (McAleavey et al., 2014).
Perhaps self-help approaches that aim to adjust the way they view themselves
(lower self-criticism) as well as manipulate their focus of attention, such as mindful
exercises and workbooks (Fleming & Kocovski, 2013), would be a useful tactic to offer
strategies for this population. Further, McAleavey et al. (2014) suggest incorporating
techniques that would improve client motivation. For example, incorporating values work
could help to improve client motivation (Grumet & Fitzpatrick, 2016), as personal values
are innately motivating (Bardi & Schwartz, 2003).
Mindfulness and Acceptance Based Interventions
Mindfulness has received significant attention in recent years; in fact, this has been
referred to as the “Mindfulness Revolution” and it has been described as being the secret to
5
VALUES-AFFIRMATION AND SELF-COMPASSION
happiness (Pickert, 2014). The “third-wave” mindfulness- and acceptance-based
interventions emphasize present-focused awareness in which the individual views their
current experience(s) with acceptance and compassion, rather than engaging in avoidance,
control, or suppression (Hayes, 2004; Williams, 2010). For example, in the context of
anxiety disorders, mindfulness- and acceptance-based interventions aim to facilitate
observation of symptomatic processes (e.g. increased heartrate or sweaty hands) without
overidentifying with said processes and reacting to them in ways that are more destructive
than helpful (e.g. avoidance; Roemer et al., 2008). A common example of an exercise used
in mindfulness- and acceptance-based interventions is awareness of breathing. The task is
to simply focus on the physical sensation of one’s own breath, and if attention drifts to
external stimuli or thought, then the task is to redirect one’s focus on breathing once again.
Mindfulness meditation has been incorporated into larger behavioral interventions
for those experiencing anxiety disorders and shows promising results, with people having
lower levels of anxiety symptoms as well as higher quality of life (Chen et al., 2012;
Khoury et al., 2013; Serpa et al., 2014). Mindfulness- and acceptance-based interventions
also show promising results for treating people with SAD (Goldin et al., 2009; Bogels et
al., 2006), and acceptance and commitment therapy, a type of mindfulness- and
acceptance-based intervention, has been found to be equally effective as CBT in both group
and individual settings (Kocovski et al., 2013; Craske et al., 2014). These therapies
emphasize the acceptance of internal experiences, as well as values articulation and values-
consistent action (Hayes et al., 2012).
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), a type of MABI, focuses on
psychological flexibility, defined as “the ability to contact the present moment more fully
6
VALUES-AFFIRMATION AND SELF-COMPASSION
as a conscious human being, and to either change or persist when doing so serves valued
ends” (Hayes et al., 2004, p. 5). There are six processes involved in psychological
flexibility: 1) acceptance (willingness to have private internal experiences, as opposed to
avoiding one’s thoughts and feelings); 2) cognitive defusion (not allowing literal language
to dominate the direct experience, as opposed to being “fused” to a certain thought or
belief, such as “I am a failure”); 3) contact with the present moment (maintaining
awareness and focus on the current moment, as opposed to ruminating on the past or
worrying about the future); 4) self-as-context (maintaining a flexible view of one’s self
based on the context); 5) values (awareness of things that are important to you and that help
direct your actions) and 6) committed action (similar to values; involves the articulation of
firm behaviors that will help to move an individual toward their values, as opposed to
inaction, impulsivity or avoidance), all of which are believed to initiate change during
treatment (Ruiz, 2012). Along with acceptance, values are leaned on heavily in acceptance
and commitment therapy.
Although CBT is the ‘gold standard’ for treating anxiety disorders, mindfulness-
and acceptance-based therapies offer a promising alternative treatment option for some
people. Studies on acceptance and commitment therapy have shown growing evidence for
treating a wide range of psychological issues, including anxiety disorders (Craske et al.,
2014; Swain et al., 2013; Ruiz, 2010 for review). Open trials investigating ACT in both
individual and group settings for SAD have shown significant improvement in social
anxiety symptoms and quality of life (Dalrymple & Herbert, 2007) and significant
decreases in experiential avoidance (Ossman et al., 2006). Internet-delivered ACT
7
VALUES-AFFIRMATION AND SELF-COMPASSION
programs have even shown to be effective in reducing social anxiety symptoms (Ivanova et
al., 2016).
Although there is growing empirical support for mindfulness- and acceptance-based
therapies, they are not always effective, especially when one is specifically looking to
minimize one’s symptoms of anxiety (Strauss et al., 2014). Acceptance and commitment
therapy (ACT) suggests that forming a connection with personal values can motivate
people intrinsically to build mindfulness-skills (Hayes et al., 2012; Hayes et al., 2011).
