People have a basic need to maintain the integrity of the self, a global sense of personal
adequacy. Events that threaten self-integrity arouse stress and self-protective defenses that
can hamper performance and growth. However, an intervention known as self-affirmation
can curb these negative outcomes. Self-affirmation interventions typically have people write
about core personal values. The interventions bring about a more expansive view of the self
and its resources, weakening the implications of a threat for personal integrity. Timely …