You think positive self-talk would always result in feeling more positive about yourself.

New research suggests that may not always be the case.

If a person has poor self-esteem to begin with, and then tells themselves something like, “I am a lovable person,” they actually end up feeling worse about themselves than those with good self-esteem. Why does this occur? Because the positive statement contradicts their own self-image, reminding them of the fact they do not see themselves as a “lovable person.”

So positive self-talk is positive only when the person who’s doing it really believes it. If one’s pre-existing beliefs contradict the positive self-talk, it appears the pre-existing beliefs will usually supersede (and overrule) the self-talk.

The new study was published earlier this month in the journal Psychological Science and was led by Joanne Wood:

Dr Wood suggests that positive self-statements cause negative moods in people with low self-esteem because they conflict with those people’s views of themselves. When positive self-statements strongly conflict with self-perception, she argues, there is not mere resistance but a reinforcing of self-perception. People who view themselves as unlovable find saying that they are so unbelievable that it strengthens their own negative view rather than reversing it. Given that many readers of self-help books that encourage positive self-statements are likely to suffer from low self-esteem, they may be worse than useless.

I’m not sure about that last statement, since self-help books are usually filled with exercises and techniques for helping a person try different strategies for dealing with a specific psychological component in their life (such as relationships). A strategy to encourage positive self-statements is rarely done in a vacuum, but as a part of something bigger.

And low self-esteem itself, while perhaps sometimes overrated, is still an issue that is a legitimate focus that folks may want to change. Combating negative self-talk is one way to do that. But this new research suggests that perhaps positive self-statements may not be the best way to do it.

Read the full article: Positive thinking’s negative results: Words of wisdom

Dr. John Grohol is the CEO and founder of Psych Central. He is an author, researcher and expert in mental health online, and has been writing about online behavior, mental health and psychology issues -- as well as the intersection of technology and human behavior -- since 1992. Dr. Grohol sits on the editorial board of the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking and is a founding board member and treasurer of the Society for Participatory Medicine.

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    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 22 Jun 2009
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