ACT has a core process of “committed action”, requiring engagement in activities that
align with personal values. There is supporting evidence for the values component in ACT
benefitting people experiencing anxiety disorders, showing it to be helpful in lowering
psychological distress and enhancing well-being and quality of life (Michelson et al.,
2011). Michelson et al. had participants with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) undergo
acceptance-based behavioural therapy (ABBT), during which they were encouraged to
discuss the values that are central to them and to think about how anxiety and avoidance
behaviours have impeded values consistent living. The researchers determined that ABBT
lead to significant increases in valued living. Research on values, such as that done by
Michelson et al., typically looks at the effect of values articulation on values-consistent
activities. It is not clear, however, whether values clarification tasks have a significant
impact (e.g., West et al., 2013; Berghoff et al., 2017) outside of value-related behaviors
(Karremans, 2007; Sheldon & Houser-Marko, 2001). This was considered in the current
studies, by borrowing a values-affirmation task from the self-affirmation literature to
explore whether writing about an important value reduces anticipatory anxiety towards an
unrelated upcoming speech task.
8
VALUES-AFFIRMATION AND SELF-COMPASSION
Values
In acceptance and commitment therapy, values are defined as “…verbally-
constructed, globally-desired life directions” (Hayes et al., 2001, p. 235). Unlike goals,
values have no ‘end’; they help guide behavior in an ongoing process. They are meant to
orient people toward purposeful actions, even when they are experiencing negative
emotions (Hayes et al., 2012). Identifying values in therapy has been found to increase
values-oriented behaviors (Yadavia & Hayes, 2009; Chase et al., 2013, Paez-Blarrina et al,
2008). There is also literature from other areas of psychology showing that identifying and
exploring one’s personal values has the ability to alter behavior and attitude (Epton et al.,
2014; Freijy & Kothe, 2013; Harris & Epton, 2009; Lehmiller et al., 2010).
A technique used in acceptance-based behavioural therapies is a values articulation,
in which clients are encouraged to bring important values to the forefront of their mind
when approaching challenging situations, rather than focusing on their anxiety related to
the situation. Values clarification tasks provide a source of inspiration and life purpose
(Hayes & Duckworth, 2006), and aim to motivate behavior and encourage acceptance in
the presence of painful emotions and experiences (Hayes et al., 1999). A lack of values
clarity can impede value-guided living and is related to a variety of negative outcomes,
including suicidal ideation, experiential avoidance, general psychological distress, and
anxiety (Bahraini et al., 2013; Wilson et al., 2010). Values are suggested to offer a more
stable “compass reading” than internal experiences (Hayes et al., 1999) when guiding
behavior in personally relevant domains. For example, consider a situation in which
somebody with high social anxiety is deciding whether to give a presentation. It may be
more beneficial to consider one’s values about learning and education or personal growth
9
VALUES-AFFIRMATION AND SELF-COMPASSION
and development, than to base one’s decision on the anxious feelings (internal experiences)
that arise from the thought of presenting.
Written values clarification tasks (also known as self-affirmation tasks) have been
shown to promote the elaboration and expression of values-consistent behaviours (Maio et
al., 2001; Sagiv et al., 2011) and help people regulate negative cognitive and affective
responses (Cohen et al., 2007). Researchers speculate that values articulations may work to
lower the impact of distress, as it becomes less important than pursuing valued action; for
example, people have been found more willing to experience pain following a values
articulation that connected pain to a valued action (Paez-Blarrina et al., 2008). Several
studies show support that value-guided action increases behavioural flexibility, helping
people to better endure aversive situations (Branstetter-rost et al., 2009; Ciarrochi et al.,
2011; Gutierrez et al., 2004). This speaks to why values articulations, in which people
focus on their values rather than negative internal experiences (anxiety), are a helpful
addition to therapy for those experiencing social anxiety. Problems in value clarity, on the
other hand, are related to negative outcomes, including experiential avoidance, general
psychological distress, and anxiety (Bahraini et al., 2013; Wilson et al., 2010).
In social psychology, values-affirmation is a means of self-affirmation that serves a
protective function when one is faced with a threat (McQueen & Klein, 2006). Most of the
research has focused on the impact of values-affirmation on social psychological areas such
as bias (e.g., affirming core values reduces self-serving bias; Sherman & Kim, 2005); the
influence on distress and psychological functioning requires further clarity. Creswell et al.
