The Mediating Role of Temporal Considerations on the Effects of Self-Affirmation on Responses to Organ Donation Messages.

Previous self-affirmation research has shown that individuals who are allowed to reflect on their values and self-worth are less likely to exhibit message derogation and are more likely to accept risk information and change their behaviors compared to those who are not. However, the underlying mechanisms for the effect are unclear. Based on a randomized experiment (N = 331), we examined the mediating role of temporal considerations in participants' health-related cognitions and emotional responses. We found that self-affirmed participants (vs. not affirmed) were more likely to consider future consequences, which in turn was positively associated with message evaluation, attitudes toward organ donation, anticipated guilt for not registering as donors, and donor registration efficacy. Both theoretical and practical implications were discussed.