An experimental study of the effectiveness of attitude change techniques for enhancing self-esteem

A frequent goal in psychotherapy is the modification of low self-esteem. While such modification is accomplished most often in an indirect manner, it is possible to apply attitude change techniques directly to this purpose. In this study, 36 college students who had scored poorly on a standardized measure of self-esteem were exposed to a videotaped counter-attitudinal message under conditions of either high or low credibility; controls did not view the videotape. Results were consistent across several esteem measures and demonstrated significant positive changes in esteem for Ss exposed to the high credibility communication. The possibilities of adapting attitude change techniques to psychotherapy are considered.