(2005) examined whether a values-affirmation would minimize psychological stress linked
to an interpersonal challenge and determined that self-affirmation buffers against stress
10
VALUES-AFFIRMATION AND SELF-COMPASSION
reactivity to social evaluation. In contrast, although Czech et al. (2011) did find that people
who lived a life consistent with their values had less anxiety towards a stress task, they also
found that a values-affirmation exercise did not reduce anticipatory or post-task anxiety.
Perhaps a values-affirmation task would be specifically effective for those who have the
most to gain from it, similar to self-compassion.
Self-Affirmation
“Self-affirmation is the active affirmation of some important aspect of one’s self-
concept” (McQueen & Klein, 2006, p.300). The notion that people are motivated to
maintain self-integrity is central to self-affirmation theory; this corresponds to the image of
oneself as able to control important adaptive and moral outcomes in one’s life. Threats to
this evoke psychological threat; however, when people affirm their general self-integrity,
defensiveness diminishes (Sherman & Cohen, 2006).
Self-affirmation has shown to have a wide range of benefits; for example, it reduces
various forms of threat (Sherman & Cohen, 2006; Cohen & Sherman, 2014), reduces
negative consequences of chronic stress (Cohen et al., 2006; Creswell et al. 2013), helps
instill confidence in one’s ability to reach one’s goals (Zhao & Nan, 2010), and buffers
against physiological stress responding (Creswell et al., 2005). It also helps people to
recognize their vulnerabilities and appreciate that bad things may happen (Klein et al.,
2011; Sherman & Cohen, 2006; Tesser, 2000). Generally, people focus their attention to
threats (Pratto & John, 1991). When self-affirmed, people can perceive daily stressors in
the context of the bigger picture (i.e. using higher mental construal; Schmeichel & Vohs,
2009; Wakslak & Trope, 2009), thus having less effect on one’s psychological state
(Sherman et al., 2013). Self-affirmation can help people to see that they have integrity and
11
VALUES-AFFIRMATION AND SELF-COMPASSION
that regardless of any difficulties or stressors they may face, life overall is okay. For
example, when self-affirmed participants (those who had wrote about an important value)
were required to do a spontaneous speech task with social evaluation, they no longer
showed signs of elevated cortisol (Creswell et al., 2005). This finding may have been a
result of viewing the stressor in a larger picture of “things that truly matter for my
adequacy” (Creswell et al., 2005). Interestingly, affirmations nurture an approach
orientation to threat, as opposed to avoidance from threat, with self-affirmed participants
reporting a threatening domain as more important to them compared to non-affirmed
participants (Cohen et al., 2007).
Stress often arises from events that call into question people’s sense of adaptive
adequacy – how well they perceive themselves as able to meet life’s demands and control
personal outcomes (Sherman & Cohen, 2006). Therefore, affirming one’s values could
buffer against stress by allowing one to attach one’s sense of adequacy in an alternative
domain where it is not in question. Self-affirmed individuals are found to narrate adversity
in a way that maintains self-adequacy and aids in their adaptive engagement with threats
(Cohen et al., 2009; Cook et al., 2012). Just as self-compassion inductions are most
effective for those who have the most to gain from them (Harwood & Kocovski, 2017;
Leary et al., 2007), people who benefit most from implementing self-affirming narratives to
daily stressors are those with the greatest number of daily hassles (Keough & Markus,
1998); for example, perhaps somebody with high levels of social anxiety.
Self-Affirmation Mechanism of Effect
The mechanism of effect behind self-affirmation remains open for debate
(McQueen & Klein, 2006; Sherman & Cohen, 2006). There are currently two main
12
VALUES-AFFIRMATION AND SELF-COMPASSION
theoretical perspectives pertaining to how self-affirmation exerts its effects. The first is the
self-resources account (i.e. raising self-esteem and self-regulatory strength; Shmeichel &
Vohs, 2009; Sherman & Hartson, 2011), which states that self-affirmation boosts one’s
self-image for coping with self-threats (Sherman & Cohen, 2006). Though, self-affirmation
researchers contend that self-affirmation should not merely be equated with bolstering
people’s self-esteem (e.g., McQueen & Klein, 2006). The second is the transcending-self
account, in which self-affirmation facilitates ones transcending self-image concerns by
increasing other-directed feelings. For example, Crocker et al. (2008) compared a values-
affirmation condition with a control condition on 18 affective states. The values-
affirmation condition was significantly higher in 12 of the items (love, joyful, giving,
empathic, connected, sympathy, grateful, proud, content, clear, vulnerable, critical,
humble). Further, they found that out of the 18 measures, the feelings ‘loving’ and
‘connected’ were the only ones that explained the effect of a values-affirmation on
acceptance of threatening health information. Recently, a novel self-compassion account of
self-affirmation, which offers a combination of the self-resources and transcending-self
perspectives, was proposed by Lindsay and Creswell (2014), in part inspiring this study.
