Self-effects

Self-effects are effects of messages on the senders or creators of messages themselves. Research on self-effects spans various theoretical and methodological backgrounds, including political deliberation, empirical psychology, and psychotherapy. In political communication, these effects mostly relate to the question how expressing opinions affects cognitions, emotions, and behaviors towards politics. There is ample evidence that self-effects play a vital role in the formation of political attitudes and affect political participation. With structural societal changes and a proliferation of social media, self-effects have become more likely and deserve to be studied more intensively. This entry defines self-effects, provides an overview of relevant research strands, offers theoretical explanations, and suggests promising areas for future research.