Health Psychology35.8(Aug 2016): 891-897. Objective: Self-affirmation has been shown to reduce defensive responding to threatening information. However, little is known about the cognitive and attentional processes underlying these effects. In the current eye-movement study, the authors explored whether self-affirmation affects attention allocation (i.e., number of fixations) among those for whom a threatening health message is self-relevant. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details.