The self-compassion account is discussed in more detail later.
There are two common types of self-affirmation manipulations: 1) value
affirmations and 2) attribute affirmations. In value affirmations, one affirms oneself by
highlighting values that are personally important (e.g., Cohen et al., 2007); in attribute
affirmations, one affirms oneself by highlighting one’s characteristics (e.g., Cohen et al.,
2000). To affirm the self, an event does not need to foster a feeling of overall excellence;
rather, it must merely promote a sense of adequacy within one’s personal value (Cohen &
13
VALUES-AFFIRMATION AND SELF-COMPASSION
Sherman, 2014). Personal values have been described as the internalized standards one uses
for self-evaluation (Rokeach, 1973). Often, people affirm themselves through writing about
their connections to others (Shnabel et al., 2013) and to purposes that extend beyond their
own person (Crocker et al., 2008).
Likely the most popular technique (McQueen & Klein, 2006) used within self-
affirmation studies is the values-affirmation. In this exercise, participants are asked to rank
a set of values from most to least important (e.g. friends and family, learning and
education, religion and spirituality, etc.) and then write about their top ranked value. They
are asked to discuss why that value is important to them, or how they have tried to live up
to that value in the past. To compare, a control condition typically discusses an
unimportant value and writes about why it may be important to others (Crocker et al.,
2008).
Self-Compassion
Self-compassion (SC) originated in Buddhist thought, which places an emphasis on
truly knowing and understanding the nature of oneself. There are three interrelated aspects
of SC, each with a dichotomous construct: 1) self-kindness during trying times, such as
failure, rather than being self-critical; 2) common humanity and viewing oneself as part of
the larger human experience, as opposed to viewing oneself in isolation or alone in their
suffering; and 3) mindfulness, in which one views both good and bad personal experiences
and feelings in balance and with mindful awareness, rather than over-identifying with
negative affect (Neff, 2003a).
Research with healthy individuals has consistently established the benefits of SC
showing that it promotes many adaptive qualities including life satisfaction, resilience and
14
VALUES-AFFIRMATION AND SELF-COMPASSION
wellness, emotional intelligence, self-determination and perceived competence (Neff,
2003a), goal mastery and self-improvement motivation, intrinsic interest (Neff et al., 2005),
personal initiative and making changes required for a more productive and fulfilling life
(Neff et al., 2007), learning-approach goal orientation (Akin, 2008), adaptive coping, as
opposed to avoidance (Costa & Pinto-Gouveia, 2013), a greater ability to cope with
negative emotions and negative feedback (Neff et al., 2007; Heffernan et al., 2010; Waring
& Kelly, 2019), use of first person plural pronouns (“we”; Barnard & Curry, 2011), social
connectedness (Akin & Akin, 2015), and emotional balance (Leary et al., 2007). Research
has also determined SC to be negatively associated with various detrimental affective states
including anxiety, depression, self-criticism, self-judgment, rumination, and perfectionism
(Neff, 2003a; Neff & Vonk, 2009; Dundas et al., 2017), anxiety level after considering
weaknesses (Neff et al., 2007), self-referring words (“I”), fear of failure (Neff et al., 2005;
Neff et al., 2018), and post-traumatic stress and panic following traumatic events (Zeller et
al., 2014). SC theory posits that the psychological security required to reduce defensiveness
in face of threat can be increased without needing to raise self-esteem or bolster self-image
(Leary et al., 2007). SC helps to reduce the anxiety that comes with the self-criticism
following negative events, so that one no longer needs to defend against it (Neff et al.,
2007).
A commonly used technique for manipulating SC is a writing exercise in which
individuals discuss a negative life event, whether it be in one’s personal life, work life or
social life. They are directed to write about an event that made them feel particularly bad
about themselves, as SC has been found to be most relevant in times of shame and self-
criticism (Neff, 2003b). Participants receive three prompts, each relating to one of the
15
VALUES-AFFIRMATION AND SELF-COMPASSION
three components of SC. The self-kindness prompt urges them to express concern and
understanding to themselves, in such a way they might express concern for a friend in the
same situation; the common humanity prompt asks them to list ways in which others may
have had similar experiences; the mindfulness prompt encourages their detailing of the
events and feelings to be as balanced as possible. Using this technique, Breines and Chen
(2012) found that inducing SC increased the belief that shortcomings can be changed, the
desire to make amends, effort put forth studying for a test following failure, and motivation
to improve a personal weakness. In their study, SC influenced people to engage in positive
responses following negative events.
