Write about something else first

When one part of how you see yourself is under attack, you defend it harder. In studies of what's called self-affirmation, writing about what you value made people a little less defensive about threatening information on something else, mostly health warnings. Evidence: decent The effect is small, and in larger trials it hasn't always shown up. Evidence: decent Nobody has tested it before a review at work or a partner's complaint. Evidence: worth trying

The criticism is about one part of you. It's easier to hear when you've just reminded yourself it's only one part.

One complication. Other research (Swann, Pelham and Krull, 1989) finds people sometimes prefer feedback that confirms what they already think of themselves, even when what they think is bad. The two findings pull in different directions. Evidence: decent