Arch et al. (2014) determined that people who underwent a SC manipulation
consisting of metta (loving-kindness) meditation showed an increase in levels of SC
relative to a control group. Additionally, these individuals displayed lower levels of
salivary alpha amylase (sAA) following the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST; Kudielka et al.,
2007), signifying an inhibited sympathetic system response, which has been connected to
lower defensiveness (Arch et al., 2014). A decrease in levels of sAA following a SC
induction demonstrates individual’s lower levels of anxiety in response to a socially
threatening situation (the TSST). This study reveals that SC training produces greater
effects beyond increasing one’s level of SC. They went beyond correlational research,
providing support for the idea that SC may have a more instrumental relationship among
certain psychological states, such as anxiety.
Individuals with high social anxiety tend to engage in extreme post-event
processing (Brozovich & Heimberg, 2008; Helbig-Lang et al., 2016), something SC has
been shown to effectively reduce. Blackie and Kocovski (2017) found that among
16
VALUES-AFFIRMATION AND SELF-COMPASSION
participants with high social anxiety, a SC induction following a speech task led to lower
post-event processing the next day and increased participants’ willingness to engage in
future social situations.
Arch et al. (2018) compared a SC induction among a clinical sample of people with
social anxiety disorder (SAD) to a healthy control (HC) group. Given that people with SAD
engage in post-event processing they were interested in determining whether SC was
helpful in recovery from social stressors. Participants were put through two social stressors
(a speech task, and self-evaluation and feedback task) before completing a written SC
induction. Their findings showed that individuals with SAD displayed greater increases in
state SC and greater decreases in state anxiety following the induction relative to the HC
group. Similarly, SC has been found to be an effective strategy for those with high levels of
social anxiety, compared to those with low social anxiety (Harwood & Kocovski, 2017), in
reducing anticipatory anxiety towards a social speech task. It seems as though SC has an
important role in reducing anxiety, especially among those who need it the most.
Sure enough, research has found that SC inductions are more effective for those
who are initially low in SC (Arch et al., 2014). For example, Leary et al. (2007) showed
that low self-compassionate individuals who underwent a SC induction showed an increase
in perception of similarity to others, while those high in SC were not influenced by the SC
induction. In the same study, Leary et al. also found that SC served as a buffer against
negative emotions when people engaged in an event involving undesirable self-evaluation.
Moreover, participants who underwent the SC manipulation attributed the negative event to
“the kind of person [they] are” to a greater degree than the control group. The control
group showed a positive correlation between taking responsibility and experiencing
17
VALUES-AFFIRMATION AND SELF-COMPASSION
negative emotions; this correlation was not present for those in the SC condition. This
study demonstrates that those who receive SC training are less defensive (as depicted by
increased accepting of responsibility) and show lower levels of distress (as depicted by no
correlation between taking responsibility and later negative emotions) compared to a
control group.
Self-Affirmation and Self-Compassion
As previously mentioned, the fundamental main thematic fear in social anxiety
disorder is that “the self is deficient” (Moscovitch, 2009), noting that people with social
anxiety are highly self-critical. Mindfulness-based approaches (such as self-compassion)
and self-affirmation are both constructs that address patterns of self-criticism (Creswell et
al., 2007; Lannin et al., 2018), both of which have also been proposed as possible
mechanisms through which expressive writing works. Mindfulness involves accepting
one’s inner experiences, consequently increasing cognitive flexibility and decreasing
unwanted thought patterns such as self-criticism (Baer et al., 2006). Self-affirmation
interventions address negative thought patterns (such as self-criticism) in a different way –
through reminding oneself of valued personal aspects (attributes or values) in order to
protect self-worth (Sherman & Cohen, 2006). This is associated with decreased stress and
increased well-being (Creswell et al., 2007), as well as intentions of reducing self-criticism
(Bucchianeri & Corning, 2012).
Recall that there are currently two theoretical perspectives on self-affirmation – the
self-resources perspective, and the transcending-self perspective. Lindsay and Creswell
(2014) proposed a novel self-compassion perspective of self-affirmation that connected the
self-resources account and the transcending-self account for a more complete explanation
